Transfer Student's Transition

Photo by: Ashley Alonzo

New city, new campus, new atmosphere, new professors, new people and new coaches.

A new beginning is always hard, and although occasionally it is very easy for some people to adapt, it can be difficult. Especially when a college student is transferring to a completely different school.

There can be many reasons to transfer from one school to another. It could be simple things like being able to stay closer to home, or because a student never became used to a big campus. There are also the student-athlete cases, when better scholarships are offered, or if a student graduates from a community college.

Mountaga Diallo, a Junior from Boston, Mass., recently transferred to Ottawa University to join the Men’s Soccer Team.

“I was very excited about starting school in Ottawa, seeing how practices were going to be, and the coach. But after I first practiced and met my new teammates, I got even more excited and I’m very happy with where I am right now,” he says.

Another example is Lea Kozulic, a Graduate Assistant from Croatia who has been at Ottawa University for one year already. While she was in school for her undergraduate degree, she visited a few towns in Kansas but never came across Ottawa. Yet before coming here, she was not expecting the town to be as small as it is. She used to attend college in Des Moines, Iowa. The city was completely different, but no matter the difference, she really enjoys the small-town community and how the atmosphere is around here.

There will always be pros and cons about changes, and in the case of transferring from one school to another, it could be harder for some to adjust than others.

Students usually don’t know anyone at the new school, and in the beginning, it can be hard to adapt.

For Diallo, he was already motivated about Ottawa then got even more excited. As for Kozulic, it was not what she was thinking it would be.

No matter how hard it can be, things always work out in the end. For every student who has some fear about transferring schools, it is definitely worth the challenge to try something new.