How to Succeed as a Transfer Student

Transferring colleges takes courage and effort. It’s always harder to start all over again, especially when you drastically change your major and your learning institution. And many transfer students are worried about their grades, social skills, daily schedule, and many other things that might go awry once they go to another college. This blog post will help you stay motivated and succeed as a transfer student.

Be Initiative and Get Involved

Attending only classes and lectures might be not enough in order to really blend in and get the most out of your new learning institution. It might be hard for you to accommodate to new rules, routines, and life tempo as everything might seem like you don’t belong at first.

What you need to do is to attend various campus events, student gatherings, club meetings, and so on. If you want to meet new friends, you might enjoy activities for transfer students as you will definitely feel less stressed among people just like you. Don’t be afraid to use the opportunities that your college offers – you can try yourself at sports, art, or science events and even find some new hobbies.

Meet Your Advisor

Don’t be afraid to meet your advisor – believe us, you can really learn a lot from them. It might make you come out of your comfort zone a bit, especially if you are not used to asking for help, but you definitely need to talk to them in order to avoid much bigger stress. You might be studying for years and not know that there is a great gym on the territory or some cool student life events just because you didn’t ask once. 

You might also need some help with your studies – it’s always great when you can come up with a question to a person who is there for you to make everything so that you feel comfortable and motivated. This is their job, so don’t be embarrassed to ask even the banalest questions.

You should also pay attention to your credits and the fact that they transferred successfully towards your major and what else you still need to work on. It’s also one of the main questions that you should turn to an advisor with.

Attend Campus Frequently or Live On-Campus

Many problems might be omitted if you live on-campus. For example, being late or the urgent need to go to the library before the deadline – it’s much easier to be on track if you live on-campus or close enough. It’s also about all the student life that you might miss if you don’t visit campus frequently enough to be informed about what’s going on – small changes in the schedule, various events, fairs, student group meetings, etc.

Don’t forget to utilize campus resources, such as data or material bases, library access, professors’ office hours, etc. Some colleges provide various helping centers, such as writing centers, accessibility services centers, and even career centers. Their help might come in handy, so make sure you research what opportunities your learning institution provides.

Learn to Manage Your Time

Time management might be not one of your strengths and it also might be a problem when you transfer colleges. Going to study at a new learning institution takes some responsibility and adaptability, especially if you come from a community college to a college that has more workload and in-depth learning requirements. As some colleges are less demanding than others, it might cause you to change your approach.

This is when you need to learn how to manage your time effectively. Transfer students’ struggles are real and if you can help yourself by planning your study sessions, you should really do so. Start with creating a study plan, avoid procrastination, and motivate yourself with various incentives – take short breaks during your studies, eat your favorite snacks, and find the time to hang out with your friends.

College is the time when you might feel overwhelmed with the number of tasks you need to complete as well as having a part-time job, socializing, and taking care of yourself and your living space. Make sure you put all of those chores into your schedule. You might want to set specific weekdays for a particular activity. For example, Saturday might be your fun day, while Sunday is your cleaning day. Don’t put tasks aside, and try to balance all of them before the deadline comes.

Manage Your Course Load

Sometimes you might get tempted to take a lot of classes at the same time because they all seem to be very interesting and also it allows you to graduate early. However, it’s not the greatest option when it comes to a student who has just transferred. 

Generally speaking, it’s not advised to take more than four course units per semester, especially if you are a transfer student and when it’s your first semester in a new learning institution. Some of the classes might take more of your time and effort than others, so you need to concentrate on planning your classes and deciding which ones you can balance well. It’s recommended to make sure you have an evenly spread load during your academic career – research which classes are harder than the others and mix them together when planning your next semester.

Don’t Forget to Attend Orientation

Orientation might be an event that you find silly. However, it’s not as it allows you to learn more about the campus, other students, various activities or events provided, and even learn something about professors and their teaching methods. It might become an incredibly important part of your success as a transfer student. 

If you have already missed yours, you might want to join an orientation event for other transfer students later that year. Some of the colleges allow you to do that. Make sure you ask your advisor about it.

Wrapping Up

Being a transfer student is fun and exciting, though it requires you to double your effort. Make sure you make the most out of the resources you have provided, and don’t be afraid to ask for help – you can turn the specialist at your college at any time. And if you have difficulties with your homework, you can always turn to our team.