Is it worth it to transfer schools?

Question

After reading my situation, if you were in my position would you transfer schools?

I am an incoming Sophomore at a top 50 ranking university. I did not originally want to go to this school, but I was not accepted into my top choice schools during Senior year of high school so I went here instead. After going here I realized that I still had thoughts of transferring schools, but after considering the pros and cons I still have trouble deciding. 

Pros and Cons of Current School

Pros:
-Extremely active, fun campus. 
-A vibrant nightlife - parties, bars, etc.
-I am part of several pre-medical clubs and was on the crew (rowing) team Fall semester
-I made a bunch of new friends and made some very close friends
-Am settled down and have a great group of people I am staying in a suite with next semester
-It is near Georgetown and Bethesda so there are many internship opportunities for my intended career choice (cosmetic surgeon)
-The classes are relatively easy and manageable

Cons
I do not feel as though I am fully comfortable at this school. 
- Classes are sometimes dull and not invigorating. The professors are not as captivating and responsive as I had hoped. Sometimes because it is easy I do not feel motivated to learn more.
- A lot of people here do not have the same interests. Most people just want to party at night and do not really want to do more adventurous activities. 
- People here are very casual and slacked. I am probably more or less the traditional preppy type so I tend to be more clean cut and neat.
- A lot of the girls here are, sorry to say, trashy and I do not like their type.

Pros and Cons of Transferring (assuming I get in, to an Ivy League, Stanford, or NYU)

Pros:
- Better professors. Better chance for a more interactive, captivating learning environment
- More sports that I am interested in - rowing, sailing, golf (the school I am at now have them but they are very novice)
- I have friends at those schools and they are very cool and their friends are all smart but know how to have a good time.
- Better internship opportunities in NYU, Cal, and Boston.
- More fitting environment, in my opinion.

Cons
- Far away from home, less convenient
- Leave many awesome old friends
- Less active typical college social life (parties, bars, etc), excluding maybe NYU.
- Starting over, essentially

If it were you would you transfer schools? Why or why not?

elannabean · Accepted Answer

Starting over is never an easy thing to do, but if you are having doubts in that the school you are currently attending is not the best for you, it's good that you are giving it at least a thought. There are a couple other factors you should be looking at, like maybe living expenses? Comparative cost of schooling? It appears that your school now offers many things that you need, but maybe not everything you want. Guaranteed if you transferred you would adapt and make friends just as easily. All you need to do is decide between giving up easier classes for a challenge. If you are up to it- the decision is yours. Good luck on getting accepted and making that decision.

? · Answer

I honestly don't think so. If your friends are that amazing you should definitely still be able to hang out with them even if you don't go the same school anymore. You're still forgetting about homework you'd have to do and don't forget the days where you'll have assignments in every subject plus projects - all due in one day. Getting all of that done then only having about 4-5 hours of sleep is just going to make your days even worse than they are now. You need more sleep than that to function properly. Trust me, I can testify. I suggest trying to at least open up and make a few friends that you can potentially click with or that aren't like the other students that you don't like and survive with that. Ultimately, it's all up to you though. If you don't mind the times, then go for it, I guess. But unless it was some kind of major beneficial school like say Sidwell, (the prestigious school Obama's girls go to and where a whole bunch of political figures send their kids to in DC) I don't think going to a school an hour away is a smart idea at all.

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Is it worth it to transfer schools?

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