This week at Loyola Marymount University is National Transfer Student Week. I’m so appreciative that my school has a whole week dedicated to transfer students. Transferring to a new school is not an easy process. It takes a lot of hard work and adjustment. There were times where I felt out of place and where I felt like I was in the right place.
Right after high-school, I enrolled at El Camino Community College. Many people have their opinions on community college, I wasn’t so fond of it myself. I often felt ashamed or disappointed in myself that I didn’t go to a four-year university like the majority of people. Many people have the idea that people go to community college because they weren’t smart enough, or they didn’t have the best grades to attend a four-year. I am here to prove that they’re wrong. I am here to say that going to community college then transferring schools was the best decision I’ve ever made.
Many millennials have opted to attend community college as the rates of enrollment has been increasing. Many have found that attending a two-year college just fits their busy lifestyle even more. At community college, I felt supported because I had so many resources available to me. I had helpful transfer counselors that I could speak to about what schools I wanted to go to and what classes I needed to take before transferring. At community college, you can take classes on any subject you want and explore different fields that you might be interested in. The class sizes are smaller, around 30, compared to your typical lecture hall classes where there can be more than 100 students in a class. You take your major classes and general education classes that are transferable. Here I was able to narrow my interests, and eventually decided I wanted to major in psychology. You take classes with a wide variety of people who all have the same goals of transferring to a four-year university. You can join clubs and organizations just like any other school. Also, did I mention that you save so much money here compared to attending a four-year university? According to this statistic, students save about $30,000 a year by attending a community college, then transferring to a private four-year university. Once the transfer processes started, I was able to go on campus tours and that’s where I fell in love with LMU. I truly saw myself here, there was a sense of community that drew me here.
One year later, I am now a senior here and reflecting on my transfer experience. My first semester was difficult to adjust. Everyone seemed to know each other already. I remember going to class during week one and everyone was talking about what they did over the summer and how much they missed each other. Sometimes I felt alone. I was missing the friends I made in community college. Now I had to make new friends again, which can be difficult. It wasn’t until I met others in my nine am class who were also transfer students that I felt at home. I didn’t feel so alone. I knew others who understood the process of transferring schools. I finally felt that all the hard work I did for this moment paid off. I no longer feel different for going to a two-year college and then transferring. If anything I am grateful for this experience because it has taught me so much about my potential. I wish I could tell my high-school self that everything is going to be okay. Your college experience is going to be like no other. You are going to learn a lot and enjoy the process as it goes.