Transferring Colleges After One Year: One Student’s Journey
I Found a New Home and a Place to Grow at UST
Alyssa Barnes, transfer student
Editor’s Note: University of St. Thomas student Alyssa Barnes (MAJOR YEAR) knows all about transferring to the University of St. Thomas in Houston: She made the transition after her freshman year at another institution. She shares her story in this first-hand account.
Transferring colleges is not easy. I began my collegiate career as a freshman at Fisher More College in Fort Worth. I flew from Detroit to Fort Worth full of excitement—I was finally free, it was time for college life! No one told me that living in a city where you do not know a single soul is extremely lonely. Every day I woke up feeling as if I was living in the shell of a life I once knew.
There were countless times I called my family as I held back the tears saying “I just want to go home.” There were many nights I almost purchased a plane ticket home. I went from knowing the majority of people in my school and city, from going home to those who love me, to being surrounded and living with complete and total strangers. Not only was the academic and social life harder than I was used to, but also life as a whole was different moving from the North to the South, and I was a stranger.
Just Keep Swimming: Preparing to Transfer to a New College
I pushed through and finished the entire year as I prepared for a college transfer, which was a terrifying process full of the unknown. Keeping track of over 20 applications with their various usernames and passwords, trying to keep track of what each school offered was challenging. Then came the campus visits.
I felt as if I was Nemo lost in the ocean until I visited UST. The process was aided by my admissions counselor, who had an abundance of patience as I emailed her question after question, as did Dr. Terry Hall, associate professor of philosophy.
Finally, I felt at home.
I am not sure how to express the feeling in words, and it sounds cheesy to reduce it to a feeling, but all I can say honestly is go where you feel at home, because you will spend more time on campus than off. If you are not comfortable in your environment, your scholarship will suffer and you will spend more time upset than you will spend becoming a better adult.
A Tip for Transfer Students: Find Your Community
Finally, make sure you get to know your city. Music, art, coffee, food, and dogs are some of my passions, and once I discovered Houston’s offerings in those areas, life became better.
To this day there are still times when I want to go home, but I have learned to push through and I have built a life in Houston that I miss when I return home, thanks to the welcoming environment of UST.
Useful Resources:
8 Questions To Ask When Transferring or Returning to College