From Nittany Lion to Fighting Scot
The tale of one transfer student
By Roman Sabella
I was one of those people who, growing up, had everything they could ever want but when college rolled around, I didn’t have a clue of where to go.
I finally signed up for college at Penn State Beaver, a local branch campus about a mile and a half away from my house in May, mere days before the starting of summer semester and long after the average student has made their decision.
That fall I became the perfect example of a college freshmen stuck with the mindset of a high schooler. I didn’t study enough, I didn’t eat right and didn’t know what I was even going to school for.
I ultimately took multiple classes in some of oddest fields ever, ranging from anthropology to film study to a class solely on the Vietnam War.
Had I stayed at Penn State these classes would’ve counted towards a degree, but over the fall of 15’ an ex-girlfriend and I visited Edinboro University and that changed everything.
When I visited Edinboro, I found a place that actually felt like the college I wish I had seen when I was a wishy-washy high school senior, but instead I chose the default option that was right up the road.
Upon arriving in the fall of 16’, I soon found myself joining organizations, choosing classes that actually meant something, making new friends, and above all, picking a major that actually suited me.
There were definitely struggles to this change though, as I was coming in not as a plucky freshman on their way to college for the first time, but as a junior who never really went away to college in the first place.
This may not seem like much, but coming in as a junior means that I have less time overall to care about socializing because essentially all my classes are major-centric at this point; everything matters and that’s a scary thought.
The largest regrets I have are not that I came to Edinboro, I honestly enjoy it a lot, but that the transfer process is such a pain for students.
Different schools have different curriculums and others won’t even have the classes for a major you had at your previous school.
I currently have at least 30 credits merely floating around as ‘free electives’, so at this point I don’t have much of an opportunity to take frivolous classes because currently I’ll already be stuck here for yet another semester beyond the projected 4 year undergraduate time frame.
But if you have transferred, or are thinking about it, don’t be fearful that you’ll have to possibly be college longer. Instead, cherish these years and use them as an opportunity to grow as a person.
Join a club, play a sport for recreation, rush a fraternity or sorority, even write for the school’s newspaper, because these memories will follow you forever.
When you finally find the place you’re meant to be, you’ll know it, and when you do, take advantage of that to the best of your ability.
