First off let me start by saying congratulations! What you did was not easy and no matter how long it took you to transfer or what age you are now, you did it, and that is huge. You may have recently moved to a new city or into a dorm or apartment for the first time and that just adds even more to the “newness” factor. Walking around a campus feeling like a freshman again, when you’re actually in your twenties, can be a bit of a blow to the old ego but with time that feeling will transform into confidence. Below are a few things to remember as you find your way at SFSU as a new fresh faced transfer student!
1. Start your Semester off Right Head to campus early on the first few days or even the first couple of weeks. Walk around, memorise where your classes are located, where the food you want to try is and where your department is located for when you inevitably have to go talk to a counselor about some credit not transferring over correctly. Walk down the incredibly intimidating row of organizations tabling and pick up a few flyers. Pick a spot near Malcom X Plaza and people watch for twenty minutes. The key to feeling more at ease is absorbing as much as you can. When you have a feel for the vibe of the campus things become a lot easier.
2. Are you a Freshman? You will get asked this hundreds and hundreds of times. Don’t be offended and please do not be embarrassed to say that you’re a transfer. If you happen to be rushing a sorority do not feel bad for being older than most of the girls going through it with you. When people are shocked to hear you aren’t 18 and fresh out of high-school, smile and move on. You are never too old to join things on campus no matter where your interests lie.
Ps. Most organizations, besides Greek life, will let you join at any point in the semester if you happen to find a cool club later on!
3. You are not stuck If you transferred to SFSU as a business major and suddenly realise that you actually want to be a BECA major…switch. You are not rooted in your associate’s degree and no matter what, you can always switch your major to something else. This is also true of the school itself. If you transferred to SFSU and after a week, a month, a semester, a year, whatever it is, you decided this isn’t where you were meant to be, leave. If the only reason you are staying is because you don’t want to extend the number of years you are in college your happiness may suffer. It is not set in stone that college must take four years. When I graduate I will have been in college for five. I know people who will have been in college for eight years, three years, and even twelve years. There is no rush to graduate my friend. College is a process and sometimes that process takes a little longer.