have any of you transferred universities before? any advice? what would you say are good reasons to transfer vs bad ones?

My advice would be to stick it out. You said yourself that you have a habit of running instead of sticking things out. These years are all about change and figuring yourself out. Maybe what you need is not to completely up and change schools, but to start putting yourself out there more. New friends are not going to find you, you have to find a way to meet new people. Maybe try joining a few clubs? I'm sure there are people around you who feel the same way you do. As for your gma, there's not much you can do to change her actions, but you can change how you react to them. Know that this is how she is, but start trying not to let her opinions hurt you so much. "You can't change people, but you can change how you react to them."

I would say that it's a 50/50 decision. I was in a similar position a few years ago. I moved to a city 5-6 hours away and it was basically an engineering school, and although I am an engineering major I absolutely HATED every single second of it. From the minute I got there I regretted my decision in going there, because I'm a big city girl and suddenly I was in a middle of nowhere small town with a crapload of really awkward and creepy guys with questionable hygiene eyeing me as the only girl in their class. There were even a few guys who started following me around everywhere I went ugh. There were no good places to eat, no places to go - I spent every spare moment in my room or at the gym and I was just miserable and hungry and creeped out 24/7. I transferred back to my home town after my first year there to a university I had originally declined and quite honestly I had told myself I wouldn't be caught dead attending, but I'm SO MUCH happier here. I'm about to start my last semester as undergrad and I haven't regretted my decision to transfer for a second. Whether it's a good decision to transfer will unfortunately completely depend on how much you end up liking your new uni.

Coming from a person who has transferred universities herself, if you think you'd feel better transferring, then I say go for it. Well, depends on finances too. If it ends up being cheaper transferring, then I'd say why not?

Here's some of my own personal experience. My freshman year, I commuted to a smaller university that was about 20 minutes away. Sophomore year, I decided to transfer to my state's university. I admit, the biggest reason why I transferred was for extra curricular reasons. This school offered marching band whereas the other school didn't even have a football team, therefore no marching band. The campus was beautiful, but very big. By second semester of sophomore year, I was stuck of what to do. The first semester, I was determined to stay there, even though my mom wanted me to come home. But by second semester, after all of my extra curricular activities ended and I had nothing to do, I became stuck of deciding whether to transfer back to my original school or stay at the state university for the remainder of college. Like you, I had trouble clicking with people. I met people that were nice, sure, but we only stayed acquaintances, for the most part. Back at home, I had my family, my friends, and my boyfriend. Back at home, tuition cost about $3k a semester while tuition and board cost about $8-$9k a semester at the state university. Either way, I had to make a sacrifice. I chose to transfer back to my original school.

Personally, I felt I made the right decision by transferring. There are bits I miss about living on campus at the state university, but I think there are more pros here than there was there. I've made more friends here. I get to spend more time with my family and friends. And yea, I had more independence living on campus, but I still have independence here, too. I make my own decisions. I may not have as much freedom, but I've got enough. Sure, it's good to learn to stick things out. But there's no need to make yourself miserable. It could end up being a wise decision, if you can find a better place that offers a better liberal arts program. And personally, my dad is 55 and is still best friends with his high school friends. They go out practically every Friday. I follow his footsteps, I'm still close with my high school friends. There's nothing wrong with that.

It doesn't hurt to look into it. I'd check out the tuition prices of the school you'd consider vs your current school. See what classes and credits would transfer over, too. I was able to find some course transfer equivalences on my original school's website. If you can't find it, shoot an adviser an email at the place you're considering and talk with them. You don't have to commit. You can tour the campus, speak with an adviser, and that will help you make a decision.

Best of luck :)

thanks for the advice/personal stories guys, they've given me a bit of a reference point. (: the tuition prices for both schools are pretty similar. i'm gonna apply for the other school but i've also decided to join intramural volleyball w one of my housemates and the lgbtq club to hopefully meet some more peeps. if that doesn't work out then i've made my choice.

its a tough decision i hope it works out.