From a transfer student to anyone who's considering transferring

Transfer Students
1

I figured I’d put this up here because it’s what I was looking for last year when I was looking into schools.

I started my freshman year at my state school. It was a good school, I was in a prestigious program-it was no where near my first choice, but it was exceedingly cheap and I thought that I may be able to make myself happy there. I deposited really early, before the majority of my class had even heard back from colleges.

After the initial excitement of committing to a college wore off, I began to second guess my decision. Other acceptances came in-some to schools I had fallen in love with, some to schools that I hadn’t even toured-and I realized that I may have made a really rash decision. My parents really loved the school I had committed too, and I still thought I could make it work, so I headed there in the fall.

Right off of the bat, I really wasn’t happy. It was more than typical nerves or adjustment-I could tell I was in the wrong place. I wasn’t much for the crazy party life, and there wasn’t much to do in the surrounding town; I made friends, joined clubs, and put myself out there, By the end of November, it still wasn’t feeling anywhere close to right-I talked to my parents, and after a bit of fighting I began to apply for the fall 2015 semester at several other schools.

I was accepted to my top choice school. There were still nerves when I arrived, but I also realized that I felt at home here. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know anyone or that I was in a new environment-I felt right on my campus. Being happy meant I was more apt to put myself out there. It’s been three weeks-I don’t really have any friends here yet (which you shouldn’t expect anyway-it’s hard for freshmen to make friends in three weeks, and a lot of students have already found their group by sophomore year) but I’m still happy here.

Transferring is not a magic cure-all solution. You will be starting over, and you’ll have to make new friends. If you’re transferring because you honestly believe the other school is a better fit for you, you’ll be happy even when you’re trying to meet people. That doesn’t mean you’re never going to get stressed out, but you’ll love where you are, and that helps.

Hopefully this helps someone out there!

2

I’m a current Freshman and I love my school. That being said, I feel trapped on campus because the school isn’t in the best area and also the surrounding city is fairly small. I grew up near Boston and whenever I thought about going to college I always expected to be in a larger city surrounded by diverse people and activities. I also wanted to join Greek life. My current is a smaller school that’s big on sports, but like I said is fairly isolated, in my opinion, and also has very little diversity. As much as I enjoy and tolerate my school I really want to be in Boston. I have friends there, which isn’t a huge factor for me, and also I feel like the schools there are more business related and also have more opportunities within the city itself. It’s weird because although I’ve never lived in Boston myself, I feel like it’s my second home and want to live there. Do you have any advice? If I do transfer it wouldn’t be until Fall 2016 because I honestly want to give my current school a good chance before moving to somewhere else. Any advice would be much appreciated.

3

Hi-I’d for sure start looking into schools in the Boston area. Applying doesn’t mean you’re obligated to go-it just gives you a few options.

What’s your major?

4

Hey, I’m in the similar situation. I loved this school - and I think I still do but I am not sure. I have applied to transfer to a sister campus and they have accepted me. I think I am going to give this school another chance but every day, I get down and feel trapped here…my parents will most likely not allow me to transfer. The school I am at is a typical party school and that’s pretty much all you can do here. I try to find other things to do but really, there isn’t much. I’m not sure what to do from this point onwards.