For most people, adjusting to college is not the easiest thing in the world. I seemed to adjust pretty well... my first time. However, after I decided my first college wasn’t for me, I decided to come back home and go to a more local college.
If you ask any transfer student whether they’re happy about their decision or not, you’re bound to run into a common theme of things they struggled with. For me, though it hasn’t necessarily been that hard, I know I’ve been on the struggle-bus more than once in the past month or so.
Adjusting to a different campus
I swear, college campuses have some of the most confusing layouts. My first college I went to had a small, bundled together campus, but it still took me a few weeks to adjust to that one. With a number of different buildings with different sections with an abundance of classrooms, it’s no surprise colleges give out maps to new students. Transferring required me to leave the first campus map I had ingrained in my head to learn a new maze of buildings in a completely different style than my past college. Slowly, I’ve been learning where I’m going, but I’m not surprised when I have no idea where a building is. Adjusting to campus can be difficult for any transfer, be it a smaller to larger or a larger to smaller.
Re-involving yourself on campus
Involving yourself on campus is a pivotal part to a “true college experience." One of the biggest struggles I’ve found so far is “re-involving” myself. At my previous college, I had already started to build connections and find my place in student organizations and activities that I found interesting. Now that I’m at a different school, I’m having to find those organizations and fit them into my schedule all over again. This has been giving me new experiences, but sometimes it’s hard to find your place.
Seeing familiar faces... or so you think
You know how you always think you see people you know out in public, but it’s just people that look similar? Yeah, that happens even more for transfer students. All the time I see people that I think are from my previous college, and it turns out that's not it at all (especially since I went to a school in a different state). It’s the ultimate struggle to go to greet someone, but then realize it’s not who you thought it was at all. Of course, this also leads to a problem of realizing there are people you miss from your previous school.
Credits are a PAIN
One major struggle every transfer student knows is the problem of credits. When you change schools, certain classes may transfer as different classes, different credit hours, or may not even transfer at all! This can put you behind, so graduating on your expected date upon entrance of college may be out of the picture, unless you were one of those lucky ones where everything lined up perfectly. Count your blessings—you’re rarer than a unicorn.
Class scheduling from the scraps
When it comes to the ranking of registration times, transfer students are right down there with freshman. Often we’re stuck with the bottom of the pile, but where freshman have more options for entry level classes, often as a transfer you’re starting to look into getting your major related classes, which filled up earlier in the year when the rest of the students on campus registered. Which often means you get the last pick of teachers as well. Have fun with that teacher you can’t understand a world of what they’re saying.
Learning the ins and outs of daily life
One thing that is definitely hard to adjust to is when to go where. Different schools have different ways to avoid traffic, get the best parking, or find the best seats in the cafeteria. If it hadn’t been for friends I had previously at the college I’m at now, I would be so lost and confused on what was happening. It’s a whole ‘nother world!!
But despite all these struggles, usually transferring ends up for the best, or has in my experience. I’m slowly finding my niche, and I’ve found a great group of friends who have helped me with this big adjustment. Change always holds great potential to be scary, especially when it’s something as big as your college. I know I was extremely worried about finding a new group, getting the right classes, or even if I was going to enjoy my new college in the first place!
But I found that just like any other life experience, if you go in with an open mind and set goals for yourself, you’d be surprised just where you find your sense of belonging.
