Leaving for either University of Tennessee or Memphis State (Knoxville: homes, transfer to)

[Glace]

I'm gonna be leaving for college this fall, and I'm having a hard time figuring out whether or not if I want to go to University of Tennessee in Nashville, or Memphis State University in Memphis.

I almost want to go to Nashville. Mainly because I feel like it's gonna have more to offer me and be a bit safer, but I doubt it's safer. I want to go to Memphis because it's closer to home and I often read that it's less oriented around country music, and is more world famous. Memphis is an hour away, while Nashville is two hours away, which seems to be a big deal to my parents.

The truth is, I don't know where to begin finding out which city is best for me. The only reason I started to dislike the idea of moving to Memphis is the fact that when I asked my teacher and fellow students in this RODP class of mine about it, my teacher said that she didn't like Memphis either of the two times she visit, and some of the students from Nashville said it's a great place to live. Also, my dad said that because so many places have closed in Memphis, there's not much to do there. Still, I'm pretty sure Memphis will be more incredible than Jackson or Dyersburg.

On the other hand, my Shotokan Sensei said that Memphis seemed to him to be a pretty nice place to go. Though he didn't say much about it. I WILL be closer to my family, but only by one hour, which doesn't sound like much, but maybe it is, considering gas prices and such. There's only 24 hours in the day, we usually spend 6-8 hours of it sleeping, when mom and dad visit Nashville or I visit home, I'm most likely am gonna stay there for 2-4 hours or longer when considering that I most likely won't usually get to visit. That total of roughly 4 hours of driving time can make quite a difference...I guess.

Also, my sister is planning on moving over to Memphis, but I have yet to determine if this is gonna be a good thing or a bad thing. >_>


To me, that extra hour doesn't sound like much, even though I don't have that much confidence in my driving yet and am not used to driving at night yet. Actually, part of the reason I chose to go to college in Nashville was to be a compromise between family and current friends, and freedom and experience. There are people in my family that I do love or at least like but don't know very well, but like most families, some family members like to start trouble and drama and leech off of one another.

While I doubt family members are just gonna start creeping out of the wood work and trying to get me mixed into things or just plain annoy me, I still kind of want to just have a fresh start. At the same time, I WOULD like to have someone like my big sister or parents to be close by enough to be able to help me when I need a bit of guidance.

After saying all of this, Memphis is starting to sound better. Especially since I've also seen people on here rant about Nashville, so I guess some of this has to do with personal opinions. All I really know about Nashville is that it's a fairly big city (but no NYC), it's pretty cool, has SOME nice attractions and places, good (but mostly expensive) colleges, and that it's the music capital of the country. As well as a big country music city, which I don't really care for country music.

While i don't expect to see a huge diversity of people in either city, I DO know that, like I stated, Memphis is more popular and better known all over the world, but Nashville is, from what I read, close to an airport. Also, UTN has a study abroad program. With that and the fact that I will be on my own in mind, if I ever want to see more places, and/or if I'm not entirely happy with Nashville or the current college I'm at, I can always transfer to another college, drop out (but I don't plan on dropping out), move to another city, move to another country (but not easily, nor cheaply), and so on.

So, I was wondering, what are the ups and downs about Memphis and Nashville? A place with a variety of shops, close to campus, schools for learning things like instrument playing, art, fencing and martial arts or even getting involved in competitions for said things, a nice park and/or some sort of good places for entertainment or socialization (can include clubs, though I don't really like clubs) would be nice. I have also read so far, that Nashville has a more tidy, upbeat, big city/metropolis feel I want, while Memphis , like my dad said, is more run down. I'm not really looking for too much of someone's personal opinion here, since they tend to be a bit biased.

[jabogitlu]

Honey, UT Nashville was merged into Tennessee State University decades ago. Likewise, Memphis State became University of Memphis in 1994. Also, most state-run universities and even most private universities and colleges have study abroad programs or access to nation-wide study abroad programs. You might want to do some more research before you make a decision.

[Glace]

Lol, yeah, I kind of forget the names of the colleges sometimes. Partially because my mom and dad has a habit of calling them by their old names. However, I didn't know most colleges have study abroad programs.

I really should do more research before choosing any place. Still, I'm pretty much decided on going to Memphis or Nashville.

[nashvols]

I think the decision would be more between the University of Memphis and Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro (~30 miles outside of Nashville). If the choice is between Memphis and what UT-Nashville has become (TSU), then I would absolutely choose U Memphis. It's a much better school.

