I started my college carrier at Salve Regina University before transferring to Fordham University spring semester of sophomore year.This change was not an easy choice nor was it an easy transition, and to be honest it was one of the harder things that I’ve had to do, but I don’t regret it.
I realized at the beginning of my sophomore year that I was not getting the education or the opportunities that I went to college to receive. I'm not trying to bash Salve, I just wanted to be challenged in a more vigorous academic environment and end up in a place where I would be able to find a job after I graduated. More so then that, even though I acted like it, I wasn’t happy.
I was fortunate enough to have a great support system in my family who encouraged me to transfer and applied to 3 different schools in New York City and was accepted and enrolled into Fordham University come that spring.
1. The transfer admission hurdle is slightly more difficult.
The acceptance rate for transfer students (64 percent), according to NACAC, is slightly lower than the acceptance rate of first-year students (69 percent). Especially when transferring into a fall semester at your new university, you are competing with hundreds of thousands of High School seniors who are applying to college for the first time.
That being said, doing well at your current university shows that you are able to succeed in a college academic environment and you might be able to get into accepted to a school that would have been a reach in High School! But it is hard to juggle applications, test, quizzes, papers, and going out with your friends if it's something that you want you to have to make time for it.
2. "Available, but not guaranteed” Housing
Nowadays colleges barely have room in on-campus housing for their incoming freshman class, squeezing three or four people into a room that was meant to house two. Make sure when applying that the university can guarantee housing at least for your first year, or that there is available off-campus housing if you are unable to commute.
3. Make sure your credits transfer!!
I went from a Communications and Musical Theater double major to a Communications Major with a Sports Journalism minor, meaning not all my credits transferred the way that they should have and ALL of the “core major” classes I took didn’t count at all. This meant having to retake all of those freshman intro classes and waiting until senior year to take all the "cool" classes because there is just so much core to get through.
But strangely enough, I had elective classes like “Reality TV” count as a social science core and a freshman seminar class satisfying an interdisciplinary capstone core…which you won’t hear me complaining about.
4. Leaving your friends will be the hardest part.
By far the hardest part about transferring was leaving behind all of the incredible people and professors that I had met. And while I was upset in the first few weeks after transferring, it was because I had missed my friends who had become a second family to me. And I found myself searching for them in a sea of unfamiliar faces, I even texted my friend Lauren if she wanted to get lunch one day, forgetting she was four hours away!
But it was very easy to stay in touch with everyone through social media and FaceTime with the occasional phone call and I am still very close with some of my friends from Salve.
5. You’re going to be treated like a freshman.
Beware; being a transfer student is just like being a freshman all over again. From the orientation to mandatory advising sessions, to not knowing where anything is, and sometimes actually living in a freshman dorm, you are going to feel like you have been transported back in time.
6. Go to every event at transfer orientation.
Go to every event at transfer orientation… even if it sounds lame. The events are there for a reason and generally set up so that you are able to meet other people and relax during the stressful transition. So go on a random trip to Skyzone, or to a dingy arcade/bowling alley that smells like feet, cause chances are, you're going to end up bonding with people over how much it sucks.
7. A lot of your friends are also going to be transfer students.
That being said a lot of your friends are also going to be transfer students, mainly because you were the only people around for a couple of days and you all already have at least one thing in common, you transferred! You are going to feel lonely, but (and here comes the cliché) joining clubs and meeting other people really helps!
8. You will be asked why you transferred a million times.
You will tell “your story” of why you transferred at least 500 times in your first semester, so you will get pretty damn good at telling it. But it doesn’t stop after the first week of class, oh no! It somehow gets slipped into conversations everywhere, on dates, at parties, when everyone is comparing freshman dorms, or talking about old bars and restaurants that closed down… I even considered making a PowerPoint presentation just to make it easier!
9. You find out who your “real” friends are really quickly.
The "we are going to Facetime every week" turns into "we a going to FaceTime once when you first get to school and then you will hear from me two or three times for the rest of the year"
There are still going to be friends that stick with you and visit and want to keep in touch but sometimes “keeping in touch” is commenting fire emojis on each others Instagram. While it is really upsetting to find out that people who you thought were going to sick around drop you (or block you), and trust me, you will be upset, it’s all for the better and you will find out that you were better off.
Which brings me to my next point…
10. Leave your old school behind you.
This was, honestly, the best advice that I had received when I transferred. It sounds terrible, but you are not going to meet new people and have so many new experiences and opportunities that, if you hold on to old people and old ideas, you can miss out on. It doesn’t mean completely forgetting about a period of time in your life or all of your friends, but it does mean instead of focusing on the fact that you are not there (at your old school) you focus on your new adventure at your new school. If the memories or the friends are meant to follow you, they will.
11. You are going to have two college experiences
You’re not going to having all the funny and relatable stories like everyone else does or that huge group of friends that everyone makes in their freshman dorm but you are going to have a totally unique college experience. That means worlds colliding when old friends come to visit and still wearing your old university’s sweatshirt to class and being able to share your individual experiences with new people.
So you don’t have the traditional freshman experience but you will have friends at two different colleges, two sets of memories, too much college apparel.
12. It’s fine to miss your old school...
It’s perfectly normal to miss your old school, especially in the first weeks after transferring. It was familiar and safe; you knew where all of your classes were and how to navigate around the cafeteria. You might even call your old friends to try and gain a sense of familiarity. But, soon enough you will get assimilated into your new surroundings; find your go-to place to get coffee before class, the best time to get dinner in the caf, and claim what you think is the best table in the library.
When you have your doubts remember, you transferred for a reason… you made the right choice.
