Transferring Colleges- Is it Worth It?

About this time last year, I was preparing for the end of my Junior year at SUNY Purchase, a small liberal arts college just north of New York City. I had been a student there for about two years. In High School, I took a few AP classes and some other classes through a community college so I was a year ahead when I got to Purchase in the Fall of 2006. As any college student knows, when you get to about your junior year you start to realize that the "real world" will be starting all too soon. Though it is an exciting time, it is also scary to know that in a short time you will be looking for a job that will start your career, along with a place to live, and you will have to forfeit many of the comforts of college and home life.

For about a year at Purchase I had tried to land an internship in New York City. Unfortunately, I had little luck. The college encouraged students to find internships on their own which in the entertainment business is a difficult thing to do. There were a number of other things that made me start to wonder if a transfer would be a good idea for me. Brockport was a lot closer to where I grew up and I had heard they had a great Communications program. So, I met with a few professors in the department and eventually decided to transfer. Brockport offers students a lot of internship opportunities and hosts job and internship fairs throughout the year.

Any student who has transferred knows it is not an easy decision and can make for a stressful few months. My first semester at Brockport went much better than I had expected. The people were all great and helped me get to know my way around the college. One of the hardest things I encountered were the little differences in grading, how things show up online, different terms used by the college, getting credits transferred over, and little things like that. I was very confused the first couple of weeks when everyone kept referring to my Angel account and DARs report. What was that?-I kept asking myself. What really helped make my transition from Purchase to Brockport easier was getting a job in the Career Services office. Working with the career counselors in the office has helped me learn a lot about the college and how everything works at Brockport. I have easy access to knowing about what career events are coming up on campus and where I can go to find help with my resume, interview tips, or where to find a job or internship for the summer.

Transferring is a hard but rewarding process. There are still days, usually when I'm on the phone working to get my last few transfer credits processed correctly, that I wish transferring were an easier thing to do. But, overall it was a great decision. The opportunities that I am getting at Brockport and the hands on experience in the tv studios and in my Broadcast classes will definitely benefit me in a year when I'm looking for a job. To any student who has transferred schools, I would encourage you to get as involved as possible with different areas of the campus. Get to know the students but also try to make contacts in different offices. Your professors and other professionals at the college can help make your transition easier and will be good contacts for you to have in the future. Also, be proactive! Map out your classes for this and future semesters and get to know your major requirements, so you don't get thrown any surprises later on!