I am originally from a liberal city in Northern California. All four years of high school I dreamt of going to college in Southern California. I was forced to go to a small, all girls Catholic high school by my mother. It was really a horrible social experience, and I stuck with my two best friends who were b*tches. I was pretty much sticking it out until I could go to an awesome college. I imagined the typical college experience being in warm weather, partying, and being in a sorority.
I ended up getting rejected from all of my California schools, but I got accepted to Boston College which is ranked about 30th in the country. I was really against going, but my mom pushed it upon me. We also got about half financial aid. There were a lot of factors that played into it, but first semester I basically failed all of my classes. That’s what you get when you unwillingly ship me across the country. I realize it was a terrible mistake and I do feel a lot of guilt. I am now back at the evening school making up credits and doing much better this semester.
The school is not a completely miserable place, but I just feel like it’s not for me. I am against the basic idea of it: a small, religious affiliated college in FREEZING weather. The social scene is horrible. The kids are most often wealthy, sheltered, and very judgmental. The people are pale and not good looking. It is very hard for me to relate to students here, and although there are exceptions, I know that if I graduate from here I am going to have a lot of resentment toward the school and less friends than I would at another school. Students who think like me and want to party would definitely avoid this school. One of the only friends I made here is a senior guy who hates the school, regrets not transferring, and lives off campus. He recommended that I transfer. I just don’t think it’s ironic that he is one of the coolest people I’ve met in college.
On to logistics: I ruined my GPA and chances of transferring directly from the school. I could do community college at home, but I have a horrible family situation (bipolar father who talks to himself and is doing badly, and overbearing argumentative mother) and I would be 50 times more miserable than at BC. Leaving home was a big part of me going to college. It is also hard to get classes and would probably take over 2 years to graduate. All CA community colleges have a guaranteed transfer program to UCSB where you need only a 3.2 GPA to get in. I was thinking I could go to community college in Santa Barbara because it is the number one community college in the country. People come from all over the world and there is housing. It would be about $17,000 per year for community college while BC for us is about $60,000 per year for us. I would hardly care if I didn’t make friends because I would be so ecstatic to be living in that area. I would also have the ability to transfer out to a school like UCLA or USC, or perhaps go back to BC (doubtfully).
I don’t want to sound like a spoiled brat, but I just feel like the cost of BC is not worth what it will get me in the future. Because I have the benefit of being a California resident, I can get guaranteed transfer to UCSB which is ranked about 10 places below BC, but higher for social aspects. If I change my mind, I can transfer to UCLA. At BC, I am in the Arts and Sciences although I would like to major in something business related. It is well known that is basically impossible to transfer to the business school, so my only option is to major in Economics within A&S, and who knows maybe I will hate this major?!
My mom calls me an idiot and says she will not pay for SBCC. Yet she will continue to pay for BC even though it is likely to not get me anywhere? I would just like to direct her money in the most efficient way where I can be happy, and I feel like SBCC is a great, responsible choice, and I am willing to get a job while I am there. It will also give me time to figure out what I want and to get familiar with Southern California. UCSB is also great academically, and starting over I will be able to get my GPA up and get more job prospects. I am also interested in working in California after college, and companies here are more familiar with UCs than BC.
Advice?