1. It's never too early to start looking. The longer you wait the more credits you may loose. If you are on the fence, start looking. Just because you apply does not mean anything is definite. 1 

2. You don't have to say goodbye. Just because you may not like the school, does not mean you do not like the people. Leaving home is hard at first, and the friends you make freshman year get to know all of your darkest secrets. You are together all day long, and even start to plan on living arrangements for the next three years you have together, but even though you are leaving, you can always visit and use their meal money.

3. When you know, YOU KNOW. Everyone says that the first semester of college is the transition period. For some, this transition period lasts longer and is more than getting a little homesick once and a while. Some people can tell that this is not where they belong right away. My first red flag was during orientation weekend (yes, that early) when my orientation leader said to "enjoy this weekend because it's the only time you will see this many people in one place". That confused me at first, but as time went on, I realized how many people actually went home on the weekend, as well as the fact that this was not the environment I wanted to be in for the next three years.

4. Listen to your gut. If your parents don't understand why you don't like your school, make them. It may take time, and maybe a few arguments, but most parents want their kids to be happy. When I told my parents I wanted to transfer, they didn't understand. When I convinced them that I was not happy with where I was and where my life was going, they started listening. 4.

1. You don't need a life plan. You do not need to be 100% sure of where your life will be in ten years before you transfer. Planning your life is much more difficult when you are not happy where you are now. You may have to play catch up at your new school, but it is worth it is you are happy where you are and with what you are doing.
2. You are not alone. Weather it is at your school, or at other schools, people transfer all the time. Colleges make it a much more difficult than necessary in order to keep their retention rates up. It may not seem like it, but transferring does not have to be a "negative" decision. In 2014, 13 percent of college students at public universities alone, graduated from a different institution than where they started.
3. Don't procrastinate. You do need to find a school to go to for the next semester. Do not make the mistake of waiting until July to visit other schools, and then waiting until August to register. You could end up registering at one college, only to decide on another school on the way home.
4. Be picky (but not too picky). It is important to look for a school that will be a fit for you, but if you look for the perfect school that has everything your old school doesn't, you will be disappointed. No matter how many posts you see on Facebook about people loving their school, no school is perfect.
5. IT'S WORTH IT. After senior year, I thought I was done with college applications, awkward orientations, meeting new people, but transferring basically means starting over. You may be stuck in a few freshman classes, and you may feel out of the loop, but trust me, with time, IT IS WORTH IT! Looking back at it, the mental breakdowns, from the previous year and summer are cringe worthy, but they were worth it. If I had gone the easy route of just staying at my old school and pushing through, I would have never found the place that is perfect for me. I would not have meet any of the new amazing people or even changed my major to what I really want to do.