If applying for colleges is stressful in high school, then going through the college transfer process is mind numbing. Since I’m 95% done with my application, I thought I’d share some advice for those that are thinking about transferring.
1. Be 110% sure that you want to transfer – You can’t just be 100% positive that you want to go through this process. The transfer application is like boot camp for a college student’s mind. This isn’t like high school where you have an abundance of time and resources to apply for colleges. With the transfer process, you’re all on your own.
So, if you know for sure that transferring is right for you and you can handle the anxiety that comes with applications, then proceed to my next piece of advice.
2. Do your research – Now that you’ve decided to end whatever social life you had, you need to research where you want to transfer and why. Is it for the location? Cost? Majors? School name (no judgment here)? For me, the school that I want to transfer to has more classes that I’m interested in, and a recruiter for a volunteer organization that I’d like to work with. Goals and objectives are important, so make sure they’re in check with the school’s you’re applying to.
3. Organization! – Agenda, Google calendar, sticky notes, and phone reminders will be your best (and maybe only) friends. I use all four of those methods because I’m super forgetful and easily anxious when it comes to applications. Write down every date, no matter the significance, months beforehand, and keep your applications together.
4. Try to take classes that transfer – Nothing upsets me more than wasted money, and I’m sure no one wants to pay for classes that won’t transfer. It’s important to familiarize yourself with your prospective college’s website and find their list of transferable classes. If they don’t have one, or you’re curious to see how many of your classes transfer, this website answers that question.
5. Once you submit your application, don’t stress too much – I know the transfer process can be daunting, but it’s not the most difficult process that we’ll go through in life. Therefore, once you have everything together and you finally press that submit button, release all your worries about transferring. If we get in, we get in. And if we don’t, that doesn’t mean we’ve completely failed at life either.
We should be proud that we were ambitious enough to do this in one of the busiest times of our lives. We worked hard, and that’s really all that matters.