Tribulations & Doubts: Life as a Transfer
- Mika Nur
- Mar 19, 2015
- 3 min read
Before starting my time as a transfer at Georgetown University, I went to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA. At VCU, I had it all – great grades, great clubs and awesome friends. However, I had big aspirations. At the time I thought I needed to go to a more “prestigious” school in order to get the opportunity to work for a big name firm.
I was partially right.
The opportunities that have been afforded to me at Georgetown are constant and copious. Employers flock here every year looking to hire students, and I couldn’t be more appreciative. Yet still, upon my arrival on campus I was unsure of my decision. At VCU, I had great opportunities waiting for me at every turn. I was even working an internship at Morgan Stanley in Wealth Management.
But at Georgetown, I had to start over. I had to build up my GPA again, and the fact that I had three years to do so while my peers had a full four years made that even harder. This pressure was doubled by the fact that I had no introductory classes left to cushion my GPA. During my first semester, I had to cram in two accounting classes, calculus and statistics while others spread these courses out over four semesters.
Safe to say I was in a bit of a panic at this point, but I pulled myself together and got through. I would advise a student who is looking to transfer to really audit their decision. Make sure you are transferring for the right reason, and not because of a name. Realize the opportunities you already have and compare those to the opportunities at the prospective school.
"Make sure you are transferring for the right reason, and not because of a name"
Furthermore, as a transfer, your woes do not end with academics. An even bigger issue was my lack of friends. I knew not one person except for the casual friendships I had with other transfers. Most friend groups had already been established leaving transfers and freshman in a mad-scramble. After a couple of months of friendless disdain, I decided to get involved – and in this involvement, I found solace.
In these student organizations, all new-comers were fresh faces with no friend group to latch on to. An even playing field. In this environment, I was able to really blossom. I found life-long friends who I had a lot in common with. I even co-founded an organization, The Georgetown Speechwriting Advisory Group (G-SWAG), which I am proud to say is now one of the more popular student groups on campus.
In short, after deciding that transferring is your best bet for greater opportunities, ask yourself another question: am I ready to rebuild my social life? You have to mentally prepare for all of the networking and introductions you will go through. But I promise, if you take that leap and meet new people, there is someone for everyone.
Transferring is a lot like starting a race after everyone else has already hit their stride. It will be tough and you’ll want to quit at times, but if you keep working hard, you’ll happily finish the race. And if you look up and extend a hand every now and then, someone, a friend, will reach back with a cool cup of water along your journey to the finish line.
And from experience, I can assure you; those sips of water are what make all the difference.
Mika's family emigrated from Somalia in the early 90s, and is now settled in Northern Virginia. He is a graduating senior in the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University majoring in Operations & Information Management. Having an entrepreneurial mind-set, he hopes to start a company one day after a career in finance. When Mika is not studying and preparing to take over the world he enjoys playing basketball, trying new foods, and learning about new companies.
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