I just completed my first year of undergrad, and I’m considering transferring schools. It’s something that I’ve been toying with for a long time, but there’s so many factors involved that I just can’t make a decision. I was in the top 5% of my class at a rigorous public high school, and the large majority of my academic peers went to large public universities, especially the highly-ranked, research-oriented flagship university in my home state. I was accepted to these same large public colleges, but ended up deciding (on the last possible day) to go to a smaller, regional state school that was cheaper and offered me significantly more money in scholarships. I really enjoyed my first year at this university, but I have never been 100% certain that it is where I am meant to be and that I made the right decision. Even though some of my courses (especially the sciences) came with a bigger workload than I experienced in high school, the work was not necessarily any harder. I am still earning a 4.0 GPA, even as I’ve started to get into higher level classes. I don’t feel as challenged or stimulated as my hometown friends at the flagship schools do (according to what they’ve told me), and I don’t know if I just need to give it more time, or if I should look into transferring. I also feel like I am a little more academically in tune with peers at these more selective schools; even though I have made some great friends and met some very smart people at my college, I still feel like I’m missing out on the diverse and stimulating student body at these bigger universities. I still get jealous when I see my hometown friends’ college pictures, and when I see that seniors from my high school are going to the big schools as well. I want to feel the excitement and the vibrant energy that I imagine (and have witnessed) takes place on these campuses – a 180 from the lukewarm resignation I felt after making my college decision as a senior. My current school doesn’t have much school spirit, and a lot of people transfer to said flagship because they couldn’t get in initially. I don’t like the fact that my school is most people’s second choice, and I hate having to feel like I constantly need to justify my decision to go there. According to the multitude of websites and blogs I scourged, these are all signs that I should transfer. However, there are many cons to transferring as well – first and foremost, I am undecided in my field of study, so I feel like I shouldn’t transfer to a more expensive school in a more expensive city until I know for sure what I want to do. I also want to go to graduate school, so it makes sense to save money during undergrad. In addition, I want to study abroad and travel a lot in the future, so saving money makes sense in this regard too. Lastly, I don’t want to transfer simply because of prestige and reputation, especially if I feel like I haven’t explored every opportunity that my college has to offer. I am happy at my school, but I just wonder if I could be happier elsewhere. However, I’m terrified that I’ll regret my decision, no matter which one I make. Has anyone gone through something similar or have any advice to offer? Thank you in advance, and I apologize for the novel.
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