Transferring colleges is a common and beneficial act for students seeking a great higher education. There are two major groups of people who transfer: community college students looking to upgrade to a university, and students unhappy with the college they are attending. Either way, being a transfer student can be tough.
If you are a community college student transferring to a university, you are likely joining up with a university two or three years behind all of the students who will be in your classes. They all lived in dorms together and have been forming relationships over a few years. Now you must come in and make yourself part of their school. If you are transferring out of displeasure with your school, you are likely traumatized from your negative experience, and maybe reconsidering whether college is right for you at all. Now you have to take a big risk and start all over again.
Either way, transferring colleges has its benefits and its drawbacks. But once you have decided to transfer, there are plenty of ways to make the process easier. Whether you are transferring to Ohio University or University of Southern California, these 6 methods will make your college transfer easier.
1. Map Out Your Likes and Dislikes
Get a solidified pros and cons list going for your college search. Having a complete idea of what you like and don’t like in a college will make it easier to pick between your many, many options, and prevent you from having to transfer again down the line.
2. Consider Every Option?
Don’t let yourself be pigeon holed into a local school, or the school where most students from your school transfer. Make sure you consider every option that is within your reach. You may qualify for more colleges than you think, so leave no stone unturned.
3. Talk to a Counselor?
There are employees at your school who spend all day every day helping people transfer to your school, and out of your school. If you are a community college student especially, there is likely an entire transfer department within your reach. So utilize this resource instead of trying to do it all yourself.
4. Communicate with Your School of Choice?
Don’t just get help from the school you have decided to leave — reach out to your new school as well. They will be highly motivated to help you transfer there, of course, so they will have plenty of help to offer.
5. Keep Your Major in Mind?
When assessing different schools, keep in mind which major you are hoping to pursue. Pick a school that excels in that major, while also keeping in mind that it still subject to change.
6. Live on Campus?
If you have been in college for a couple of years, you might be used to living out of the dorms. But when you start at a new college, you will be in much better shape socially if you throw yourself into the action by living in dorms on campus.