The biggest takeaway from my college experience as a transfer student is to be vocal and communicate with your peers. They may have information that you don’t have.
Greetings, my name is Adrian Murray, better known as “Aj,” and I am a graduating senior at Florida A&M University majoring in public relations. I’m from Cocoa, and as a transfer student I learned quickly that communication with peers is a major part of university life.
I transferred to FAMU after graduating with my AA degree from Tallahassee Community College. TCC is a great college and an awesome route to save money before attending a major university, but the curriculum and campus environment is different from major universities.
As a transfer student you are already behind on many things that are mentioned on these universities’ campus on day one of freshman year.
It was vital for me to come in as a junior and learn about things such as capstone and a 20-page research paper that I would have to complete. Most students already had jumpstarts or simply were aware of these things.
From day one I felt like I was already behind as I heard conversations about things, I was unaware of. I quickly started to network with my peers to learn about things that were new to me. I knew if I didn’t speak up, I would be left behind and no one would care.
As a transfer student I expected the major university experience to be about partying, having fun but also making good grades. Boy was I wrong, I instantly felt the stress settle in as being a transfer student is challenging within itself. You must relearn an entirely new campus, meet new friends, and meet new professors, all while also dealing with some credits not being transferable due to the university’s curriculum.
The stress from these situations could make you feel like giving up.
I know if I started my college career at FAMU I would have been more vocal since day one as I would have been more comfortable in my setting. I also would have never felt like I was in a scramble to complete things, because I would have had this information two years in advance. Community college comes with many pros but there are also cons that no one mentions.
No matter how you start it’s all about how you finish, but I wish I started my college career at FAMU.