Will transferring twice look bad/is it stupid?

Transfer Students
1

<p>So my first year of college I went to Stony Brook University as a general bio major. I absolutely loved it, from the location to the people and had a great time. During freshman year, I decided that I wanted to be a dietician, which meant that I had to transfer out of stony brook and attend a school that had an undergraduate dietetics program.</p>

<p>I applied to Purdue, Syracuse (where I’m from), and Cornell. Got accepted to all 3 and chose Cornell. I’m 2.5 months into my first semester at Cornell and i absolutely hate it. The academics are totally manageable but the people are snobby, the social scene really isn’t my style, and everyone is constantly stressed out of their minds over nothing. I’ve tried about 10 clubs and none of them clicked and I just don’t feel like I fit in. So, I’m considering transferring again in the spring and going to Syracuse.</p>

<p>I know that I love SU, I grew up there and know the campus, I love the big school big athletics feel, and I love the location. That being said, is it a good idea to transfer? The dietetics programs are about the same in terms of quality for Cornell and SU so my academics wouldn’t be hurt. Would transferring out of an Ivy look really bad? </p>

2

<p>And you don’t need to know a ton about transferring to answer, I’m really just looking for people’s opinions.</p>

3

<p>It would probably look a bit strange but if you’re unhappy I think it’s worse to stay. I have no idea what employers would think though if that’s what your worried about. If you’re just wondering what regular people think, I think transferring to be happy is a valid reason.</p>

4

<p>I don’t hire dieticians, but my guess is you’d be fine. Taking your word that the progams at the different schools are really considered comparable, about which I’ve no idea. Probably a lot of dieticians who didn’t attend themselves would be predisposed to think that you’re probably right that the people there are “snobby”. </p>

<p>Your reason might be suspect if you didn’t get good grades there though. In that case they might think you just couldn’t hack it there academically and you are using the social thing as an excuse. But chances are the matter will never come up except perhaps as a passing comment.</p>

<p>As for substance, you’re right and you aren’t. It is a large university and people come there with very different objectives, personalities and backgrounds. The place cannot be pigeonholed so neatly.
There are people that are snobby. There are people that are not at all snobby.
There is not one social scene, that everyone subscribes to. Though some are more visible than others.
Whatever you are like, there is probably a large group of compatible people there for you. The trick is to find them. The sad thing is, most of this sorting out, finding one’s group of compatible people, gets done in the freshman dorms, and you missed that.</p>

<p>Transfers are more hit and miss, everywhere I imagine, since they come in when the existing students have already formed their social cohort and aren’t necessarily looking to expand it anymore. For that reason upperclassman dorms are not as social as the freshman dorms. And many of the upperclassmen are not in dorms anymore altogether.</p>

<p>A lot of transfers wind up meeting each other early on and hanging out together. At least initially, till they get fully integrated.
And, since there is a large transfer class, this hopefully works out for most. </p>

<p>But there is no guarantee. So much depends on who you wind up being around. And the people are not all the same.</p>

<p>If you feel you’ve tried everything reasonable and it just isn’t happening there for you, you have sufficient cause to transfer. Nobody needs to be miserable.</p>

<p>But maybe you could, by similar happenstance, wind up in a similar situation at Syracuse too. Albeit perhaps without the “stressed out” part.</p>

5

<p>In a way it’s too bad that you loved your first school, but they didn’t have your major. This happened to my D too. And she will end up transferring a 2nd time (which I support.) If I were your mom, I’d advise you to stay for the entire year before you make up your mind. You may end up creating bonds by late spring that you feel are worth keeping. I doubt employers really care how many times you transferred – they mostly want a copy of the transcript to verify that you did indeed earn a degree. And subsequent employers probably won’t even need that. I would think Cornell is a large enough school that you can find a comfortable niche, but I have no kids there. Good luck with whatever you choose!</p>

6

<p>Learning how to deal with new environment and gain new friends are some thing you must learn out side of academics, some times it is more important than academics because in a society, you must survive with those skills. At Cornell, you will have a great opportunity to be integrated and learn the people handling.</p>