Unless you were one of the three people who probably read my initial bio in The Daily’s first publication of the year, you may not know that I am actually a transfer student here at Northwestern. After spending my first year of college at the University of Southern California, I realized that I did not want to be there for three more. Although I made some amazing friendships and had some great times there, USC was not a good fit for me. Consequently, I made the decision to shoot for admittance into NU, and when I was lucky enough to do so, the transfer was a no-brainer.
Yes, I have heard from many people what you may be thinking right now: But what about the weather?! I can promise you, though, that having seventy-something degree temperatures for nine months in a row does not guarantee satisfaction with a school, and can also create a “Groundhog Day” vibe of monotony. With my decision made, I embarked on the grand adventure of college life (again) and moved to Evanston in September.
While the college reboot has not been seamless, I can honestly report that it has gone far more smoothly for me than expected and that I already feel right at home. Part of this may have to do with the fact that I have already been through the whole college routine once before and learned how to balance school work, social life and extracurriculars, as well as how to live away from home.
After being less-than-satisfied with my last school, I made it a point to visit NU whenever I could (I am from the Chicago area), talk to people who work at the school/friends from home who already went here, and do all of the research into what life is like as an NU student that I may have been less than thorough on before.
It also has helped tremendously that, unlike many other transfers at schools across the country who switch schools and initially know no one, I already knew and was friends with a number of kids from my high school who are also Northwestern students. They have all been very welcoming, showing me around and introducing me to all kinds of new students and activities.
Finally, I feel that my transition has gone pretty smoothly because I have worked hard to get involved with the amazing extracurricular opportunities that are afforded to us here. We’ll see later if I bit off more than I can chew, but for now, I’m involved in a number of activities that are really satisfying, fun and have introduced me to more and more new people. I made the decision coming in that it would be best to just dive right in to campus life and try to “catch up” with my fellow sophomores who have been here all along, and I feel like so far I am doing exactly that.
In regard to how the school itself handles transitioning its new transfers into the campus community, I would say that the University does a very good job, with some notable exceptions. I like that they give us a Peer Adviser group of all transfers, with whom we have the week to really get acclimated to campus and learn everything and anything about going to Northwestern. Having us join the freshmen in March Thru the Arch and volunteering through the SCAPE program was also rewarding.
However, there are a lot of activities that they lump us in with the freshmen for, such as the mandatory presentation on alcohol awareness, that many of us are too old for and that almost all of us have seen before. Parts of the Wildcat Welcome Week process were a little too incubated for my tastes, although were I starting off in a truly new environment having known no one, I am sure that I would feel differently.
The stresses of school and college life aside, then, I am feeling great about my transfer to NU. I feel like I am really getting immersed in the culture of the school and meeting some amazing people, and once I have one full quarter as a Wildcat under my belt, I will truly feel like a full-fledged member of the NU family.
Ryan Kearney is a Communication sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, email a Letter to the Editor to [email protected].
