Transferring and parents

[henryhund]

<p>I am currently a student at Penn State's Schreyer Honors College. This college's atmosphere is not necessarily the atmosphere for me, and I think I would benefit elsewhere. I believe my credentials are good enough for me to successfully transfer into any of the schools I am interested in.</p>

<p>All of you who are transferring, did you have trouble convincing your parents that you should transfer? My parents say that, if I cannot be happy at Penn State, in "the happy valley" (if you don't know Penn State that's what they call this area), then I cannot be happy anywhere.</p>

<p>If you had any trouble convincing your parents, let me know what you said to them to convince them! Thanks.</p>

[luckyjax04]

<p>henryhund-
I'm also a first year Schreyer's kid and thinking about a possible transfer. haven't even talked to the parents yet, because they love Penn State (and they didn't even go here!).</p>

<p>just wondering what your personal reasons for thinking about leaving are and where you're looking. if you want to e-mail me, my address is <a href="mailto:jhg140@psu.edu">jhg140@psu.edu</a></p>

[excalibur313]

<p>I really want to transfer out of merrimack and at first my parents were really against it. I think what changed their mind is when they realized that I really wasn't happy and there were other specific colleges that would make me happier. It is very important to visit these colleges so that you can really tell your parents "this weekend was way better than at penn state because of these reasons." I think if you could figure out specifically why you don't like this college and why other ones better suit your needs, they would have to agree. Nothing convinces more than cold hard facts that guide a single coherant statement.
Good Luck!
Stephen</p>

[cool0215]

<p>henryhund and luckyjax04,</p>

<p>I am also a Penn State student(but not honors college). I am a freshmen right now, and thinking about a possible transfer after my sophomore yr. What schools are you guys considering to transfer?
What are your majors?</p>

[luckyjax04]

<p>if i were to transfer, it would probably be someplace much smaller. i was thinking of william and mary, washington and lee, haverford, swarthmore, upenn, or georgetown. at this point, its almost more of a hassle to transfer than to stay and i'm still not sure what i want to do.</p>

[slipper1234]

<p>i actually transferred from another Ivy to Dartmouth and my parents were dead set against it. They thought I was just not doing enough to make myself happy. I think when I got in and visited the schools I got into (Brown, Dartmouth, Yale) that they realized how much better they were for me and that it was the right move. I think that it could be very easy for someone to be unhappy at Penn State and love somewhere else. Having the community oriented atmosphere of a LAC or small IVy vs. a big state school is very different.</p>

<p>I chose Dartmouth particularly because I thought it was the best place to transfer into because it was small enough that transfers got to easily mix right in, the awesome orientation puts transfers right in, and finally sophomore summer is a great opportunity to know your class and it a huge asset. At this point, most of my friends don't even realize I was ever a transfer.</p>

[slipper1234]

<p>luckyjax, its more effort but its worth every minute a thousand-fold. It could be the best thing you have ever done.</p>

[jamimom]

<p>I told my kids when they made transferring noises that they were welcome to transfer, but it was their job to find a college that suited them better, apply, get all the paperwork, test scores, grades and other stuff needed to get accepted. Now some of you may have done it all as highschoolers as well, but in my kids' cases, I was pretty involved in the process then. Not so once they were in college. None of my kids ever sent out a transfer app.</p>

[slipper1234]

<p>I did all 100% of the work (college and high school) and it was so much more than worth that effort</p>

[garland]

<p>Jamimom, I disagree with you on this one, but then again I only have two kids. Transfer applications are possibly even more daunting than the first time around, when at least everyone around you is doing the same thing, and the GCs, for better or worse, are supposed to be helping.</p>

<p>My D was seriously unhappy with her school, to the point that when she was home, she was in tears about going back. She'd made every attempt to fit in, but the academic and social atmospheres were a poor fit for her. She basically did the apps herself, with moral support from me. Additionally, I took her on visits to two schools, and helped with getting the HS stuff (transcripts, recs). I also looked over her essay. Why wouldn't I give some help where it was needed? As some kind of test to see if she was serious? Seeing the misery she felt was enough, especially when I'd been there before, 24 years ago.</p>

<p>My advice to the OP is: make it clear to your parents WHY the schools you want to go to are different from Penn State. My D was in an Honors college, and it was clear that she felt a different level of academic curiosity and challenge than did most others there. Additionally, it turned out to be a party school, with little social life other than the garbage can full of spiked koolaid at a crowded frat. Also, the other students were spectacularly apathetic politically. So it was a matter of finding possible transfer schools which were a better fit for her. You need to do this, too, and be eloquent about why "Happy Valley" is not happy for you.</p>