With move in day being less than two weeks away, the anxiety of starting at a new college is lingering in the back of my mind. I try to ignore the voice in my head that fills me up with worries, but I cannot seem to silence it with ignorance. So, I figured that the best way to calm my nerves was by writing down a couple of my most prevalent thoughts. I have a strong feeling that most other transfer students are having the same thoughts as myself. On behalf of transfer students everywhere, here are the 5 things that you need to know about us:
1. We are not freshmen.
The most annoying thing to happen to any transfer student is being lumped together with the freshmen. After successfully finishing an entire year of college, we know a thing or two about how to succeed in school. We know how easy it is to gain the famous “freshman 15,” how important it is to go to class and the wonderful feeling of taking a nap after three consecutive morning classes.
2. But, we are still new to campus.
That being said, we will need help figuring out where to go for all of our classes. For myself especially because I am transferring from a very small school that has only one building with classrooms, finding my way around a huge state school seems like a pretty daunting task. So if you see someone wandering around the Union with a confused facial expression or walking into the wrong class, please help them out to save them from more embarrassment. Also, please feel welcome to mention to us the best places to grab a burger or which restaurants will deliver a late night snack to the library during an all night study session.
3. We won’t be tech savvy at first.
Switching colleges also brings along the challenge of figuring out an entire new online student portal. After finally perfecting our knowledge of our last school’s student portal, we have to navigate an unfamiliar online system. From simple tasks like registering our new school email to more difficult ones like registering for class, it’s going to take some adjusting to.
4. Don’t expect a quick and easy reason why some of us transferred.
For a lot of transfer students, the decision to transfer schools was a long and complicated process. We had a ton of different factors that played into why we transferred and why we choose our new school, most of those being pretty personal. So, be prepared for a long, overthought answer or one boring reason (because we are tired of being asked about it) when you ask us about our decision to change colleges.
5. We are so excited to be here.
The thrill of starting at a new university overshadows every worry and fear that we have. We chose to start over completely just to become a student at this school, so we are filled with hope. I personally cannot wait to experience a new college and find my place in the campus community.
