Transferring

[Molly-sama]

Ooookay, so here's the newest topic where the almost 20-year old Molly lists something stupid as a problem but still kindly asks for help for being too cowardly to talk to anyone in person:

So...my school just got its graphic art design classes, and we have these awesome (giant) new Macs, but the scanner doesn't work, the tablets won't be around (and they won't let me use mine as an "unfair advantage"...as if I know how to use it all that well haha) til next semester OR the one after, and we can only do so much at a time because we only have the two classes a week plus a lab. No one but the teacher has a key (instead of the code lock the painting/printing studios have), so we have crappy deadlines, too. Basically my professor described it as graphic art in the ghetto (at a school where tuition is around $22,000 a semester).

I'd be able to transfer at the beginning of my third year (after this semester) if only for a few issues:

1. Some of the schools I've looked at are far away, and I'm worried about if (and when) I might slip into that bit of depression I have a habit of finding myself in.

2. My family basically has no money for me to do this. I could transfer to a few schools with smaller classes and less tuition money, but the ones that I could go to that are close to home would make up for the tuition with the amount of supplies I'd need for class, transfer fees, and no one could give me a ride like I can get now (which I now need thanks to cars dropping like flies in my family). Scholarships would help, but since my second semester, I've been trying for some and gotten none, spare another $1000 at my current school. Any school away from home is a problem since they are...away from home. I'd have little means to support myself, have no car, and am a little anxious when all alone.

3. I have trouble meeting people. Like, a LOT of trouble. I spent my first half of my first semester in college without many people to talk to and the second semester with two friends (though we're still friends, and I love them dearly). The friends and my boyfriend that I met at this school make me so happy and put up with me when I get depressed, and I'd hate to be distant from them. I also have NO self-confidence or anything of the sort, so my friends push me into doing more than half the things that get me into the real world (trying out for choir, trying out for solo auditions, putting any of my art/any form of my voice on the internet, asking out my bf, etc).

4. My school is considered to be a pretty nice one, but not so much for art. Still, even with an art degree, a lot of people apparently show it some respect (at least as told to me by a couple of girls who graduated from the school of arts two years ago).

On the flip side:

1. I might actually learn something art related that doesn't feel like a high school review (graphic art aside).

2. There might be decent supplies for graphic art, and I could get into the classes easier (it was a headache getting the schedule in order) with a way to work on our projects.

3. I could maybe try living on my own. It might not be as bad as I think it'd be. And I might end up somewhere new and meet people there.

So...I don't know what to do, or if I shouldn't do anything at all and just wait to see if my school picks up the pace on these classes. Money is the problem with no real guaranteed solution (though that's even without transferring), and I'm socially....retarded, really (okay, so two problems with no solution).

[Id Engager]

I don't know if I have the best advice in the world for you. But I am more or less in a similar situation. However, I want more than ANYTHING to get the (insert foul language) out of here. Clearly you are reluctant because you have many people you care about. Art School is really expensive but I decided that because I am doing art because I love it and not because I expect lots of money out of it right away and I know that I will be putting lots of my very own money into it.

It seems like where you are the resources aren't that great and the disorganization seems to bother you. I think it's ridiculous they won't let you use your tablet. So what if you have an advantage; in the real world people use their advantages and nothing is fair.

Anyway, I think you should see what's really important right now and see how you can communicate with your family and friends in other ways besides in person if you go away. Hopefully, when you transfer, you might even be happier in a better environment and make more friends easier because you'll have more in common....

I feel like I have made more friends just in college because I have more in common with people who take similar classes.

Depression really sucks. My boyfriend has it pretty bad, too but I think he's much better about it just because he's been doing things that he's happier about like finally getting his own place and have a sense of freedom. Those are things I myself really really want and I decided that if I have to sacrifice it then so be it.

I think you can manage to figure out what will make you happiest. I think it was smart to measure your pros and cons. Perhaps you can think on it a bit more as well.

I'm sorry if this was hard to decipher and I hope it helps a little if at all

[JCM]

I suggest you just stay and wait it out, since it's the less expensive option (and I'm offended at your use of the word "retarded", by the way).

[Molly-sama]

It does help, Id Engager! Really. I want to get out on my own, but there's this kind of haunting thought that I'm abandoning the good things I already have. But your points about depression, and I've thought about that, too.

