I spent my freshman and sophomore years of college at a small university in my hometown. After those two years, I transferred to a new university. Transferring to a new university can be really difficult, since you're new to a school (and often the city), but you don't get any of the help that freshman get in order to get accustomed to the campus and make friends. As a transfer student, there were a lot of things I worried about when I arrived at my new school. Here are a few of things that transfer students worry about before they get to their new school.
1. Making friends.
When you transfer to a new school, most people in your year already have established friend groups and live off campus, which can make meeting people and making friends difficult. For me, I also moved into the on-campus apartments, which isn't very social and doesn't allow for me to meet anyone else in my building, unlike normal college dorms.
2. Since you're not a freshman, people assume you know the ropes.
When people hear that you are a sophomore or a junior, they pretty much assume that you've been there since you were a freshman. As a freshman, the school makes an effort to make sure you have an advisor, explain the cafeteria and housing, and plan out your courses and path, but none of this happens for transfer students. I've been at my new university for almost two semesters, and I literally have no idea how the caf works.
3. Falling behind.
Transferring schools isn't incredibly difficult to do. Transferring credits, however, can be a whole other story. Even though you were on track at your old school, you may find yourself behind schedule at your new school, having to retake classes you've already completed.
4. Finding a place to live.
Some transfer students are upperclassmen who have already lived in dorms, and don't want to live in the dorms at their new school. So, that leaves getting an apartment off campus. Sounds simple, right? This can be really tough though, as transfers often don't know anybody in the new city and don't know anyone who could share an apartment with them, which means they're stuck living on campus anyway.
5. Missing opportunities.
Many transfer students feel like they missed out on opportunities that are available for freshman, or they weren't able to work out ahead of time, such as studying abroad. It can be hard to get these opportunities, and to be able to do all the things you wanted while still staying on track for graduation on time.
6. Not getting into classes.
Returning students usually have first priority over transfer students, so it can be harder for us to get into the classes that we need. This is especially frustration as we're usually already pretty worried about falling behind as it is.
7. Requirements differ at each university.
While you may have taken care of a lot of general ed. classes before transferring, a lot of those may not even be required at your new university, so they end up not counting for anything, and you now have to find out what is required and play catch-up.
8. Being new. Again.
The beginning of a semester after transferring is pretty much a repeat of freshman year, trying to meet people and learn your way around. It was pretty cringe-worthy the first time, and now it's time to do it again.
This all being said, I don't regret my choice to start at one school and then transfer. I have had a lot of great experiences at both schools, and all of the things I worried about and struggled with worked out for me in the end.
