<p>I’ve been contemplating transferring schools for a while, but I’m not sure if my reasons are valid or if they’re even reasons to begin with. I’m hoping to gain some honest, valuable insight from the most honest, valuable people on the forum. </p>
<p>I just finished my freshman year at my state school and am currently taking a summer class, but I’m finding that it’s all very… Easy. Not the EASIEST since I only have a 3.95, but I’ve had a blend of 100, 200 and 300-level courses thus far, and I feel that I’ve only put in maybe a moderate amount of effort at most.</p>
<p>Now, I’m not trying to be arrogant or anything, but it seems that I’m always “the star” of the class and the one student that the professor really narrows in on. I’ve had many of them praise my work and try and recruit me for their majors, but I’m very content and happy with the people in the fields that I’ve chosen. </p>
<p>Anyway, I really like my school, and even though it’s a 2nd tier school, there are some really motivated students here, some amazing professors, a pretty campus, it’s close to home and it’s close to free for me to attend. So I generally am perfectly fine with it, but it’s just that I find the academics not to be as challenging as I thought they would be. I chose not to attend the Honors College because I already have 2 majors and a thesis to write, (they told me I’d have to write 2 of them which I just don’t think would outweigh the stress) so I kind of feel like I’m stuck doing stellar in a decent setting without having to try as hard as I could. </p>
<p>Is this a selfish, childish way to feel? I understand how good my school is for financial and family reasons, and I know that it’s a respectable school in my state. I guess I just feel like I shortchanged myself on the academics part and I’m worried that it will come back to haunt me. </p>
<p>Before you do that (transfer) talk to your adviser. Colleges loved engaged students that are excelling and if it’s a state school I am positive you have not exhausted the curriculum. Tell your adviser what you said here and she what the reaction is. If you like everything else about your school then why not grow where you are planted? The bonus is that it isn’t costing you and arm and a leg. If you don’t feel like you’re completely done with educational enrichment parlay the high GPA you think you might have at the end of four years into a world class grad school.</p>
<p>There are A LOT of advantages to being the big fish in a small(er) pond. For example, your excellent grades will look great for grad school applications. Or for various fellowship/grants available to undergrads. Or for research opportunities with your professors. Or for ‘skipping’ certain prerequisites and fast-tracking to grad courses while you’re still an undergrad… If you’re ahead academically, you could consider a semester abroad program to enrich your experience. </p>
<p>A whole other issue is if you’re feeling unfulfilled in your school… then you might give yourself another semester and consider transfering for your junior year. But it sounds like you actually LIKE where you’re at… whereas you’ve got no guarantee that you’ll be happy elsewhere. My advice, stay at your current school, and maximize your opportunities there.</p>
<p>You have so many great reasons to stay. Why trade that for the unknown?
Would you prefer to be in the middle or bottom half of the class, completely ignored by professors, and have a low GPA that will not help you get into grad school?</p>
<p>I always tell my kids (and students I tutor) “Never complain about something being TOO EASY.”<br>
That was just freshman year. It will probably get harder. And when it does, will that make you… happier?</p>
<p>I agree with the rest. Use your ability and position to compete with the grad students for a research job with a favorite professor. Take 500-level classes. There’s more than enough intellectual challenge at your school if you go for it, and you like the school already!</p>
<p>Why not go for the most Honors courses you can take? That’s where your peer group is. Better to not be the big fish in the average pond but to challenge yourself as much as you can. You won’t be special when with those smarter than you are. State flagship schools need to serve both the best and more average students. You have chosen to dumb down instead of rising to the challenge. Who knows- you could have a similar gpa with much more learned. Those Honors kids will be way ahead of you. Some 300 level courses are numbered so grad students can take them for credit (son had the choice of a 101 or 301 course as a first semester freshman- same lecture for both).</p>
<p>What would you do if you transfer? Would you once again shoot for mediocrity? It sounds like you can save a lot of money by taking advantage of what is currently available to you. Don’t worry about future theses- you could drop the honors in one later. At a large U the Honors courses are likely to expose you to more professors and chances to work in labs, and you’ll have a better knowledge base to do so.</p>
<p>Can you take honors courses without being in the Honors College? At least at some large schools, this is possible. The honors courses tend to be very different in difficulty from the regular courses. If you can do this, it would probably increase the challenge level quite a lot, without requiring two theses.</p>
<p>Alternatively, if you cannot take honors courses without being in the Honors College, perhaps you should join the Honors College now, for the more challenging courses, and reconsider membership when you become a senior. Your major plans might change quite a lot in the intervening time frame.</p>
<p>If you can find adequately challenging courses where you are, there are some advantages to being a “stand out” student at a reasonably good school.</p>
<p>I would never tell my kids not to complain about something being too easy! My D suffered through 2 years of a high school French teacher who taught them very little French, and had to struggle to catch up when she got the better teacher in year 3. I think concerns about not learning enough and potentially sub-par academics are valid. Looking for a college where she would be challenged in the classroom was a top priority for her. I agree with those who suggest trying to get into honors courses or program.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the replies. It’s very encouraging because I really do want to stay here. </p>
<p>I talked to some friends of mine who are in the Honors College, and they said that all the Honors classes here are substitutes for their gen ed courses, and I’ve unfortunately already covered most of them. I’m taking two more in the fall and will be done. (I’m lucky that requirements for my majors can double count) </p>
