College Isn't One Size Fits All

Take it from someone who’s been there, college is definitely one size fits all. Every campus you go to will have a different student body, a different atmosphere, and different values. This concept makes sense, since a college campus is made up of people and every person has their own values and priorities. Different campuses attract different kinds of people, which I witnessed first hand when I transferred from a large, state university to a small, liberal arts college with four hours in between the two.

Let me start by saying, transferring is hard. Especially if it’s because you are unhappy with your current situation, which is the category I was in. Party school life was not for me. I cherished my 8-10 hours of sleep, liked spending my weekends watching movies or out on my bike, and went to college, well, to get a degree. As it turns out, 8-10 hours is too much to ask for when everyone around you is making a ruckus until the wee hours of the morning, movie nights are what the “lame” kids do, and who needs a degree when you have a $20,000 party? Am I Right? Yeah no, it was not for me. It didn’t take me very long to decide I wanted out. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. And with that, I began my search all over again, this time taking more time to research my options, reading student review websites that were not headed by a university’s PR officer. I wanted the real deal. I was lucky enough to fall in love with where I ended up, even if the primary reason I ended up where I am is because they offered me the most scholarship money, but what I’m coming to learn is that they also offer me more opportunity to grow and gain experience. In one and half years, I have accomplished so much more than I ever would have at my other university.

But I digress. The point of this blog post is not for me to gush about how much I love my school, but for me to guide you on what to do when you’ve found yourself in the big old college rut. The first thing you need to do is admit to yourself and those who are helping you with school, whether it be financially or emotionally, that you are unhappy with your current situation and you truly believe you would bloom elsewhere. After all, you do have to live there for four years, minimum. No one wants to spend 48 months unhappy.

Once you decide to leave, you have to start thinking about your next step, after all, as much as we like to talk about “the journey,” we really do need a destination. Do your research. Look into scholarships, and programs, and statistics about the campus and student body. If you were at a big school and felt like a faceless being with no name, maybe consider a small school. If you felt like your small college was just a continuation of high school, maybe take on a big school. Everyone is different, you just need to decide what you want and what experiences you are looking to gain from your time at university. Once you choose a few schools, you may want to visit, if that’s possible. If not, just dive right into the application. Maybe even place a few phone calls. Based on my own experience, how the employees talk to students says a lot about the atmosphere of the university.

Unfortunately, once you’ve submitted all of your applications all you can do is wait. That’s the hardest part. But once you do get your acceptances, it’s time to hunker down and make a decision. The difference between deciding in high school and deciding as a transfer student is that you’ve already decided once. When you have to decide for a second time, you want it to be right, so you put more effort into finding out just what it is you want. At least, that’s how I felt.

Perhaps the hardest, and most irritating part about transferring is telling everyone just that: that you are transferring. It’s particularly frustrating if you are transferring in the fall, starting over in the spring. That would be because of the holidays. There’s nothing quite like hashing out how much things sucked for you over and over again while you’re trying to enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey. Sometimes you even get remarks like, “What, were you such a freak you couldn’t make any friends?” Ouch. That one hurt. But, eventually people will become distracted by someone else’s misfortune and you will be forgotten. The most important thing to remember when transferring is to trust your gut, as well as your feelings. If you have the suspicion that things will not change, you are probably right. Because let’s be honest, when was the last time it took you months to form a group you could actually and honestly refer to as your friends? It took me less than a day to make friends at my new university, because like I said, different types of people are attracted to different types of schools. It’s true. Sure, you’ll have an odd ball out here and there, but for the most part, a large portion of the student body will hold similar values. Don’t compromise yours to fit in, just ge

#christine #backtoschool #college #transferstudent #transfer #advice #series #seriespost