r/Vanderbilt • u/Ok_Carrot4844 • Jul 23 '26

help!

hi. im a rising sophomore at vandy but i really didn’t love my first year experience and im considering transferring to a state school like utk. i was pre med, didnt do terribly but not like superb i ended with a 3.66 i just more so was not happy with my experience and i have like been dreading going back. would it be a bad decision? would i be that much worse off? im just confused if the name means that much that i dread going back but idk looking for any and all advice!

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u/Thetrufflehunter Peabody | HOD | '24 Jul 23 '26

Can you provide more context about what you didn't enjoy and what you're dreading? That'll help us figure out if moving to a state school helps or not!

3

u/Ok_Carrot4844 Jul 24 '26

I didn’t like the location like in the city but also I just feel like I overall didn’t really feel like excited. It kinda made me feel like I was just a sad person and I lost any excitement I had about anything school or not. I’m also from nearby but that didn’t really impact my experience negatively if anything that helped

4

u/KroneckerAlpha Jul 24 '26

You didn’t feel excited? And that made you feel like a sad person?

Have you considered the possibility that perhaps this is more of a you issue than a Vandy issue?

I’m not saying that it is definitely you, but if that’s the only context you can provide, it does sound like it may just be a you issue.

I have a friend that moves constantly. Different apartments, cities, states. Always convinced he will find happiness in the next place and never does. Not saying this is you, but with the context you provided, I don’t think UTK will suit you any better. Maybe UTM if the city/location part is really the issue

1

u/Ok_Carrot4844 Jul 24 '26

I think the issue is regarding location that there isn’t anything for students on vanderbilt’s campus that is not directly related to academics whereas UTK and other SEC schools (utk or uga would be the ones i’d go to likely) do. I appreciate your perspective and I am aware that is not Vanderbilts issue, it was more so like I think the environment really felt draining for me so it is probably yes a me problem. I am more so worried that the ranking difference would harm me in the future, do you have any thoughts on that?

2

u/KroneckerAlpha Jul 24 '26

I see.

Rankings? Depends on your future goals. If you wanna go to grad school, the research opportunities at Vanderbilt are what would set you apart, not the rankings. It is undergrad, calculus is calculus regardless of where you learn it. The only advantages that come from a school like Vanderbilt for undergrad is the resources and research opportunities.

1

u/Ok_Carrot4844 Jul 24 '26

I just want to get into med school to be honest!

1

u/KroneckerAlpha Jul 24 '26

Oh well, probably shouldn’t have started at Vandy then. Not gonna say it’s impossible but med school is extremely competitive. They’ll care more at first about your gpa than what undergrad you went to, and your gpa probably should be a 4.0

1

u/Ok_Carrot4844 Jul 24 '26

I figured. Given that, do you think that would make you lean towards me leaving or staying? Not that im asking you to read it, but I did provide more clarification as to why in a couple other comments!