The beginning of college is a really emotionally loaded time for everybody. It is scary to start your life over in a brand new place, knowing nobody and having no support system. Often, people also put an incredible amount of pressure on their new college life to be perfect. After 18 years of living at home, most people get restless and anxious for independence. High school is a horrible time for something like nine out of every ten people, and college is viewed as the fresh start. The chance to start a new life and hopefully be happy. All of this leads to an emotionally packed first year of college.
It can also lead to an outstanding letdown if things do not work out your way.
Regardless of effort or enthusiasm, people sometimes get halfway through their first year of college, or even halfway through their college education, and realize they are just in the wrong place. It is a disappointing and difficult realization to come to. After putting so much pressure on your new school to change your life, you can be left feeling betrayed or like a failure if it doesn’t work out. Whether you are blaming yourself or your school, there is always plenty of opportunities to turn things around. You can drop out of school, an enviable decision for those with the confidence to execute it. As romantic as it seems though, dropping out of college is no longer a practical path to a career unless you have invented Facebook or are a generationally talented performer.
The other option, of course, is to transfer to a different school. This is a scary decision for its own reasons though. We have already discussed the emotional implications of starting college, and now you would be choosing to do it again. But transferring is done all the time, and it works out for plenty of people. Whether you want to transfer to Washington State University or Northwestern University, these are 5 things you should know about transferring colleges.
- Colleges Don’t Want You to Keep Your Credits
Your new school wants you to pay for as many credits as possible, so they won’t want to accept your transfer credits.
- Starting School a Second Time is Easier
As much as you feel your first shot at higher education has failed, you have learned a lot about yourself and education. Your second shot will go much smoother.
- Live on Campus
When you start at a new school, you will be tempted to live off campus, because it is nicer in almost every way. This will ultimately isolate you and make it difficult for you to make new friends.
- You Aren’t the Problem
Even if you feel you could have worked harder to make your first college experience work, blaming yourself in unproductive.
- School Isn’t for Everyone
You should try as hard as you can to get a degree, but it won’t solve all of your problems. And sometimes it just isn’t meant to be.