Should I Transfer To Another College?

Question

There are a lot of things I like about Duke, but Duke is too 'jocky', politically apathetic, and surprisingly anti-intellectual. I'm not a fan of Duke's social scene for the most part. The one thing I have in common with many Blue Devils is Super Smash Bros(which is a good thing)! I have a lot of acquaintances but haven't made too many close friends because I don't have a lot in common with the people who go there. Right now, I am thinking of majoring in math. I will either go for pre-law or possibly pre-med (leaning more towards law though).

Will I be able to avoid the things I don't like about Duke at Brown, Columbia, Chicago, Swarthmore, and Dartmouth? (Top five choices, if I decide to transfer)

NOTE: I will not have people vote on Best Answer this time, I'll pick it myself.

Other facts: I am from Long Island, NY and am currently a freshman.
I applied ED to Duke last year and that was it.
However, I was going to be applying to all the other schools on my list if I didn't get in.

Also the main thing I really do like about Duke is that it is academically rigorous (more so than high school) and I have met some people here that I enjoy hanging out with. I'm in a FOCUS group which has some really interesting seminars and my math/science classes are challenging, which I hoped for.

Answer 1

You can probably avoid those precise problems at the schools you mention, but that doesn't mean that you wouldn't face a completely different set of issues. Actually, now that I think of it, I'm not sure that if you were to go to any of those particular schools, you would find the students much more politically-involved or intellectual, at least if what you mean is that you would like an environment in which impromptu intellectual or political discussions were likely to break out at any moment.

There are things we don't know about you which make this hard to assess from the outside. Given the other choices you are considering, I'm wondering if you aren't from the Northeast; that might be why you would find the Southern environment a bit of a shock. In that case, you might be more comfortable at some of the other schools which share your regional style. Certainly there is a combativeness common to most New Yorkers and even Bostonians which would be considered "impolite" in North Carolina, and you may be reading that as apathy. Southern culture could also explain your sense of it as being "jocky". Sports play a huge role there.

For a math major, Chicago and Columbia would be fantastic, albeit very competitve, but I don't get a sense that you are shying away from that. I would see those at Chicago as deeply engaged in their academic disciplines, while not necessarily involved beyond that intellectually or politically, while Columbia has a somewhat broader intellectual mission. Swarthmore is definitely more political and intellectual, but more of a liberal arts school - it would be good for the pre-law part of what you are aiming for, but probably less focused on math. Dartmouth is, of course, much smaller. I have had a lot of respect for the faculty I have known there, and they do seem to be fostering an intellectual environment. I'll have to admit that Brown is an enigma to me, the one Ivy I never seem to hear anything about.

You haven't told us how long you have been at Duke. Is this your first semester? In that case, close friendships may be unreasonable to expect yet. If it is your sophomore year, I might feel a little differently about it.

Overall, I would think about the things you like about Duke (you haven't told us what they are) and whether they are worth giving up to get the things you are lacking there. I would realize that there may be no one perfect school, but think about what you had hoped to attain in your undergraduate education and where you might best get that (it sounds like you are planning to go on to professional school, so you will have another chance to experience a different educational environment later on). One of the advantages of the current online social networking is that you can contact people at some of these other places on Facebook or MySpace and ask them directly about their experiences, even if you have never personally met students at those schools. Find someone at each school whose profile seems similar to your own and ask how they feel about their school. You may be able to better judge the appropriateness of a transfer after getting a sense of whether your frustrations are merely those common to all people like yourself, or whether those at other schools seem to have found a better fit than you have.

Answer 2

Well, I hate to tell you but no matter where you go, you're not going to find a huge difference.

You see, when I was in high school, I had these grand dreams about college. I pictured college as the ultimate place for intellectuals to meet to discuss issues, to change the world! I thought that there would be protests and coffee shop meetings and open mic nights. How wrong I was.

You'll never find a great college that has all that at a state school, Ivy League school, or otherwise. But there are people at your school that feel the same way! Create a group for people like you, host meetings at your dorm or apartment. You'll never find a perfect school, just like you'll never find a perfect place to live, most likely. But what you can do is what the above user suggested. Change what you don't like. And be what it is you want to see in the school. There are other students who feel the way you do, and if they see you being what they envisioned students at Duke being, they might join you, and you could have a grand time. ;) I hope that helps!

Answer 3

Try this: Focus your energy on making Duke better.