I figured I'd put this up here because it's what I was looking for last year when I was looking into schools.
I started my freshman year at my state school. It was a good school, I was in a prestigious program-it was no where near my first choice, but it was exceedingly cheap and I thought that I may be able to make myself happy there. I deposited really early, before the majority of my class had even heard back from colleges.
After the initial excitement of committing to a college wore off, I began to second guess my decision. Other acceptances came in-some to schools I had fallen in love with, some to schools that I hadn't even toured-and I realized that I may have made a really rash decision. My parents really loved the school I had committed too, and I still thought I could make it work, so I headed there in the fall.
Right off of the bat, I really wasn't happy. It was more than typical nerves or adjustment-I could tell I was in the wrong place. I wasn't much for the crazy party life, and there wasn't much to do in the surrounding town; I made friends, joined clubs, and put myself out there, By the end of November, it still wasn't feeling anywhere close to right-I talked to my parents, and after a bit of fighting I began to apply for the fall 2015 semester at several other schools.
I was accepted to my top choice school. There were still nerves when I arrived, but I also realized that I felt at home here. It didn't matter that I didn't know anyone or that I was in a new environment-I felt right on my campus. Being happy meant I was more apt to put myself out there. It's been three weeks-I don't really have any friends here yet (which you shouldn't expect anyway-it's hard for freshmen to make friends in three weeks, and a lot of students have already found their group by sophomore year) but I'm still happy here.
Transferring is not a magic cure-all solution. You will be starting over, and you'll have to make new friends. If you're transferring because you honestly believe the other school is a better fit for you, you'll be happy even when you're trying to meet people. That doesn't mean you're never going to get stressed out, but you'll love where you are, and that helps.
Hopefully this helps someone out there!
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