Disorganization really bothers me when it affects the things you already have to work for. My school's been begging for this program for years and when they finally got it, they started dragging their feet on every little thing. It drives me loony when you act like you should be rewarded something when you can't get your act together (not that I'm knocking them getting the class). What's even more mind boggling is why they're having us do things on a deadline and projects much like "the real world," so that whole tablet thing doesn't make sense.

Good thing about their disorganization is that I might be able to sell them my old scanner, so maybe there is something to be said for that. XD

The problem of money comes from both sides, though, JCM. There's just different ways it's flying out (from the tuition I'm paying now and supplies vs. moving, tuition, supplies, etc). Also, if you really were offended, sorry for ya, but that's pretty much how I speak/type/whatever and isn't meant to offend anyone. Again, though, that kind of points out the fact that I have trouble around people.

Again on the money issue, I got into a conversation with my dad about the whole money issue last night after posting this even, mainly because his funds are short as is. I'm staying at his place because of how close it is to my school (aaaand the pet cat is mine to take care of now lol) so my friends can give me rides without going too far out of their way. But the way he explains it makes it seem like he blames me for even being in school. This is something he goes on about every single semester, and it's getting old and makes me want to move. Unfortunately, I get my money from him and my mom and have no means to get a job (even if I found one online, there's the whole matter of getting to the job each day) since his car is dead. I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place on that. My mom points out that I can get a scholarship to wherever I want to go, but that hardly covers living expenses. Buuuut living expenses are tight where I'm at, too.

Long paragraph short, the money issue will be an issue either way.

[Id Engager]

Ugh, if there's one thing I hate more than ANYTHING it's money. It's all about money. The way I found my job was actually from my school. I don't get paid very much but it's better than nothing. See if you can find a job at your school and begin saving it like KURAZY. That's what I'm doing. Sometimes I see things I really want and think OH MAN I REALLY WANT THAT (lol) and then I think WAIT. Don't I reallyyy want to go to a nice school and get nice things... and it helps. It helps a LOT actually.

and JCM don't get offended over stupid shit. I have a cousin who is mentally disabled and I never take "retarded" in context when I say or read it. It's better than using "shit-head" or "asshole" I think THOSE are way more offensive.

Molly, I hope things work out. Your dad should understand that this is for your future and the only way you can give back is working hard in school.

[Molly-sama]

I know...that's one of the main things my parents still fight about. Money, money, money....necessary evil I guess...but yeah, I need that will power. XD I have what I think is a genetic deficiency in holding onto money in order to buy things I don't need (though when I'm on a budget I'm better about it than my sister or even my dad sometimes). It should be easier for me to find a job now, since a few more stores have opened around here (never thought about on campus, though I'm not sure where I could get one. Most jobs are work/study related, and I have an assignment for that already). ^^

I think my dad gets it. I just hate it when he acts that way and says things like that. Kinda makes me wish he put more thought into the things he says or at least worded things better.

[kingv]

Just got done reading all the comments made here and i have to say that this whole situation is eerily similar to one i went through a while back. After high school i wanted to go to college to persue an art career but i didn't have all the funds in order to get into the school i really wanted to. So i settled for one that was middle of the road. Ya know, not so cheap that i'm in school with everyone i went to HS with but not so expensive that going there would leave me bankrupt. So i picked a school that was close enough for me to reach on public transportation since i didn't have a car and my family is stingy with rides. It was fairly new though so it had its share of issues. Programs we needed not being installed before the class started, lack of materials like scanners, and over crowded labs . I've even had a few teachers who made crazy deadlines in order to give us the real world experience but only succeeded in making things so much harder than they needed to be. Some of the teachers that taught me aren't even there anymore. They moved on to other things like working for video game companies and starting their own graphic design businesses. In the end i did graduate but i still wonder if it was all worth it. I learned things but i didn't feel like i learned enough...

It's crazy that they won't even let you use your tablet. They should be glad! I know some AP art classes are even using them now so it's better to get acquainted with tablet work as soon as possible.

