Whether you’re a Transfer Student, a Veteran going back to school, or maybe you didn’t go to college right away. No matter the case, if you didn’t follow the drawn out path to college, you are now an official member of the Untraditional Student Club! It’s kind of like the Island of Misfits from the old Claymation of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. We teach you that it is okay to embrace this part of your life and how to muddle your way through the seemingly endless sea of Freshman.

I consider myself an untraditional student. I first got my Associate’s Degree from Mohawk Valley Community College. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was I wanted to do with that degree and eventually decided to take a semester off and continue to get my Bachelor’s in Communication at the University at Albany. It has definitely been an odd journey. At my first college, I commuted so moving away to get a Bachelor’s was a totally different experience than what Freshman got because I moved straight into the apartments. I had to overcome homesickness while at the same time learn a brand new major, re-take General Education Courses, and learn how to live on my own! It was intense and at times it felt like no one could help me. I felt like the only person of my kind to be struggling while everyone else was super concentrated on the Freshman. I also transferred during in the Spring Semester. No Welcome Week… nothing. It was annihilating. That was until I found the Untraditional Student Club. We don’t meet every week or have any community service to do. We are just a bunch of people who understand how the other person feels and we are there to help out. That being said, here are some of our advice to surviving college as an untraditional student.

1. Find People Like You

This is the most important step toward feeling at least like you’re not alone. Really, no matter how small you feel in the swamp of Freshman, you are not alone. There are others who are just like you and have had similar experiences like you, the tricky part is just finding them. Personally, at UAlbany, we have what we call “Transfer Student Events” which are held together by our lovely Transfer Student Director. Luckily UAlbany takes an effort into bringing Transfer Students together. Through them I found my current squad, they are all Transfer Students and we couldn’t be a happier little group of friends.

2. Just Ask!

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I know from my own personal experience and that of others that as Untraditional Students we may be older and have had more experience than most Freshman. It can be difficult for us to feel as though it is valid to have the need to ask for help sometimes. However, asking for help is okay. We can’t always know everything and even though some of us have experienced college or adult-hood before, we are still in the midst of transition. Things in our lives are changing drastically, just like the Freshman.

3. Get Involved

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A lot of us Untraditional Students tend to stay away from college organizations or get-togethers. We already feel out of the loop and it is difficult for us to even relate to students who have taken a traditional path toward their education. I know from my personal experience that getting involved was a tricky thing for me to do because I didn’t want to get attached to another school or environment and then have to leave it again. However, my heart couldn’t resist the smiling faces in the Toastmasters (Public Speaking) Organization at UAlbany. Plus, joining in with a new group of people who were different than me yet had the same interests, was really refreshing. It was good to know that I could be accepted into an environment that I wasn’t familiar with.

4. Teach

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Believe it or not, this is an opportunity for you to teach people. You have experiences that a lot of the traditional students couldn’t imagine happening. You trotted off the beaten path and that is not a bad thing. Because of my previous knowledge I was able to make great relations with the faculty and staff at the University because I knew how to talk to them. I was easily hired for well-known campus jobs and internships that put me in high-standing leadership positions. These traditional students can learn a lot from us untraditional students. So, make a Freshy Friend and amaze them with your life story.

Sure, College is a difficult experience for anyone, but going off the beaten path is a feat that not many people can say they have taken. You’re here for a second chance. Be proud that you were one of the few people to change their life around and do what it really was you wanted to do. Rock on my Untraditional Scholar! You got this!