Hello, I am currently a freshman in college and I hate the school I am at and I am considering transferring. I was curious if people could share their transfer experiences (why you transferred, adjusting to the new school, meeting people) especially second year transfers who transferred to Virginia Tech. I have heard bad stories about transferring and I am wondering if it would be worth it. Thank you!
I transferred in to tech after my freshman year from VCU many years ago… so my information may be a little dated. I didn’t get into Tech out of high school and knew I wanted to go there, so I made it happen. I went in knowing I would try to transfer, so I tailored all of my classes freshman year to mirror what freshmen would take at Tech. One negative part about my experience was that I needed to pick a major before I was ready just to transfer, so I started in a major I didn’t like and that was a bit difficult since I was already a little bit behind.
Again, this information is dated, but the classes I took at VCU were so easy compared to Tech. I was not fully prepared to make the transition academically, as I went from a very difficult high school curriculum to being able to succeed really easily at VCU.
I knew a lot of people from high school who already went to Tech, so for me getting used to Tech socially wasn’t too bad. I also visited during my freshman year, so I met other people that I would later hang out or see at parties once I was actually a student. If you don’t already have connections, the transition might be more difficult. It really depends on what you’re like though - I personally wouldn’t have made friends through living in the dorms anyway, so I didn’t feel like I missed out too much by not living on campus.
I knew I wanted to join clubs and get involved, and did so right away once I was at Tech. I found most groups I joined to be pretty welcoming to sophomores, and I was never the only sophomore who was new to any of the clubs. After the first semester, I hung out with more than just my high school friends, and by my senior year, I rarely hung out with friends from high school and everyone I was close to came from connections through those clubs I joined sophomore year. There are SO many clubs on campus and there’s likely to be a fit for everyone to find people with similar interests - Greek Life, social organizations, student government, clubs that are primarily professional but also social, professional fraternities, service groups, intramurals… the list goes on.
I knew a handful of transfers during my time at Tech and most had a very positive experience. Honestly after my first year I forgot that I was a transfer because I really felt like Tech was where I was supposed to be.
There are some initiatives geared toward transfer students to get them used to campus that weren’t around when I transferred, so that may be beneficial to you if you’re really concerned. If you have any other questions let me know.
Thank you this is very helpful!
financiallylost, I’m in the same position you were in. I’m at VCU in the engineering college, majoring in computer science. I want to transfer to Tech and I have some questions.
Did you have any extracurriculars at VCU?
What was your GPA when you transfered?
Which major did you transfer into? Since CS is in the college of engineering at Tech, I would have to transfer there.
Also could you post anything else you might deem as helpful information. Thanks 