Parents are always going to complain about the cost of school unless you're one of the lucky ones. School is an investment in yourself and the only way you'll get back from it is what you put in to begin with. So if you feel that you'd be better off else where they i say go. The longer you stay the more your debts will accumulate. I have a friend that went to college for 2 months then transferred out and now owes the school he left almost $10,000. Its crazy!It would have made since for him to stick it out since he already put so much money towards the school but he wasn't happy there. And if your not happy then whats the point of staying and dealing with all that drama?

In the end if i could go back and transfer schools i more than likely would have. It would have been more work but in the end i think it would have made me a stronger person.

Hoped my 2 cents helped you some if only by letting you know that you're not alone and that people out there understand. And wish you the best of luck in whatever you decide to do.

By the way, and i still get the money talks even to this day. They never stop. ^_^

[Molly-sama]

On the money: Oi. XD The REALLY crappy part is that at my school, I AM one of the lucky ones. In the past 10 years, only one guy got a free ride (info from a friend who works in the financial aid dept.) ever. I got the second best, where they pay half your tuition (though I didn't know it until this year). So each semester we have to pay a little over $11,000 rather than the $22,000. Still a lot though. But if the talks never end, then I guess I'll just have to pick a catchy song to repeat in my head...

For the rest: Thanks, it does help to know your experience. It IS oddly similar....maybe it's more normal than I thought? lol. Either way, if I can't learn enough, then I'll most likely transfer. I'll just keep my eye on how they're developing it (the School of Arts here is a tad small anyway, so it shouldn't be too difficult to do). And if they don't pick up the pace I'll be out if I can. Even one of my teachers commented on how she went to art school with studio classes at over 3 hours long, but ours are only 1 or 1 1/2 hours. Which I agree isn't nearly long enough.

Sometimes I think I should only continue to finish the gen ed. (got one more of those classes to do) for School of Arts and for the university courses so that if I were to switch to something else, I could just ignore them later.

And on the tablet, I KNOW! I need all the practice I can get with the thing, so why not? It's digital art for crying out loud. XD I can get where they may not want anyone to complain, but geez! They can go buy their own. I got mine for under $50, as did a good friend of mine, and they already charge us for everything else (mine's even a normal WACOM, so it's not an obscure brand).

[FailureConfetti]

the tablets won't be around (and they won't let me use mine as an "unfair advantage"

Wait... WHAT? How can someone have an "unfair advantage" in school?! It's school! It's not a competition! You aren't competing for the teacher's praise or good grades! That makes no sense. That's like saying someone with better artistic skills, or a more expensive paint brush has an "unfair advantage", so they need a handicap. The school should be encouraging you to do your best, not limiting you because you can't have an "unfair advantage"! I'm a photography minor, and I don't even have my own camera, yet I'm not taking other people's cameras because they have an "unfair advantage" over me. No, I work with what I have.

Sorry for the rant. I just have no idea why a school would say that. As I said, they should be encouraging you to do the very best you can, not limiting you. *irked*

[Molly-sama]

the tablets won't be around (and they won't let me use mine as an "unfair advantage"

Wait... WHAT? How can someone have an "unfair advantage" in school?! It's school! It's not a competition! You aren't competing for the teacher's praise or good grades! That makes no sense. That's like saying someone with better artistic skills, or a more expensive paint brush has an "unfair advantage", so they need a handicap. The school should be encouraging you to do your best, not limiting you because you can't have an "unfair advantage"! I'm a photography minor, and I don't even have my own camera, yet I'm not taking other people's cameras because they have an "unfair advantage" over me. No, I work with what I have.

Sorry for the rant. I just have no idea why a school would say that. As I said, they should be encouraging you to do the very best you can, not limiting you. *irked*

Oh, I'm fine with the rant. Believe me, I went off when I heard it. But the teacher said I can "play with it" when I'm not busy. But I can't use it on projects, and we're only in class/the lab while working. So in other words, no. Guh.

I guess they aren't connecting digital with paint brushes yet. It's definitely one of the worst parts about this thing.

[FailureConfetti]

Oh, I'm fine with the rant. Believe me, I went off when I heard it. But the teacher said I can "play with it" when I'm not busy. But I can't use it on projects, and we're only in class/the lab while working. So in other words, no. Guh.

I guess they aren't connecting digital with paint brushes yet. It's definitely one of the worst parts about this thing.

*sigh* It just seems ridiculous to me. I guess you can play with it on your own, though. But I really think they should be helping you, instead of limiting you.