I'm a 4/C MIDN at the Naval Academy considering transferring to a normal college. I posted about this about a month ago, and I am still not sure if I want to leave yet. I love the Naval Academy -- the camaraderie, esprit de corps, patriotism. It's not that I don't want to be a naval officer, but I'm just not sure it's my number one choice in career and I don't want to be that officer whose heart is not 100% in it.
I'm not academically challenged here at all, despite playing a club A sport fall semester and being involved in ECA and sports spring semester. I know academics are supposed to pick up in future years, but I am a high validator and I'm still bored by the classes. In addition, I just think the majors here don't offer the depth that other institutions do. I have a passion for learning and I'm just not getting the intellectual stimulus that I want here. I want to be a CS major with a concentration in computational biology and USNA doesn't even have a biology major. I thought I wanted a structured college setting with both physical and mental development. I can't deny that the structure and the physical aspects are great. I go to sleep at 2300 every night (like a good plebe!), get enough sleep, eat well. The peer pressure and morning workouts are awesome, too - I'm in great shape. I'm just not getting enough of the mental aspect which is what I value the most.
I ultimately have two questions: 1) With a 4.0 from the Naval Academy (with a course load like DiffEqs, Physics, 300-level of foreign language), do I have a good shot at getting into schools with top CS departments (such as Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UPenn, Duke)? 2) Do you think my reasoning and logic for wanting to leave the Academy is sound? I guess I'm just asking if someone can play devil's advocate here or tell me if I am wrong in my "plebe" impressions.
I'm not academically challenged here at all, despite playing a club A sport fall semester and being involved in ECA and sports spring semester. I know academics are supposed to pick up in future years, but I am a high validator and I'm still bored by the classes. In addition, I just think the majors here don't offer the depth that other institutions do. I have a passion for learning and I'm just not getting the intellectual stimulus that I want here. I want to be a CS major with a concentration in computational biology and USNA doesn't even have a biology major. I thought I wanted a structured college setting with both physical and mental development. I can't deny that the structure and the physical aspects are great. I go to sleep at 2300 every night (like a good plebe!), get enough sleep, eat well. The peer pressure and morning workouts are awesome, too - I'm in great shape. I'm just not getting enough of the mental aspect which is what I value the most.
I ultimately have two questions: 1) With a 4.0 from the Naval Academy (with a course load like DiffEqs, Physics, 300-level of foreign language), do I have a good shot at getting into schools with top CS departments (such as Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UPenn, Duke)? 2) Do you think my reasoning and logic for wanting to leave the Academy is sound? I guess I'm just asking if someone can play devil's advocate here or tell me if I am wrong in my "plebe" impressions.