A few weeks ago at Friendsgiving, my group of transfer friends and I went around in a circle and all said what we were thankful for. Unsurprisingly, we all had the same answer: to be here.
Last year, I would never have believed you if you told me what my life would be like now. I had never even considered transferring to be a real option until about two weeks before applications were due — when I was finally sure my previous school could never be the right fit for me. And so against the advice of my family, professors, and academic advisor, I applied.
I don’t know if many non-transfer college students are able to fully grasp the insufferable process that is filling out transfer applications as a first year. Aside from already having done the dance a year before, we were writing completely new supplemental essays for each school, since most transfer applications do not accept the Common Application personal statement. This was all on top of schoolwork and the emotional labor of existing in a place that makes you unhappy.
All of this to say, it was hard work to get here. And so when I did, it was hard not to feel regret that I hadn’t done it sooner.
I spent the months after my first year of college mourning a first year I’d never gotten: football games, campus traditions, wandering the city. It didn’t help when I got to Penn and fell in love with my life here. Making friends was a seamless process thanks to the Transfer Student Orientation. Living in Philadelphia still feels like a dream. In my first few weeks, it felt unfair that I only get three years here while everyone else gets four. I would always be one crucial step behind.
What cured this vain mindset was a realization. I pictured myself at 18, just coming out of high school. What would it have been like for that girl to be dropped in the center of Penn? How would I have felt standing amidst the academic pressure, social confusion, and pre-professional madness? I would’ve hated it.
In many ways, transfer students are able to burst the Penn bubble. The academic pressure of a school like this is heavy. And at Penn specifically, the career-focused culture is intimidating. As a first year, I might have crumbled under the weight. I may have even caved and joined a consulting club. While I love being here, I can recognize that the want to conform is real. And it can get a hold of you, especially when you don’t know who you are or what you want. Transferring is the ultimate act of nonconformity in college; it’s a flat-out rejection of the space you are in. Even more, it’s a declaration of hope — the belief that something better exists for you. And so after doing that, I don’t feel the need to adhere to Penn’s social standards.
That is not to say that transfer students do not or cannot participate in these groups or clubs. In fact, for those who do seek that experience, Penn’s resources can be a major reason for transferring. Either way, transferring allows students to come into Penn with a more clearly developed sense of their interests and tailor their studies and extracurricular activities accordingly.
There is also an unparalleled sense of gratitude that transfer students tend to feel. I remember getting a text from my roommate on move-in day while I was on the way to my dorm. She sent me a picture of our high-rise entrance with the turnstiles and said it looked like a hotel. We spent the first few weeks comparing everything about this place to our previous schools. While many first years are also impressed by Penn’s vast amount of resources, I would argue the difference in the transfer experience comes from the fact that we can compare this to another school. First years know they are lucky to be here, but they don’t have an alternate vision in which their college experience could have gone an entirely different way. That is something we have, and we don’t forget.
But what is more special to me than my newfound insights about academics and career culture is the family that I have formed here. Firstly, I have to give immense props to the TSO who have made this place feel like home from the very start. Having a group of people who understand your past and are invested in your success might be one of the most important things to have in college. And the juniors and seniors of TSO make that possible for us.
Even among the new transfers, there is a connection and support system that comes from sharing such a common experience. We all know what it is like to be deeply unhappy in college. We all share the drive and motivation that a transfer application demands of a college first year. And more than that, we are all well aware of how different our lives could have been had we not all taken this leap of faith together.
It has taken this whole semester for me to rework the narrative that I wasted my first year of college. Sure, it took a year of being miserable. But for the relationships I’ve formed and experiences I’ve gained already, I’d give a whole lot more than that.
INGRID HOLMQUIST is a College sophomore studying urban studies from Silver Spring, Md. Her email address is ingridhh@sas.upenn.edu.
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