Back in 2015, when I was a senior in high school, I made the decision to attend a small community college instead of going to a university right after high school to save money and to be closer to home. My year spent at community college was fun, but transferring from that environment to the University of Iowa campus has not been an easy one. There are a lot of things I didn’t think about before I transferred here this fall.
1. Buses are horrifying
What is a bus schedule? Why do I have to stand on this thing? How do I know which bus to take?! There’s an exit door AND an enter door? I would rather just walk across campus to avoid all of this.
2. Worrying about when to cross the street
At community college, there were no busy streets and intersections to walk across. Cross walks did not exist. Waiting to cross the street wasn’t a thing. I never had to worry about getting hit by a car or having to watch for pedestrians when I was driving through campus either.
3. It takes me twice as long to walk to class than it did at my community college
Last year, I rolled out of bed at 7:50 for my 8 a.m. class. At U of I, I leave class a half hour early, and sometimes I still freak out that I might be late. I do hit 10,000 steps on my Fitbit every day though…but I have to wake up earlier than I used to, so I’m not sure which one is more important.
4. It’s harder to meet people here
Going to a small community college results in everyone knowing everyone, and coming to a University is a big change. Walking down the sidewalk and not recognizing a single face is just….weird.
5. Being stereotyped as being a freshman
The biggest struggle of being a transfer student is that I am not fresh out of high school. When I have to tell people that it’s my first year on campus, they always hit me with the “How’s your freshman year going so far?!” I. AM. NOT. A. FRESHMAN. Sometimes I feel like this is my freshman year all over again because I don’t know where anything is or how anything works. It took me fifteen minutes to figure out how to print something off here. I’ve gotten lost on campus at least five times, and for the first few weeks I had to use my GPS on my iPhone to take me to the buildings where my classes were.
Even though being a transfer student is a struggle some days, I am happy that I chose to attend U of I! The campus is beautiful, and it’s great to be a Hawkeye.