Dear Future Transfer Student,

It’s official, you're considering making the switch to a totally new campus in order to fill some sort of void within yourself. I was in your shoes so I understand. I understand that you may not feel fully comfortable at your current college, but yet found amazing people there that you can be friends with for the time being. I also understand that you feel like you are alone than you have ever felt in your life. I’m here to tell you that the decision you may make may be hard, but will be totally worth it in the end.

At this new university, you have the potential to feel more at home than you do at your current college. It took me a couple of weeks to realize the first college I was at wasn’t for me, even if I enjoyed how small it was. However, what drove me nuts was how there were a lot of cliques within certain groups of people, athletics and hometown friends especially.

I understand that you, as a future transfer student, wish people could fully grasp the understanding of why you want to transfer without looking at you like it could be the worse decision you could ever make. I get that, I mean I still get those looks on occasion. I also get text messages from old high school friends being nosey and want to know every detail of why I transferred. However, some things you don’t need to announce to everyone. Transferring where you feel comfortable and know more people is an extremely healthy and good decision.

I also wanted to write you this in a form of encouragement. You will figure your life out and you will make more friends than you ever did before. It’s all about where you feel most comfortable. Furthermore, on the academic side of things, you will in fact find where all of your classes are, most classes will transfer across, and you will be able to still keep good grades on this campus.

Lastly, I hope that you realize that there will be pieces of your old campus that you will miss. Such as the green food trays for when you don’t have that much time between classes to grab a meal or how it only takes 10 minutes to walk to the furthest point on campus. You might also miss the big sidewalks so you don’t have to risk a bike accident each time you try to pass a group of people on the sidewalk. Ultimately though, you will miss some of the sweet friends you made, even if you still keep in touch.

So to all of the transfer students reading this, you will find a place to call your home away from home and it will be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.

Sincerely,

A Transfer Student