What Does It Take to Transfer? Apologies Not Necessary

There is one particular issue within the college process that is close to me that, as I see it, is deeply stigmatized with labels of failure and sadness that maybe do not really fit the topic. I’m talking about the T word: transfer. I myself have plans to transfer schools for my sophomore year and, as draining as it was to go through the application process for a second time, I don’t see the whole thing as the kind of depressing, last resort scenario that comes with the sympathy I’ve received.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the support that friends, family, and high school mentors have given me as I have undergone the transfer process. There comes with the second round of college applications a stronger feeling of sympathy than that which I found in my senior year of high school, and I attribute this to two specific factors. The first, there is something to be said about the numbers of the game: when it’s you and everyone else your age there is close to nothing personal about the process, but when you’re one in every ten or so in the application pool, the chance to prove your own worthiness feels more accessible and makes room for closer communication with admissions committees. And the second factor, that which I have seen the most, is the heavily apologetic tone that comes from those who believe that transferring comes from feelings of despair and unhappiness that cannot be fixed.

But, now that I have completed the process and am on a side of things that, if all goes accordingly, will result in a greater appreciation for college on my part, I have to say that I don’t think people should apologize to transfer students for their unhappiness. Perhaps it’s just one of those things that you have to go through to fully understand, but once the pain of the applications is over and the decision is made there comes a sense of relief to those of us who really want to get out of the past. Perhaps not all transfer students are as sure of their choices as I am, but I honestly feel that in order for someone to take the plunge all over again there must be something more than just interest in other places going on.

But like I said, once the hard part is done it is really all okay. It is scary to start over, I most certainly don’t doubt that. But if the alternative is to go back to the place you ever thought of leaving, shouldn’t that be enough of a sign to see that change is a positive step? In this sense sympathy is, though always appreciated, not necessary. Instead, I see it as more of a congratulatory event. Congratulations, transfer students, for leaving behind the bad and finally finding your own good.