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Life > Experiences

Things I wish I knew About Being a Transfer Student

Updated Published
Jordan McDonald
The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at IUP chapter.

There are things I wish I knew about being a student before I transferred so I could mentally prepare myself.

I started out off at the culinary branch campus of IUP and when I finished my schooling there I transferred to main campus to complete my bachelors. Coming into a huge campus as a second semester sophomore was intimidating; I didn’t know anyone or where anything was (I often got lost, and I still do).

  • What was available to me. IUP offers many things to their students and I feel like I wasn’t aware of a lot of those things. They offer discounts, fun activities, and their organizations/clubs offer so much as well.
  • It’s lonely. I have always been a shy person; I’m not usually the type to put myself out there, approach random people, or go out and party. That being said, my first semester as a transfer student was lonely. Thank goodness it’s not as lonely now since I’ve made friends in and outside of school.
  • There are people there to help you. IUP offers so many things to their students. The writing center, counseling, therapy (individual or group), tutoring, etc.. I struggled my first semester since I’m more of a hands on learner; all of my classes were lectures. I wasn’t aware of all the resources that could have helped me, I’m glad I know now.

Obviously everyone has different experiences when it comes to transferring, but there are always so many resources there to help you adjust, put yourself out there, and make friends.

Jordan McDonald is the Vice President at the Her Campus at the IUP chapter. She oversees the editors and the social media team, and works closely with the IUP Her Campus President. Beyond Her Campus, Jordan has done an externship at French Lick Resort for her degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. She is also a member of Eta Sigma Delta, which is a honor society for business students. She is senior at IUP studying Hospitality Management. On top of school and clubs she is in, she works part time. In her free time, Jordan enjoys going to concerts and spending time with her loved ones and her two cats, Pumpkin and Boots. She is a Gilmore Girls fanatic and is a big follower of Harry Styles and Taylor Swift. Jordan encourages everyone to treat others with kindness and to treat yourself with the same attitude!