My College Experience as a Transfer Student

Being a college transfer student can feel like one of the most overwhelming periods of one’s life. From counselor meetings to new friends, it can feel as if a new revision of your life has taken place. The change can feel stressful as you enter a new school with a different culture and way of doing things, but I’m here to tell you that the change isn’t as scary as you may think.

I felt a lot of these emotions during the transfer process as well: stresses of meeting new people, making sure my credits transfer, adjusting to a new location, and many more. It may seem daunting at first but there are many ways to make this process and new school an enjoyable experience. A little about my story is I attended a Community College and played soccer during my time there. It’s where I built my friendships, academic habits, and became immersed as a student. After my 2 years were up, it was time to transfer to a university to finish up my degree in Finance. 

I decided to attend Eastern Washington University, which meant I had to take a step back from playing college soccer. Sports had always been my identity and how I met people, so entering into this new phase of life was uncomfortable. But here are some things that turned my process into fun and the best decision of my life.

A New Life

Upon arrival at Eastern, I knew I had to get acclimated to the university and place myself in positions to meet new people. The first step I took was taking a paid student work-study position within the Academic Affairs office. I also took a coaching position with the sport I loved, and although these things were great, I still didn’t find myself connecting with others and finding “my people.” I decided I needed to surround myself with other students and get involved in a club/organization on campus. 

My initial thought was to play club sports, as that is what I knew best and was most comfortable in. Before I could start, though, I noticed some overlapping responsibilities with practice times. I was then invited to an event a fraternity was hosting at my school. I thought there would be no way I’d ever consider the possibility of joining a fraternity, but they lured me in with basketball. I found myself connecting with the people around me and decided to keep an open mind. 

What was different about this fraternity in comparison to most is that they were recently founded and looking for someone to lead the fraternity. After some time of getting to know those around me and building relationships, I fully committed. Soon, I had the intimidating but exciting thought to lead as President. Through the encouragement of the friends I met, I took on the role. Afterwards, I connected with many new people in and out of my organization with new friendships and opportunities. This brought me a new connection to the school and environment I was placed in, allowing me to enjoy my time while at Eastern Washington University. Now playing sports or joining a fraternity may not be for everyone, but what I would encourage new transfer students to do is get involved in whatever it is you enjoy and be willing to lean into the discomforts of new opportunity and adventure. 

Transfer Priorities

Transferring can feel overwhelming—from figuring out a new living space, campus, education system, and many more, it can feel like the world is caving in on you. In my case, I had to establish my priorities early so I could find myself successful. This meant I had to decide how much time I was willing to give to school, my friends, work, and other wants/obligations. The biggest piece to my time management skills was sacrifice. I had to accept early on that I wasn’t going to be able to go to everything I wanted: there had to be time for school, which was at the top of my list, but also time for things I enjoyed doing. 

I started to see a lot of overlap between the fraternity, school, work, coaching, volunteering, and my personal time. This is where sacrifice and priorities played a key role. There have been many times in which I couldn’t go to an event or gathering due to school and work obligations. These decisions are not always easy to make, but building a healthy balance of work, school, and social life is crucial in a new environment. As a transfer student, it was tough to find a social setting while balancing all my other responsibilities. On the other hand, I would have crashed and burned if I didn’t get involved in my campus community. Priorities in everyone’s life may differ; some people require more social time than others, but establishing your priorities and creating time for your responsibilities is what will prepare you for success now and in the future.

New Skills

As a transfer student, I felt like I was walking in blind to a new system of learning. It was hard, as I had become comfortable in my old ways of learning, homework systems, class sizes, etc. I had many thoughts like, “What if school is harder here?” or fears of being unprepared. Little did I know the skills I was building through this process. 

As transfer students, we incur many hurdles the typical student may never have. For example, meeting with counselors and preparing documents for our transfer process produces patience, perseverance, and initiative in order to be set up for success. This happens through awaiting answers from both past and future colleges about credits, policies, and advisors. 

Another skill I developed is communication and planning. As I continued through my transfer process, I had to carry out extensive amounts of communication through email, zooms, and many other meetings in order to ensure I was on track to graduate. This also helped me understand what professional relationships look like and the importance of being dependable, timely with responses, and carrying a professional demeanor. 

Establishing these kinds of relationships with my advisors and counselors created a space where my advisors are willing to advocate for me when something went wrong. An illustration of this is when I took a Management Information class at the community college whose credits weren’t accepted at my university. Or so I thought—after many meetings and emails with counselors, we found a way to make my credits transfer. This likely would not have happened if it wasn’t for the tenacity of my counselors to find a solution to this problem. With this I’d like to encourage you with the new skills you may have developed in comparison to traditional students.