If MTSU is in play, then it really depends on the area of study. Memphis is a better overall school, but MTSU is very strong in certain areas. Murfreesboro isn't going to provide you the larger city atmosphere that Memphis has...it's an exurb of Nashville with about 110,000 people. If you would rather live in a larger city environment, score another point for Memphis. You can live in Nashville and commute to MTSU...but it would be a long commute and I wouldn't suggest it. However, visiting Nashville on weekends is quite easy if you live close to campus.

As jabogitlu said, pretty much everywhere has some sort of study abroad. That shouldn't be a consideration, here.

[BirdieBelle]

I grew up in Memphis, lived there 25 years, and have now lived in the Nashville area for 22 years.

I've attended both MTSU and Memphis.

You just need to visit both schools. Right now you are a mixed-up jumble of halfway accurate internet research and family members' prejudicial generalizations.

Both cities have a lot to offer, but you need first-hand knowledge ASAP. Visit!!!

What do you want to major in?

[Glace]

Well, I'm not too sure about what I want to major in. I've considered being an engineer or scientist, but I don't know just which kind of engineer or scientist I want to be. Energy engineering and aerospace engineering seem like something I would choose to pursue, and so does computer engineering.

Actually, if I get into software engineering and learn how to code, it would benefit me in creating games. I kind of want to get into game development, but I don't really like the looks and sounds of coding, but maybe that's just a part of learning more advance things and achieving careers and life goals.

So far, as far as designing and developing games go and what I've been told about it, the only thing I can really do and should do right now is to continue to try and fully plan out my game concept, practice my 2D drawing and art skills, practice with game maker, and when the time is right, begin working on practice games. Then, once I've really fine-tuned my art style and have gotten some experience in modelling, level design, character design, and maybe even have learned enough coding, I can work on my main Indie game idea, which I'm calling "Farverse" for now.

I kind of feel like my goal of making the game Farverse some day, along with other games, is a more obtainable goal than becoming a great scientist or engineer. Still, I don't really feel like I'm on any road to any of those goals yet. I feel like despite what some people in different gaming communities have told me to focus on (which is my art, primarily), I still don't feel like I'm even getting started on getting closer to making Farverse, nor do I feel even close to being ready to dive into the different things I need to learn to become any kind of engineer or scientist. I'm not even sure what kind of scientist I want to be!

If it helps any, I've always liked the idea of creating or even inventing machines and technology. Especially if it has to do with space. I once wanted to be an astronaut, but not anymore. The idea of being able to invent or engineer different things that can help people and the environment sounds like a noble cause, as well as well-paying. None the less, I currently feel more passionate about art, music, and story-telling. I'm also a bit of a gamer.

I've also considered being a chef, if that's a good career. I'm not sure if it's well-paying, though. I'd much rather just know how to cook very well, rather than to try and make a career out of it.

I also want to learn how to play instruments, and I THINK I'm pretty good at singing, or at least I'm not tone-deaf. However, I don't want a career in music either.

I'm interested in researching things that involve figuring out how people think and behave, and then finding out why. Still, I think there's already a lot of researchers on that. Is being a psychologist a good career choice?


Besides those things, I really need to do more research, though not much else has interested me so far. Which colleges are good for software engineering or programming? Engineering in general? To be honest, I've been homeschooled for roughly half of my highschool years, so I don't have any guidance counsel to ask about this, and like you said, it seems as if my family and friends' opinions on different places are a bit biased, and when it comes to the internet, it's pretty biased and inaccurate as well.

So, yeah. I'm feeling pretty lost right now.

[nashvols]

lol, yeah, you sound pretty lost. But so was I when I entered school.

Are you a Tennessee resident, btw? I'm assuming you are, but I didn't see anything in your initial post.

If you're pretty sure you want to do something in engineering, there's always Tennessee Tech in Cookeville...but it seems like you're not interested in a smaller college town atmosphere.

My suggestion would be UT-Knoxville. They are strong in several engineering related fields, but would offer some well-rounded choices if you ultimately chose to do something else. It's not the best (public) school in the state for everything, but it offers the broadest range of choices.

And Knoxville isn't Memphis or Nashville in terms of city size, but it's no town, either. The campus environment is urban, and there is plenty of stuff to do in the area (plus more outdoors options than what you can find in Memphis or Nashville). The problem is it's getting close to the time to send out your applications. If at all possible, I would strongly suggest visiting each of these campuses on a weekday, while classes are in session (I do believe high schools still allow an excused absence for that?). It might sound like a lot of trouble...but for someone (and don't take this the wrong way) with as many misconceptions as you have about the universities in this state, you really need to take a closer look...in person. See which one feels like the right fit.

