You are a sophomore, but you're new. Everything should be familiar to you, but you have no idea what is going on. You feel like a freshman, but it's your second year of college. You are a transfer student.

Transferring is actually scarier than being a new freshman in college, because they expect you to know when you actually don't. I know this by experience, because I transferred from a huge institution of over 26,000 students to a small private university of barely 3,000 students. Granted this transfer has been the best thing to happen to me, it was still very stressful. Let me tell you what they don't tell you about transferring schools, and some advice along with it.

Transferring credits is extremely irritating, especially when a lot of them do not end up transferring for full credit. If you move schools in a different state, this may be an issue because each state has different requirements for either the general education classes, or even your major. What may have been a high enough math class at your previous school, may not meet the high standards at your new institution. To help ease this process, really work hard with your adviser to come up with a plan best suited for you. This will help you make sure you are taking the correct classes and graduating on time.

Lack of communication is huge problem sometimes. Moving was super stressful in my experience, due to the fact that no one told me where to go and what I needed to do in any email or phone call. If you want answers, you have to ask. This can be a problem if you're like me and get anxious whenever you have to make a phone call. You have to do it though. They may have not realized that they are giving you a lack of information, and they will be willing to help you and answer any questions that you need or want to know. If you open up the line of communication, then your process will go a lot smoother.

If they have a new student orientation, go to it! Even if you aren't required, you should go to it. I opted out of it, and that was a mistake. I lost out on an opportunity to make more friends and get to know the campus and school more. They tell you stuff that you should be made aware of like rules, requirements, tips, and other general information. I cannot stress enough the fact that you should go to orientation.

Along with the fact that you should go to orientation to learn about the school, you cannot expect to do the same stuff and live the same way you did at your last college. They probably have different rules. Keep an open mind and be willing to change your lifestyle just a bit. I mean you did transfer for a reason, you don't want to repeat your last school. Also, it would be unfortunate if you were ignorant of the rules and got in trouble for drinking when your new school is a dry campus, even though your old one was a wet campus.

Expect to feel like a freshman. You're new and everyone assumes you are a freshman. It gets tiresome, but it is something you just have to deal with. Also, when you tell them your a transfer student, be prepared to tell them your life story of your old school and why you left. It's humorous how many times I had to explain to people why I left. It got to a point that I just had it memorized and summarized in a few short sentences with a transitions to a new topic readily on hand.

With all of these being stated, transferring was the best thing for me. I highly encourage it, if you find yourself in a place that you are not happy and need a change. Ask the questions and put yourself out there, and that will make the whole process easier. You should be happy in school and you should be in an environment where that is going to give you happiness. Just make yourself aware of the challenges of transferring and you will do great!