School has been in session for a little over a month now and while many of us have found our rhythm for the semester, some haven’t been as lucky. That’s right, I’m talking about you transfer students and I’m here to tell you that you’re not alone. And if you’re anything like me, a student who transferred from a private Liberal Arts College to a state university, let me tell you—the struggle was real, all ten of them.
1. You have no chill because you still have yet to get your bearings, so don’t feel crazy for thinking the apocalypse is coming every time you step on campus.
2. You are constantly overwhelmed AF by the swarm of faces surrounding you, not to mention your personal bubble gets popped on the daily. After all, you went from a school with a population of 2,000 students to one of 40,000 students.
3. You have absolutely no lay of the land, unlike everyone around you, so your campus map has reached “bae” status. And because you have yet to figure out the campus bus routes, the fear of riding the wrong one makes you “can’t even.” Inevitably, you feel even more like an outsider.
4. Part One: Your current friend situation (*cough* nonexistent *cough*) forces you to come out of your comfort zone in order to meet new people.
4. Part 2: Even though you have Taylor Swift squad goals, there are days you can’t be bothered to try because your priorities have shifted. Making friends isn’t your main concern like it was freshmen year.
5. You are stuck in classes you have already taken at your old school because the majority of your credits didn’t transfer.
6. In addition to retaking classes, your advisor informs you of Texas’s Core Curriculum. These are classes you’re required to take by the state, and (surprise, surprise) they set your graduation date back even further, leaving you to think of how easy life was before you transferred.
7. Mo’ classes, mo’ money, mo’ problems. Whenever you use your debit card you experience a minor panic attack as you anxiously wait for the machine to read “approved,” also you are no stranger to overdraft protection.
8. You mix up your old school’s colors, mascot, and fight song with your new school’s colors, mascot, and fight song. The only thing you are sure of is that both school’s love pizza, because who could possibly hate pizza?
9. Almost every time you feel the label of “transfer student” wearing away, you’re thrown a curveball, and you’re back at square one debating if college is even right for you.
And lastly,
10. You have never been so thirsty for graduation to where you will do just about anything to be one-step closer to the finish line.
So, I feel you, but if Michael Scott can go from zero to hero then I guarantee you will too.
Plus, only someone as super awesome as you could handle being a transfer student.