If you're attending in the fall, it sounds like you really need to get moving on this.

[brentwoodgirl]

Glace- From an earlier post it sounded like you live in Jackson. Have you ever been to Nashville or Memphis? How about Knoxville? Your original post made it sound like you are not very familiar with the state outside of your town, and that you aren't ready to go very far from your parents yet. Totally understandable. Why not look at a local community college for your first year to take some of the general courses you would need for a bachelor's degree?
You could even look at the University of Memphis Jackson campus for that first year, and then transfer to the Memphis campus if you decide to go there.
Then take weekend trips to visit each of the colleges and cities you are considering. You want to set yourself up for success, and the best way to do thatis to have plenty of information about each place you are considering attending.
Also, UT Knoxville has a good engineering program. If you decide to pursue engineering, I would definitely visit UTK.

[Glace]

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm in Maury City, Tennessee. I really should look at the colleges websites closer, but I honestly am not even entirely sure of what I'm supposed to be looking for on the websites, but from what you've told me, I should really consider UTK.

The main reason I wanted to go to a big city is the possible misconception that if I go to a big city like Memphis or Nashville, there will be a greater variety of things to do, places to go and people to meet, and the fear that if I go to a small college town, not only will there be less to do, but there will be a lesser number and a lesser variety of people, as in, most people will be residents, and most college students will be former high school students who come from the schools nearby, and then it will lead to feelings and treatment of being left out and not belonging. Kind of like now. Still, that's just silly. The same can easily be true about colleges in Nashville and Memphis, and those feelings are gonna occur anyways, unless I don't let them and actually try to make friends and such.

my parents are kind of concerned about me going to Nashville because it's far away, but even they said that what I want matters much more, and it's a pretty safe bet that they're gonna worry either way because...well, they're parents. Still, I don't want to get TOO far away from my parents, but if I go to school in Jackson or Dyersburg, I'd might as well continue living with my parents, and while I don't mean for this to sound like I don't want to be around them anymore, I really want to leave home, get out on my own, see a new surrounding and meet new people, all while getting a good education. I haven't really gotten to do much and talk to many people after getting into homeschooling, so I kind of get this feeling like I don't want to put off having a social life outside of good and bad family any longer than I have to. That being said, I think this is one of the worst times to base a decision even partially off of lack of patience and a desire to have friends, which is kind of the reason why I'm looking for more serious pros in moving to one of these 3 cities for college to make sure it's truly worth it.

Also, it's not like I don't have a few friends, it's just that without public school, combined with not being out on my own and not being able to drive yet, as well as being busy preparing for college and being on my own, I don't really get to hang out with the few friends I have, and from what I often hear and from what I see with some people, some people don't really get to have much of a social life as adults outside of talking to the people at their workplace and people at clubs and bars. Though if you have time to go to clubs and bars, you possibly can also spend that time going to some other place besides clubs and bars to socialize. While I'm sure I'll meet some cool people in various places, including college, I'm not sure if most college students and their partying are actually gonna be my kind of crowd anyways.

As it turns out, Memphis and Nashville might not be the two places for me to go, I'm not sure if Jackson and Dyersburg will have all the things I want and/or need, and while Knoxville looks and sounds great, it's still pretty far away from most of my family, whom could help me if I ever get in a bad spot. On the other hand, part of being an adult IS to be independent and not having to rely on my parents to bail me out of trouble. I will try not to be gullible, try to work hard, pay close attention, and continue to learn.

To be honest, I AM kind of interested in east Tennessee. It sounds and looks more beautiful than west Tennessee. I really should try and get mom and dad to take me to see Knoxville and Nashville. Memphis is no problem, but Knoxville and Nashville are something my parents consider to be more like vacation trips or special trips, and they tend to have a hard time doing those. Part of teh reason we haven't gone anywhere so far is the fact that the weather has been bad around here lately, and we've been sick lately.


I still have some things to research about Knoxville and UTK. I don't know if I've said it already, but I am taking a dual enrollment program and an RODP course. So far I've completed Art and English Comp I, and I'm currently working on English Comp II. Do those count for part of the first year?

[hiknapster]

Knoxville is big enough to have things to do but is very friendly and small enough to feel like a very big town. People come from all over the state, the country and the world to attend UTK so you wouldn't feel out of place. East Tenn is truly God's country. I'm a transplant and after living here seven years I still think it is beautiful and I come from Florida and New England.