Transferring Colleges

The End of the Honeymoon and The Grass is Always Greener: Stages 5 and 6 in The Ten Stages of Transition from High School to College

The transition from high school to college, particularly for students who leave home and live in campus residence halls, is a challenge for nearly all students. However, some students find it more daunting than others.  Experienced counselors, both in high schools and on college campuses, have learned to recognize the stages that most students go through, beginning at the end of senior year, through the summer after graduation, and continuing through freshman year of college.  But most students have only a vague idea of what this transition will be like and are therefore stunned by the challenges they encounter.  First generation students, in particular, are likely to encounter surprises because their parents, having not attended college, haven’t had discussions with them about what to expect.

Today, educational psychologist Jane McClure continues her series that walks students and parents through what the future may hold with Stages 5 and 6 -- The End of the Honeymoon and The Grass Is Always Greener.  Her previous posts on Stages 1 and 2  in "The Transition from High School to College" -- The Summer of Transition and Separation Anxiety -- can be seen here and on Stages 3 and 4 -- The First Term and The Honeymoon -- can be seen here

Collegiate Buyer's Remorse

Today’s guest post is by educational psychologist and consultant Jane McClure. We are thrilled to have her expertise here on the site and happy to announce that she will be contributing monthly. Look for future posts on the challenges faced by students with Asperger’s syndrome as they consider college, communications techniques for students and parents and a series on the transition from high school to college. Join her here to learn about how to handle a student’s second thoughts on starting college – what McClure calls “Collegiate Buyer’s Remorse.”

It happens almost every year, usually during the months of October and November: calls from two or three students who fear they have chosen the wrong college.  Sometimes, they are calling just to see if I agree with them.  Other times, they are convinced that they have made a bad decision and want to know when they should apply to transfer. 

If I Knew Then What I Know Now...

For the next few weeks, we'll be posting advice from current college juniors and seniors, as well as recent graduates, about creating a list of schools where you will apply. We've had some terrific responses from those who know best about this step in applying, including the choices -- and mistakes -- they made, the things they wish they had thought about, and their recommendations for today's high school juniors. Take advantage of the 20/20 hindsight of these students and recent grads about what they learned after they arrived on campus.

Valerie Kuznik from Cleveland, Ohio, now attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, looks at the characteristic that many students often start with -- the size of a college -- and provides some insight into what that meant for her: