Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So here's the deal. I'm currently a sophomore at ECU. While I enjoyed it for the first semester, I am now not so sure that this is the right school for me. I am not a fan of the rural environment and feel kinda trapped here. I also am not a huge fan of the student body. And although I completely disagree, ECU has gained a bad wrap in the eyes of the public as the "party school". Although I am not happy here, I LOVe my major, Environmental Health (basically like a health inspector). I want to transfer to NC state and I regret not applying in the first place. The only problem is that NC state has no environmental health program (along with all the other schools that appeal to me.) However, they do have an environmental science program, and this could technically qualify me for environmental health jobs, it just won't be as perfect for me as the EH major here at ECU. So basically, what's better? A great major from a so-so school, or a so-so major from a great school?
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,693,648 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thejackstrap
So here's the deal. I'm currently a sophomore at ECU. While I enjoyed it for the first semester, I am now not so sure that this is the right school for me. I am not a fan of the rural environment and feel kinda trapped here. I also am not a huge fan of the student body. And although I completely disagree, ECU has gained a bad wrap in the eyes of the public as the "party school". Although I am not happy here, I LOVe my major, Environmental Health (basically like a health inspector). I want to transfer to NC state and I regret not applying in the first place. The only problem is that NC state has no environmental health program (along with all the other schools that appeal to me.) However, they do have an environmental science program, and this could technically qualify me for environmental health jobs, it just won't be as perfect for me as the EH major here at ECU. So basically, what's better? A great major from a so-so school, or a so-so major from a great school?
Go with the best major program for the job that you want. My niece went to a very small school in a very small town in a very, very rural town in Pennsylvania. She's not having a problem with getting a job. Her friends who went to colleges in more fun locations are spinning their wheels. Look at it this way. . .you're going to school to learn what you need to learn, not have a bang-up good time.
My niece did her research on programs for her chosen major & chose accordingly. There was nothing fun or exciting about that town unless your idea of fun is watching the Amish buggies roll down the road. I suspect that you can have more fun than that.
Work hard. Get good grades. The rest will take care of itself. Good luck.
I originally felt the same way about ECU after my first year. I hated Greenville (still kinda do). Many of the students were from rural areas and were very conservative or almost redneck acting. Once I started taking more classes in my major and moved off campus, I started the appreciate the university more and more.
Looking back on it, I wouldn't have gone anywhere else. NCSU is too much of a sausage fest and too technology based, plus the campus is ugly. UNC is too preppy for me. The only other place I would have considered is App State.
IF you can do it, become an environmental engineer. Many more career opportunities and you will have a real degree with a real benefit. Not sure NC State is all that much better than ECU, but an engineering degree, with environment in front of it, will be the best. Good Luck. Va Tech and Ga Tech are well respected "locally." State has the program, good enough but not great!
Forget fun for four years, bust your butt, and have fun ($$) the remainder of your 50 year working life.
IF you can do it, become an environmental engineer. Many more career opportunities and you will have a real degree with a real benefit. Not sure NC State is all that much better than ECU, but an engineering degree, with environment in front of it, will be the best. Good Luck. Va Tech and Ga Tech are well respected "locally." State has the program, good enough but not great!
I think most people will tell you NC State has a better reputation than ECU.. It isn't GA Tech or MIT, but it's the best in the state for engineering. Anyone who can finish an engineering degree at a respected school is OK in my book.
Forget fun for four years, bust your butt, and have fun ($$) the remainder of your 50 year working life.
This is an outdated paradigm. The Post War American Boom has ended; a degree no longer guarantees anything. Even an engineering degree.
I'm biased since I'm an ECU alum (Go Pirates!) but I would stick it out at ECU if I were you. State is a good school with good programs but since you already have a few semesters invested into ECU and the school has the major you want I would stay. I wouldn't worry about the "party school" reputation, all of my friends and myself included have good jobs with our ECU degrees. The only time the party reputation comes up is when we're joking about it at work, honestly no one really cares that much. Another thing you have to take into consideration is the cost if you decide to transfer, state runs a little higher than ECU.
NCSU has a better reputation overall than ECU as far as "tier", but if you are really interested in your program, what matters is how that program is in whatever school. Have you looked into other places in the UNC system? I don't know how Env programs are at the various schools, but one thing I can tell you about college in general is that your mindset during Freshman year can and will change a few times before you graduate, perhaps drastically, so maybe find a group to get involved in at ECU and make a different "class" of friends? IT's true what they say that "it's not what you know, it's whom you know" when it comes to the working world, and college is really the last time in life that you will have the ease of meeting lots of new people, some of whom will drop by the wayside but some who will become lifetime friends. I'm not ignoring academics, but networking really is important even in college.
Otherwise, we don't really know you well enough to tell you definitively that one school or one program is better for you. Maybe just do a little more research into the NCSU program and come visit NCSU sometime to see how you can imagine going there? You wouldn't be transferring until Jr Yr anyway, right?
EDIT: Oh sorry, I thought you said you were a Freshman. I guess you do need to know pretty soon about transferring. But this site really isn't the best place for academic advice. Talk to counselors and try to find a time to visit Raleigh and NCSU.
I think Francois said the most important thing. Visit the campus and area. You may not like ECU, but you may find that you like the area or culture around NCSU less. A visit is well worth the time and effort.
Stick with your major, IMO...college is just a temporary time, your job will be for much longer.
ECU is also a big school, you just have to find the folks that are more like you. Are you in clubs and/or intramurals?
Here's another thing to do, IMO....GET A JOB. Part-time, volunteer, something...it will allow you to meet people, take up time and maybe earn some money along the way.
The reality of the "school" you attend is that it will not matter after you get your first or second real job. At that point it will matter what you do in your job. In other words, you are not going to get a better salary for being a health inspector because you have a degree from State compared to ECU.
The reality of the "school" you attend is that it will not matter after you get your first or second real job. At that point it will matter what you do in your job. In other words, you are not going to get a better salary for being a health inspector because you have a degree from State compared to ECU.
That is true, but back to what I said about, "it's not what you know, but whom you know..." If NCSU is (let's say) a higher-caliber school, then you'll know more people with higher-caliber jobs out in the working world with whom you can network. This is one of the biggest reasons people go to Ivy League schools--just as much for the networking as the education. You just never know when having been to X school (it could just as well be true for ECU, of course) could get you an "up"; I interviewed for a position when I was almost 50, well into my career, and it turned out that the interviewer had been at UNC the same time I was. Did this help me get the job? I don't know, but I'm sure it didn't hurt.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
