My journey to Clemson started when I moved to Greenville, South Carolina my senior year of high school. I had grown up outside of Toronto and I didn’t know anything about the schools in the area. After two years at another school, I toured Clemson and fell in love with the campus. Before that moment, I hadn’t known anything outside of the Carolina/Clemson rivalry. I essentially was coming to Clemson blind to what Clemson culture was like. Here’s the stages of going from a transfer student, to a full-fledged member of the Clemson family:
1. You feel like a freshman.
Even though I had already put two years of school under my belt, I felt like a freshman all over again. I got lost on the way to classes, sat in the wrong classrooms, and constantly had my map pulled up on the my.Clemson app. This period of adjustment can be frustrating. You don’t know many people, but it feels like everyone knows everyone else. Unlike a freshman, you probably don’t live on campus, so you don’t make connections that way either. Eventually, though, you grow out of this phase and start enjoying campus.
2. You find resources
If you don’t already live in the transfer living and learning community, you soon start finding out about the resources for transfer students on campus. There’s a section of student government dedicated to transfer students, which hosts events and offers support. There’s even specialty transfer advising for those who need help getting into the programs they need to be a part of. This is when you realize that there’s a lot of other students at Clemson in the exact same position as you, and that you aren’t the only upperclassman stumbling around campus, lost.
3. You find your niche at Clemson
Maybe it’s connections in your major classes, a Greek organization, or even as a writer for Her Campus, but you eventually find your people. This is the moment when you go from a transfer student to a member of the family. It gets easier finding your way around, you start seeing people you know everywhere, and you understand all the Clemson jokes and references (like how bad parking is). This is when you feel extremely confident in your decision to transfer!
4. You never want to leave
Once you get settled into school, you realize you only have x amount of semesters left and you almost don’t want it to end! But you also want to get a job and start making real money, so it’s a bitter-sweet feeling.
Even though transferring can be an overwhelming and difficult process, being a part of the Clemson family makes it all worth it. I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world, and I have grown so much because of it. This school has impacted me, and it will always be a part of my identity, just like it is for almost every other Clemson student. I guess it’s true what they say: there really is something in these hills.