Transferring into Chatham? You have a wonderful year ahead of you! Our Photo Blog Editor, Stephanie Welling, agreed to share her story. She transferred into Chatham in 2011 and is currently working toward her Bachelor’s in Media Arts with concentrations in Photography and Graphic Design.
HC: Why did you choose to transfer to Chatham?
Stephanie: I had applied to a couple other schools on the east coast but Chatham was always my first choice. I applied to the other schools mostly because I knew having a backup was smart, but I always planned on coming here.
What was the most difficult part of making the transition? How did you overcome it?
Making friends with upperclasswomen. Years-wise I would have been a junior transferring into Chatham but, given the few courses that didn’t transfer over, I was admitted as a sophomore. So I am actually a year older than the girls in my class. As a transfer student, I have come across a lot of people who thought I was a first year. It’s already difficult coming in as a newcomer (but not really) so late into the college experience but it was especially difficult finding upperclasswomen who didn’t immediately think I was straight out of high school and therefore didn’t know a lot about college. The only way to overcome something like that is to just handle it as it comes. I’d be asked what year I was and the reaction was almost always shock when they learned I’d graduated from high school in 2009 and have technically been a college student for 3 years.
What is your best advice for a student hoping to succeed academically in their first semester on campus?
Academically speaking, my transition from a Californian community college to Chatham was not terribly difficult. I got most of my gen-ed out of the way at community college so, in a way, my time at Chatham has actually been a little easier now that I can focus on my major. If someone were to transfer in with very little gen-ed credits behind them, I’d advise them to be prepared for a more challenging workload at Chatham. University-level general education is almost always more intense than that at a community college.
How did you make friends when you got to Chatham?
The combined first-year orientation and transfer orientation made it exceptionally easy to make friends at Chatham. Our orientations were occasionally separated so I got to meet both girls in the same position as me and girls entering their first year of college. I never had an issue with making friends at Chatham. Like I said, it was much more difficult to become friends with the returning students but, after a while, we all just became regular students and I was able to become friends with some upperclasswomen.
Is there anything you wish you’d known before you got to Chatham?
Not particularly. When I transferred into Chatham from a community college I was following in the footsteps of my sister (she transferred into a private, Southern California university a couple years prior) so I had a pretty good idea of what it would be like.
Is there any other advice you’d like to share?
Don’t be disappointed if you run into some difficulty with making friends with the returning students. Even though you’re not new to college, it can be a little disconcerting for your fellow classmates who have been together since the beginning to admit a new member. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to meet both the first years and my fellow transfers so I had no problem with the transition. Transferring to a university is a pretty unique experience in that you are hovering in between being new to a college but not being new to college itself. But, after a while, all of that fades away as you progress into the school year and become just another member of the Chatham community.
Also, transfer students aren’t offered nearly as much support as the new students (being that we don’t really need it) but it’s always okay to take advantage of it anyway. Even if you’re not straight out of high school it’s still perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed and homesick. I was fortunate enough to never need the support but I knew of a couple girls who definitely did and weren’t sure if they could be included in the support system for newcomers. No one will ever turn you away if you genuinely need help.
Photo courtesy of Stephanie Welling