• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
College Magazine logo

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
    • Find Your College
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
Home » Latest Posts » Why Not Transferring was the Best Decision for Me
Life

Why Not Transferring was the Best Decision for Me

Facebook Tweet
Corinn Schmieg   November 16, 2016

I read all the articles, looked all the sites and had done all my homework. I made the decision to transfer schools. I hated my school, the program, the location, pretty much everything about it. After almost two years at my small liberal arts school in Iowa, I was done with small towns and even more done with small town people. I hung out in Minneapolis as much as I could back in high school. From a small town, I grew tired of the way that everyone gossiped. I hate to say it, but I also got sick of “small town nice.”

I picked out the school I wanted to transfer to, and I was ready to finish my application. Strangely enough, I wanted to transfer to another liberal arts school, but this one sat smack dab in the middle of the Twin Cities. They also have a better writing program than the school I ended up at, which to me seemed like a win-win all around.

This story really starts before I even chose what college I wanted to go to. It starts with kindergarten, when I first started taking piano lessons. I immediately loved playing the piano. In fourth grade, I started to play guitar. In fifth, I began saxophone lessons. When I wanted a new challenge, I messed around with different instruments like the flute, the ukulele and the clarinet. I couldn’t get enough music in my life. As a sophomore in high school, I wanted a new challenge. So I began to take cello lessons. It was pretty obvious that I was going to major in music.

When I started to look for colleges, I looked specifically at their music programs. I applied to seven schools, including Luther College, the school I ended up choosing. My choice wasn’t made easily though, as my senior year of high school came with physical therapy and doctor appointments.

The idea of being a musician felt less and less probable with each doctor I saw. No one could explain why my hands constantly hurt and went numb. March rolled around, which meant it was too late to find a school I loved that didn’t revolve around music, too late to apply anywhere else. Luther and another private college topped my list, but I couldn’t decide between them. After a lot of thought, I flipped a coin and chose Luther.

One semester into my college experience, I wanted nothing more than to transfer to a place where I fit in better. My parents said no, and that I needed to try harder. I decided to stay at Luther. To try to make myself happier, I changed my major to psychology even though I still participated in music ensembles like band. Second semester, I found new friends and actually began to feel like I fit in, at least a little bit. Sophomore year came around and I took an English class and wanted to change my major again. Changing my major was half the battle, and the other half involved finding new people.


trending

444

10 Student Organizations Breaking the Mold at Berkeley

181

Top 10 Spots Around Emerson College to Get Inspired

159

Top 10 Ways to Spot a UT Austin Alum


I started to join activities again during the fall and spring of my sophomore year. I pledged a sorority and joined the rugby team just hoping to find more friends. It worked pretty well. I wouldn’t trade my friends for the world. Academics still posed a problem, though. The program just wasn’t for me. I also missed the city. It’s hard to go from constantly being in a big city to living in a town that doesn’t even have a Target. No joke, the nearest Target is over an hour away.

I found the perfect school for me—Macalester. It offered a great writing program and it was in the city. Overall, it felt more like home even when I walked around campus. I even met with an advisor from that school. I felt like my dreams were coming true, until I learned the price. This private school didn’t offer scholarships to transfer students. I couldn’t afford their full tuition.

It completely crushed my dreams, but I tried to stay positive about continuing my education at Luther. I tried to find classes that really interested me. I took a class last year that taught me to make movies out of poetry. I’ve taken classes from two completely different fields and found a way relate them back to each other through my class projects. Some classes (like rhetoric) taught me to stretch myself in ways I never imagined.

Now in junior year, I’ve learned that the program and the place don’t make or break the college experience. I made plans to study abroad for a semester, so I wouldn’t have to spend my last two years in a small town. Now I get a chance to explore the world. And I’ve also come to terms with the fact that it doesn’t really matter what undergrad I go to if I can go to a decent grad school. In hindsight, I wasted a lot of time trying to decide whether to transfer, and I wouldn’t want to leave now.

About Corinn Schmieg

Corinn loves music, dogs, rugby and peanut butter. She dreams of writing novels in a loft in New York City, but for the time being, she’s a junior English and Psychology major at Luther College in Iowa.

What I Wish I Had Known About Mental Health So I Wouldn’t Have to Call Myself a College Dropout

Ant-Man Opens the Doors for Marvel’s New Phase

10 Boba Tea Spots for Houston College Students

10 Ways to Have Fun with Your Friends Indoors

Do You Actually Care, Or Do You Want to Look Like You Do?

unsplash.com

Top Ten Inspirational Quotes from Your Favorite Sports TV Shows

I lived with my three best friends. Here’s how it went.

21 Things to Do in Williamsburg When You’re Under 21

The Beauty and Pain of Living Alone

Previous Post:Get Linked In with LinkedIn
Next Post:Top 10 College Marching Bands

colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

College Magazine logo

Copyright © 2023 Powered by BizBudding