Stay at Northwestern or transfer back to Grinnell College, my former school

[tardy sable]

hey, just wondering about what happened?, remember reading this on reddit months ago

[quaint saddle]

He stayed at nu

[sand maple]

Hey, sorry for not seeing this until now! My bad on missing this, but Emerald's right. I ended up staying.

[tardy sable]

ohh, hope you're doing fine now!

[sand maple]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

That means a lot.

[dusk berry]

i hope you're doing better now

[sand maple]

Schools: Northwestern University vs. Grinnell College
**Intended major: **
At Northwestern: Creative Writing and Film
At Grinnell: English Literature

Northwestern University
Pros:
+I can study what I really want here without limitations.
+I really love Chicago, and I'm really glad I'm only around an hour away from it.
+Connections to the Film industry are really good
+I've been doing well here academically.

Cons:
-Has been a really unaccepting place for me
-I've been through a lot of really horrible things here that make me no longer want to stay and make me concerned about my wellbeing
-My mental health has completely been destroyed
-Most student organizations are so selective that I've had a lot of difficulty joining ones I like, and this makes me concerned for my chances for grad school
-Way more expensive

Grinnell College
Pros:
+I made so many close friends here who have been incredibly accepting and welcoming. They are so kind, perseverant, compassionate, and have given me hope for the future.
+I love the campus so much. It's one of my favorite places to have ever lived in, and I miss living there a lot.
+I love the location and the nature with it.
+I was extremely close with two of my professors and worked with them a lot. I could continue my work with them again potentially.
+Open curriculum
+Class sizes are a lot smaller
+I know a lot of the people there
+Cheaper than NU

Cons:
-I recently talked to someone who goes here this year, and they informed me that the school has changed a lot since I left, and the student community is no longer as welcoming or accepting as it used to be.
-I would have to give up studying Film Screenwriting and classes on moral and political philosophy, which I am really interested in.
-I may also have to give up studying Creative Writing.
-Because there isn't a film school, and I can't study Film in grad school, I may be losing my one chance to study something I am really interested in.

Hey everyone, I know this is a very long post, and I am so sorry about this. I wanted to start off by saying thank you to everyone for reading this and for your help. I really appreciate it a lot.

All of you on here have been very supportive of me, and I am very grateful for that. Thanks for everything you all do.

[spare mist]

Ah that’s such a hard decision. Personally, I think I’d choose Grinnell.

It really sucks to be unable to learn film in college, but you can definitely learn it on your own intuition/ taking classes after college. Not saying it’ll be easy, but it is possible.

On the other hand, it seems like Northwestern’s culture is really damaging your mental health. I think it is even more important to get out of the environment you are currently in, because your mental health is so important. After all, if you don’t feel happy where u currently are, it’ll make it that much harder to succeed as well.

Thank you so much for being so kind to everyone in this server!

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for your kind advice, I really appreciate it a lot, and it means so much. I'll keep what you told me in mind!

And also, thank you for the kind words. I learn a lot from you and everybody on here.

[spare mist]

No problem!

[clear stirrup]

Seems like you were much happier at Grinnell and imo it's not worth nuking your mental health to stay at NU

In what way did the student community change at Grinnell? I doubt that it could be so drastic after just a year

[quaint saddle]

your wellbeing and happiness are always first

choose Grinnell

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for your advice, Emerald!

I really appreciate that.

[sand maple]

Thanks for commenting, Jördan! I really appreciate it. From what I heard from my classmate and reading the student newspaper, the student body has had issues with people using Yik Yak to say racist things and harass and bully people.

[clear stirrup]

I see, that really sucks

Hopefully its the exception rather than the norm

[sand maple]

I am hoping the same!

[clear stirrup]

but you also have your own "circle" at Grinnell already right?

[sand maple]

I do!

I have three friends I am really close to.

[clear stirrup]

probably wouldn't affect your day to day experience

[clear stirrup]

That's great!

[sand maple]

Thank you so much!

[clear stirrup]

Could I ask why you couldn't study film at grad school?

[sand maple]

It's unfortunately too expensive.

They offer fully funded MFAs for Creative Writing, but all the MFAs I know for Film unfortunately do not have this.

[tropic flare]

I think Grinnell! Your mental health is super important and you don't want i to completely plummet

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for your advice, I really appreciate it!

[winged field]

To me I think mental health> everything.I would only chose northwestern if you are insanely passionate in film and would heavily regret not studying it.I’m sure academics wise you will do well at Grinnell so idk if you should let you doing well at northwestern be a big factor in your decision. Imo I would pick Grinnell, mental health is something that should be prioritized. In addition, you already have friends there + smaller class sizes potentially makes it easier to meet people which eliminates one of the hardest problems of transferring. You will do well at whatever school you choose, but will you be happy is the real question

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for your really kind advice, Keegan. I really appreciate it a lot.

I agree with your mental health is more important than everything statement too, and you put it really, really well. I think the tough part about this is that film is my dream career, so it feels weird to give it up.

[winged field]

You’re welcome (:

[winged field]

Yea that being your dream career does make it a harder decision. I don’t really know about film, but are there other ways to get in the film industry without majoring in film?

[quaint saddle]

Hi Galaxy!! First off, congrats on the transfer acceptance!

Secondly, yea, I would really go back to Grinnell. Your health matters so much more than your academics. Put yourself first.

