When I left for college I knew that the school I had chosen was the one for me. I would do my four years, get my degree and move along. This was 2013. Now starting 2017 I find myself a transfer student.

I left Georgia Southern for a few reasons, the main one being to take care of my disabled mother. I had never realized the pain in the butt that would follow dealing with colleges, professors, and classes transferring. So if you are planning to transfer schools, here are some things to look forward too, so that maybe you will have a head start solving problems.

The biggest and most unexpected issue I faced was the financial issues. I had to leave in the middle of a semester, and as a HOPE recipient, I was unaware that not only would I lose the hours on HOPE, I would also have to give back a prorated amount of money. This also put a hold on my account at Georgia Southern, which meant that I couldn’t send Dalton State my transcript, to enroll here.

Tip #1 is make sure you have spoken to the registrar and financial aid offices at both schools to make sure that all of these types of issues are dealt with.

Another thing that caught me by surprise was how unprepared I was at my new school. When I started at Dalton State, I had been on campus once in my life, and now I had to be in four different buildings in one day.

Tip #2, Know your new campus.

Take time to familiarize yourself with it, and put as much effort into it as you did when you were a freshman at your first school.

On a related note...

Tip #3 go to your new school with an open mind.

In my case, I felt like I was downgrading from a big university to what my friends call “glorified high school.” I have been pleasantly surprised with how I was embraced into Dalton State and continue to be challenged academically just as much, if not more than at Georgia Southern.

If you use these tips, it may save you some pain, headache, stress, and general uneasiness as you go into an unfamiliar place. So as you are making your decision to transfer, prepare yourself, and enjoy the experience.