NEVER transfer in college. EVER. I have had such a terrible experience that I want to actually transfer back to my old school. (Side note: I will not be mentioning which schools these are. I just want others to know my story.)
First, I was excited and proud to go to my new school. The excitement started in May and June when I received my acceptance letter. It was so cool to go from a small school to a giant university. I had such a sense of pride and excitement.
But, then I went to orientation.
As a student who lived an hour and a half away, I could only go once a week to school. Other than that, I was going for online classes.
I certainly realized that would cause more of an issue, but it shouldn't be as much of a problem as it was based on the size and population of the university.
First, the main point of transfer orientation was to schedule classes. I took a day off work for it. Orientation gave me no classes. I had no idea where to start when it came to scheduling.
At my new school, there is no adviser that is assigned to the student, which I really miss having. The best part was none of the advisers had a certain answer but to, "wait and see if seats open in August."
So I waited. I got one class scheduled. No online courses even opened up seats saved for transfer students. This was when I stopped feeling like a student and more like a number based on my student ID.
That was when my mom and I decided to drive an hour and a half down the road. We went to the building for walk-in appointments during the middle of the time it's open, but we kept getting "no one is doing walk-ins right now." It took a bit to speak with an actual adviser, but we quickly learned I would have to request for overrides.
So I did. One class, the chairman wouldn't even look at my request in time to get another seat made. Two classes took half a week to get. I couldn't even get a full schedule.
I discussed this with my parents for a few days until we decided to attend both my new school and my old school to get a full schedule of classes.
I was getting my Hope scholarship money for both tuitions, so everything seemed to be fine for about a month.
In September, I decided it was time to figure out my schedule for the spring semester. Only thing was when I went to an adviser this time, I learned the courses I was taking at my old school weren't for certain going to transfer to the exact courses I was needing. They weren't even on the list for telling what they would transfer as.
Then I tried contacting transfer services. All they could tell me was that they wouldn't know until final grades, which is way past early registration.
A few days later, I visited another adviser. I never will go back to this one because she wasn't very good. What did I get out of this appointment? Nothing.
Well, except for an attitude about how I should've gotten some letter signed off to enroll in two schools. (Honestly, I don't need permission from my new parents because I have parents already.)
At this point, I was beyond frustrated because no one tells you anything.
A couple days later, my dad visited my school advising with me. We talked to a very kind lady who helped us more than anyone else could. It's still hard to get classes, but she made it seem possible. I, sadly, will be playing another waiting game because override requests will not be taken until December.
Overall, transferring is not always a viable option. Stay where you are because it'll be much better and easier if you do. I wish I could stay at my old school, but they don't have a Master's program, which is what I want.
So let's all just transfer back.