<p>However, I will check to see if they’ll allow me to take one even if I don’t need it. Or maybe I can audit it? I’m not really sure how that works, but I’ve heard that some people do it. </p>
<p>Also, would maybe taking an overload help keep me feeling “busy?” If I take, say, 20 credits instead of 16 with the extra class being something challenging and perhaps outside my major, would that be good or would it burn me out? </p>
<p>I guess I just feel guilty that I don’t have to spend as much time on my studies, and I wonder if a harder curriculum or harder classes would help. I also work between 10-20 hours during school, but I could adjust that with a harder schedule if necessary.</p>
<p>What is your major? Are there opportunities for undergraduate research, or for assisting a professor with publications?</p>
<p>Also, I’d recommend talking with an adviser and not just your friends about the honors courses that are available. For example, my university offers honors courses in mathematics including senior level. Students in other fields are often encouraged to take graduate courses when they are ready. An adviser will know about the specific courses. </p>
<p>Most majors have room for elective courses, and courses that meet the general education requirements are not barred from being electives. On the other hand, in some cases the general ed courses and their honors counterparts are “equivalenced” so that you can only obtain credit for one or the other. This will vary from university to university, but an adviser can tell you about the situation where you are.</p>
<p>Don’t overload. You don’t want to be adding busywork as a substitute for intellectual stimulation, if that’s what you’re lacking. Instead, find opportunities to deepen your academic and intellectual experience - undergraduate research, starting an academic club or undergraduate journal, starting some kind of project maybe.</p>
<p>As you get deeper into your major another possibility is taking graduate classes.</p>
<p>OP, I looked back at your earlier posts from mid-April, in which you talked about missing a paper deadline, desperately trying to catch up at that point in the semester, and dropping a class in the fall semester (3 different events and posts). It sounds like things all worked out for you, but you had some challenges along the way during this first year, yes? (Nearly every student does, of course.)</p>
<p>I’m glad you are feeling more comfortable now and earned terrific grades, but you’ve gotten some great advice on how to become more challenged at THIS school. You know and like your college, and have successfully weathered some first-year bumps in the road: That’s fantastic! Before you seriously consider transferring, maybe first figure out ways to make life more interesting for you at this college, and still maintain that high GPA, and continue to be that rising star! </p>
<p>I would agree with the advice you have received above about not loading up on extra courses, and instead pursue more challenging classes within the same college, or research and travel abroad opportunities, or some other completely engrossing independent project, EC, or internship to keep you interested and at the top of your game. Advisors from different departments would be delighted to give you ideas, I’m sure. Faculty love to work with students like you! Best of luck.</p>
<p>There are situations where transferring up is necessary if the college concerned is “too easy”</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Academic level of students are so low a given student isn’t being challenged and the college concerned is focused so much on the remedial/average students at the college they don’t have the resources and/or refuse to allow the academically advanced student to take courses more appropriate to his/her actual level.</p></li>
<li><p>If one’s aspiring to a topflight academic graduate program in a field where one’s lower-tiered* college’s academic department is so weak and/or so lacking in research resources/faculty that staying may seriously impair one’s application to an academic Masters or especially PhD programs. </p></li>
<li><p>One’s personality is such that not being around other highly motivated academically advanced students means the student becomes disengaged and ends up doing poorly/dropping out of absolute boredom. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’ve met dozens of former HS dropouts with high standardized test scores as academically high achieving undergrads who became so fed up with the low-level of academic challenges in their public school districts, bullying from less academically inclined students and sometimes even school staff/other parents, and the bureaucratic obstacles/micromanagement that they dropped out. </p>
<p>Met them after they took advantage of a college admission policy which didn’t necessitate a high school diploma/GED and they ended up leapfrogging over most of their college classmates…including ones in their honors program. </p>
<ul>
<li>Lower-tiered meaning a 4th/5th tier college/department where most admitted students were at/near the bottom of their graduating HS classes from academically average/mediocre HS and where there are a sizable chunk of remedial students taking courses like 9th grade HS algebra or in one extreme case…basic arithmetic like multiplying/dividing fractions.</li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks again for the replies! Totally added some new perspectives. </p>
<p>Jane - you’re absolutely right. I’m quick to forget and downplay the severity of the roadblocks that I met earlier in the year, and I’m sure it’d be even worse at a new school in a new setting and a new level. I’ve made it out alive and hope to continue on that path, and maybe transferring could cause me to relapse. </p>
<p>Cobrat - good reasons/points! That’s a nice way to sum up some “good” reasons to transfer. </p>
<p>My school is classified as a 2nd tier school, so that means it’s made up of average and some above-average students. (right? I don’t really know about the tier system) I’ve definitely met at least a few other motivated students, but even when I don’t have peers of the same drive, I still do pretty good. </p>
<p>I do plan on going to graduate school (thinking about law school, but i know how far away and involved that is), so would doing well at this tier 2 school hinder me for some of the better schools? (like maybe top 20 or even top 50?) I really have no idea how the politics of it all works, but I know that I’ll still receive a solid education where I’m at. (though not top-of-the-line or first class) </p>
<p>Again, I like and love everything so far, but I’m just worried that it’s not what college is “supposed” to be. I work hard enough I guess (and freak out some along the way, like with that overdue paper that still got a 98%), and i just hope that’s enough for getting a good job and maybe getting into a good grad school if I go that way.</p>