Three years into college that I now know is the wrong campus but now I'm with the right woman, what do I do?

• Three years into college that I now know is the wrong campus but now I'm with the right woman, what do I do? I'm in my third year at The Evergreen State College, and I don't find myself with much in the way of friends, connections, or a sense of accomplishment or have much expectation of that to change at Evergreen. The college itself offers only "programs", which are full quarter long (or longer) interdisciplinary mixtures of seminars, workshops and lectures run by teams of three or less professors. They range from 'everything about American political economy' in a season, to 'art and history of basket weaving' for three quarters. The format is quite awesome when a program matches up with my interest, as one did in my freshman year, but since then nothing, until now. Right now, I'm currently in a fantastic program for the Winter, but it ends in the Spring, and nothing so intellectually stimulating or academically demanding is offered next year or next quarter. The program has reminded me of how energizing difficult material, thorough classmates, and a demanding professor is, and it has me worried that this is what I'm missing out on by being at Evergreen. The inconsistency of the program system here has me feeling after three years that I've done maybe four quarters of actual learning, and the rest has been silly nonsense things to fill the time. Which is not far from the case, as at times I had no other options but to either skip a quarter or take a silly program about shadow puppetry. I want more difficult, and demanding courses, and I don't see it in the catalog for the next quarter or through to the next year. But... then there are the difficulties, firstly academic. The campus itself is without a grading system, it uses nothing but qualitative evaluations, which makes me worry if I can even transfer at all. It is also a known for being unconventional, and accepting anything for credit. I'm scared that my transcript is rubbish to real colleges. But secondly, and most importantly. I'm living with my girlfriend of over a year and a half. We live together seamlessly, are working on a beekeeping apprenticeship together, and keeping each other sane. We have our hearts set on staying together through college and after. On the issue of transfer or staying, she has told me that it is my decision. But I don't see any colleges that meet my needs within a short distance of Evergreen, and she doesn't intend to transfer out of Evergreen after having transfered there so recently, and neither of us like the prospect of a long distance relationship. So the decision feels like the choice between feeling good about my education or being with her. I don't know if I am being too selfish, or expecting too much out of college, or wanderlusting for another campus, or even capable of transferring if I chose to. Help me find stable ground to survey this situation, make the right decision and act.

• Answer:

  "Right now, I'm currently in a fantastic program for the Winter, but it ends in the Spring, and nothing so intellectually stimulating or academically demanding is offered next year or next quarter. .... the rest has been silly nonsense things to fill the time. Which is not far from the case, as at times I had no other options but to either skip a quarter or take a silly program about shadow puppetry. I want more difficult, and demanding courses, and I don't see it in the catalog for the next quarter or through to the next year." Hello, fellow Greener! (I graduated in 1993. After attending from 1983-85, then leaving for a few years and returning.) Hey, this is Evergreen you're talking about. What does it matter what is in the catalog? One of the great things about Evergreen is that you can design your own curriculum, and if you are in the 3rd or 4th year, you probably should be doing that at this point. What is it you want to be learning? You can make that happen with an Independent Contract or a group contract. With the right professor (finding which is the hardest part, frequently) it can be a really amazing experience. "But... then there are the difficulties, firstly academic. The campus itself is without a grading system, it uses nothing but qualitative evaluations, which makes me worry if I can even transfer at all. It is also a known for being unconventional, and accepting anything for credit. I'm scared that my transcript is rubbish to real colleges." Evergreen has a relatively good reputation despite being nontraditional -- the further away you get from Washington state, the better the rep is. :) The evaluations are actually more informative than a typical transcript, and the school has been around long enough that admissions offices may be familiar with the format anyway. Many people transfer out of TESC or go on from TESC to good grad schools with no trouble. (The only trouble I had was that I didn't have a GPA, so I was accepted to grad school under a probationary term, and I had to keep a 3.00 for the first semester or two to stay in the program, whereas if I'd had a GPA to give them I wouldn't have been on probation. But they let me in just fine.) You are worrying too much. However, not all credits are likely to transfer. This is not because it's Evergreen, but because it's really common when transferring anywhere for some credits not to be accepted. Also, some schools require more than a year of residency. So you would be likely to have to spend more than a year at another school. Evergreen is less strict about residency than many schools, or at least, they were when I was there. I took my last 20 credits at the University of Washington, over a full time Summer Quarter and a night class in the Fall, because I wanted to take some courses that TESC didn't have available that year (intensive Japanese language). So that's another possibility; you can take courses at the UW in the summer (which doesn't require matriculating at the UW) while remaining an Evergreen student, and apply those credits to Evergreen. Or perhaps at another school in the area, maybe closer to Olympia. "I don't know if I am being too selfish, or expecting too much out of college, or wanderlusting for another campus, or even capable of transferring if I chose to." Well, maybe, yes, yes, and yes, probably. ;) Not that any of that is terrible. I think it's actually pretty common to go through some disillusionment and wanting to try another program or campus when you get to the junior year. Not just for Greeners, but in general. But Evergreen being an unusual place, it can cause you to wonder whether the grass is greener on the "normal" side. :) With less than a year and a half left, though, I'd stick it out at Evergreen and do what you can to enhance the academic situation. You can make that happen at TESC, seriously. You don't need to sit back and wait for the right program to be offered. Good luck!