Dear Transfer Students,
First, allow me to say congratulations! Getting through any amount of college and then deciding to transfer out, applying to other schools and being accepted to other schools is a pretty big feat. Most college have pretty strict transfer student requirements, so you have a lot to be proud of! As your school year comes to a close and you prepare for such a big transition, you probably feel a little lonely and isolated in the process. Leaving the community you were a part of for the first chunk of your college career is a little intimidating, but I can assure you that you're not the only one out there. I'm here, with some brutal honesty and anecdotal evidence to tell you that, like me, you can probably transfer colleges and survive to tell the tale.
First thing's first: orientation is probably going to be super weird. And that's coming from an orientation leader who worked with transfer students. Unless you're lucky like me and have some pretty incredible orientation leaders (shout out to Ashley, my own OL for treating me like a human being and not a baby at orientation), it's going to be a little weird. Being around hundreds of 18-year-olds who have never experienced college classes can be pretty stressful in itself, but being lumped in with them after going through the ringer just kind of adds on to it. Most of the stuff at your new school's orientation is probably pretty close to your old school's orientation. Prepare yourself for lots, and I mean lots, of ice breakers and activities to keep you (more accurately, the first-years) distracted from your new beginning. If your school offers it, always opt for the transfer-only orientation session. Not only is this session better suited to help you through stuff like the hell of transfer credits, but you'll also be surrounded by almost exclusively other transfer students.
That brings me to my second point: cherish your transfer friends. I can't begin to tell you how relieving it is to basically trash talk your previous institution with other people who disliked their old school enough to leave for one reason or another. You'll all become saltmates real quickly. These are also the only people at your new school that will really understand what it's like to uproot your entire life and start over at a place where everyone knows everyone already. These friendships may fade into the background as your time goes on and you manage to sneak your way into the hearts of other students, but the bond you share with these fellow transfers will stay strong forever. Try to stay in touch with your orientation group; all of my transfer friends get together once in a while and grab dinner and catch up, even after two years! Transfer students are salty, jaded, incredible people (including yourself!) and you should hang on to them for as long as your can.
Finally, please don't be worried if you don't feel like you're the happiest you've ever been the moment you step into your new school. Don't feel like you need to hate your old school and old friends and the life you left behind. Try not to get yourself into this mindset that everyone will, by default, not like you, just because lots of people have known each other since freshman year. It's also okay if you don't like your new school, too; you can always transfer out again or even take some time off or leave college all together. You do what's best for you.
You are not alone and you are going to be okay. I promise.
