“I’m transferring” is a phrase no college student ever wants to say. Being a senior in high school, you dream about your next home and how your next 4 years at your university is going to be an amazing experience. But, sometimes that is not the case, well at least it wasn’t for me. Now, I loved my previous university and the friends I made there, but it was not the new home I was craving. Because of this, I decided to make the decision no college student really wants to do, which was to transfer. Now, a semester into my transfer at The George Washington University and I have some topics I would like to discuss for overall transfer students since I feel like it is not talked about enough.
I personally feel since I made the decision to transfer on my own, I have been able to capitalize on the opportunities given to me this semester. But, if you transfer because of other people influencing you like your friends transferring or other pressures, then I would highly recommend self reflecting before making this massive change in your life, again.
Now there is a stigma about feeling like a freshman again, and yes, I totally felt this during the first couple months and still do just due to the fact of not knowing where classes are or knowing all of the abbreviations of building names. But, even though I was lost at times, I had very little to none of the “freshman angst” that I had the previous year. I was more aware of the opportunities I could take advantage of without feeling completely overwhelmed and have evidence of what it has given people in the past since I had a year of college under my belt. An example is my decision to rush a business fraternity. My friends at my old school rushed one and loved it, which then led me to rush one my first semester here to get assimilated as soon as possible.
Continuing on the topic of friends, friends have been a topic I struggled with in the beginning. I felt like I was missing out on my old friends while not making new ones here. Thankfully, my rooming situation helped me out tremendously. I am very close with my roommates and I was able to connect with their friends. But, I craved having my own friends, the friends I made by myself. The nature of GW is very independent and everyone seems to be doing multiple things at one time which makes everyone very busy. This sense of independence in addition to being a transfer student was difficult for me. I felt that everyone was and is still very connected to their friend group from freshman, year which is completely normal, but this made it hard for me to truly dive deeper into connections with people. Now, this was solved for me by getting involved in as much as I could handle. GW is a very student organization driven school which is how I have met the majority of my friends through involvement. This is a great way to meet people since you tend to have common interests, making conversation a lot easier.
Would I transfer if I knew this was how the semester was going to go? Absolutely. I have grown so much this semester due to my need to adjust to a new place and develop new relationships in the process. Also, I have taken advantage of so many opportunities that I would not have done at my previous university: exploring the nation’s capital, rushing a business fraternity, and becoming a writer for Her Campus. Change can be difficult, yes, but it is all worth it in the end.