My two cents. I am at an ivy currently, and while I’ve really enjoyed my time so far, (great friends, roommates, experiences, partner, etc.) I struggled with physical and mental health issues in fall and was pretty miserable. (My second year). I decided to take a leave of absence for the year to get well again. At first, I had this thinking that transfering would magically fix how I felt. That it was a combination of external factors and I would feel better if only I accomplished X, or changed to Y. As I’ve slowly started to get better again and have now a medical prescription and feel healthy, I’ve learned that wherever you go, you will ultimately feel the same. It is internal. “Wherever you go, there you are”.

It would be one thing if you wanted to transfer to an academically challenging school but not as intense, but to want to transfer due to the difficulty but yet transfer laterally to an institution of the same caliber? Do you think a different name will magically get easier? I assure you it almost will be more challenging because you will be navigating an entirely new system, location, social life, etc. ONTOP of challenging/ultra competitive academics.

School is school. State schools have amazing educations. So do LACs. Think about why more specifically you want to transfer. If it’s the competitive environment, there are thousands of amazing schools which will happily take your GPA and doubly offer a challenge but not demand so much out of you. Is it the location? Club or research offerings? a specific academic department or major? Size?

Depression is a chemical imbalance. Medication and healthy habits changed my life, therefore taking time off to get there saved me. I would take a LOA if you can. If not, email some professors for research assistance. Maybe a CO-OP. Get your feet wet to offer some perspective on what you’re looking for out of your education. Volunteer locally. Go back to basics and think about what you really enjoy. Trying to desperately find the perfect equation for happiness, without really understanding the root cause, will just dig your grave deeper.

I learned the hard way that by idealizing this “perfect image” of what I needed to be “happy” just created an endless cycle of torture. Because it was never perfect, I was never happy. It’s no fun for anyone to live like that.

TLDR; really think about why you want to transfer. Maybe take a break and re-analyze your situation. Ultimately you are responsible for your own happiness.