That being said - If you’re really hung up on the academics, have you considered withdrawing for a year to pursue goals outside academics? Work, travel, or both? Ultimately, that might give you a bit more time and perspective to make this decision if you’re hung up on it.

All the best!

[sly mauve]

hi! i DMed you a while ago about grinnell and i acc visited grinnell last week and they got bob’s underground back up and running! is there any possibility of studying abroad/internship/externship for film, or doing a MAP on it?

[iron gull]

I’m about to major in film! It definitely isn’t a career that requires a degree. You can totally get into the industry if you can network/have a good portfolio but it may be easier for some people to have the structure that film school gives you. But yes many people do it without going to film school!

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for your kind words, I appreciate it.

To answer you, there definitely are, so I can still try to break in without studying Film. It just becomes a lot harder.

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for all your kind advice, I really appreciate it!

And I haven't considered a gap year honestly, but thank you for suggesting that. I will think about it!

[sand maple]

Whoa, it's so cool to hear that Bob's is up again! Thank you so much for letting me know.

Internships in the summer may be possible, which I honestly haven't considered before. I will look into it, thank you, Red! And I hope you had a great time visiting the campus.

[sand maple]

Thanks for commenting here, and it's so great to meet other Film majors!

I wish you the best.

Yeah, it's significantly cheaper than Northwestern.

I'd be paying almost 35% less to go to Grinnell than NU.

[sly mauve]

Of course! I'm glad to be of help ! And the campus was not for me, but I did really enjoy the humanities and ss building 😊

[cedar remnant]

transfer. i read that reddit post

[winged field]

I believe this option would be the best. Although it may be harder, going to school at NU doesn’t seem good for you. You should never have to go through the situations you had at NU. I would go to Grinnell so you can worry less, be in a better environment, and be your best self mentally. It will be harder for you to achieve your dreams, but do you really want to stay at a school and sacrifice your mental health for a film degree instead of just finding an alternative route at Grinnell? I really hope whatever you choose is one that you will be happy about and the one that is best for you

[sand maple]

I’m sorry to hear it wasn’t for you, but I’m glad you liked HSSC! It’s definitely an amazing building.

[sand maple]

Thanks for your advice, Ally! I really appreciate your input a lot.

[sand maple]

I really appreciate your kind advice, Keegan! Thank you so much for it.

You all are making great points, and honestly, I loved Grinnell so much that if it wasn’t for what I discovered earlier this week, I would definitely choose not to stay at NU.

I think what I found out is the only thing holding me back.

[quaint saddle]

do you feel comfortable sharing what happend?

[sand maple]

I am, thanks for asking!

Essentially, I found out from someone who goes there right now that things have changed a lot, and it's been discovered there's a lot of closet racists and harassers.

Because Grinnell is so rural and away from everything else, people have been using Yik Yak to harass and bully people on-campus and perpetuate racism.

On top of this, someone in Student Government has opened up that she's gone through a lot of racism from another SGA member, and the head tried to defend the racist person while it was discovered the Treasurer has been abusing the funds to help clubs he prefers more.

And then people used Yik Yak to harass her and be racist towards her.

When I was there, it was a very progressive and accepting place, so this has all been a shock for me.

[spare mist]

Ah it really sucks to hear that

[sand maple]

Thank you.

It definitely does, it has made me question a lot of things.

[spare mist]

Unfortunately it seems like racism/ other types of hate is everywhere no matter where u look...

[sand maple]

You're totally right that unfortunately it's not something I can avoid.

But I think the reason I am concerned is because this is really serious.

And if I'm returning to a place where I can't study what I want only to find things totally different than in my first year, I'm going to have extreme regrets.

[spare mist]

Yeah totally that must be hard to decide on

However (this is a bit of an assumption), but it seems you have a stronger support system at grinell currently than at northwestern
So i think it might be slightly easier to deal with incidents like that then

[cedar remnant]

@sand maple i think it's too late this year but would it be possible to transfer to completely different school

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for asking! I appreciate it! I did end up applying to other schools!

I have 8 more transfer decisions!

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for the kind words, and this is very true.

The three close friends I made are really amazing, and on the bright side, I'd have them.

And I have two professors I am close to too.

[spare mist]

Thats good to hear!

[cedar remnant]

yay gl

[sand maple]

Thank you so much, Ally! It means a lot.

[sand maple]

And I really appreciate it, thank you so much.

[subtle vessel]

Hey @sand maple I'm not sure this will be of any help, but my mom studied political science in undergrad with intentions of going into academia or law. After undergrad she started working and eventually found her calling in film (her first film gig was making like public safety videos for the city of boston). Nearly 15 years later she applied to film school and got into Cal Arts and NYU. Now she has a pretty successful career as a director. Above I read that you're concerned that undergrad might be your only chance to study film because there aren't many fully funded mfa film programs out there. I think that if you know film is the place you want to be, you'll find a way to pursue it. How's Grinnell's alumni network? Is there a way to reach out to alums in the film industry?

[sand maple]

Thank you so much for sharing your mom's story, congratulations to her, and I'm really happy things worked out for her!

And thanks for coming on to provide advice. To respond to you, there are some! Two of the English professors at Grinnell are screenwriters, and the Film professor is in touch with some filmmakers who have worked in the Midwest. I had a chance to talk to a few last year.

[subtle vessel]

What part of film do you want to work in?

[sand maple]

Screenwriting would be my dream!

[subtle vessel]

Super cool!

[grand basalt]

wrinnel

[sand maple]

Thank you so much, I appreciate that!