Transferring to Carolina

If you have read my background information, you know that I was originally denied to Carolina. I used to think that all students finished their college coursework in the same place they started. As soon as I opened that denial letter, the way I envisioned my college years changed drastically. My experience was going to be different.

People say all kinds of things about changing schools: your credits won’t transfer, it will be hard to make friends and you will miss your friends at your old university. I understood that these were possibilities, but I also knew that Carolina was not a typical university. I was never worried about not making new friends; I am an outgoing person. I believe that anyone will feel welcome at Carolina no matter what your personality type might be. Let me explain why.

The first Carolina student I met was Joseph Ligon. I moved in a week before classes began so that I could get settled in more easily. Joseph was dropping off some of his stuff before he left on a brief outdoor excursion, so I only had a few minutes to speak with him.

Joseph is the kind of guy who makes you feel comfortable right away. When I told him I was from Chicago , he said “whoa, are you kiddin’?” I later found out that Joseph was from a small town called Denton , N.C. , pronounced “they were going to build a city, but they Denton .” Already I knew that I was going to meet a diverse bunch in my suite alone. Joseph’s roommate Daniel turned out to be one of my best buddies, and I am roommates with Daniel this year.

Some of my Chicago friends told me that I would feel like an outsider in the South; the truth is that I have grown to love Chapel Hill as my new home. When I think of the South, I think of hospitality. College students can only be so hospitable given our lean means, but Carolina students had a way of making me feel like one of them. Before long, Joseph and Daniel’s country music could be heard in the suite hall, I began eating grits and sweet tea for breakfast and Carolina football consumed my Saturdays. I had become a Tar Heel.

Just in case other transfer students do not have this perfect social transition, the University plans a “Week of Welcome” for all new students. The week has several programs designed specifically for transfer students who are looking to meet each other. I never went to a single program because I was too busy enjoying myself and my new friends.

The academic side of transferring could not possibly have been as smooth as the social side. Carolina accepted almost all of my credit hours, and some of my previous classes fulfilled certain general education requirements. I did stay for a summer session, but I also plan to graduate on time.

I knew that my academic life would fall into place if I was surrounded by supportive people. My academic advisers were phenomenal. Alice Dawson, an adviser in the General College , helped me work through a double major and aided in my adjustment to Carolina academia.

Ms. Dawson, however, is not who I am referring to as “supportive people.” College is about the students you sit next to in class, the girl you met at the coffee shop and the fellow you got to know during the intramural flag football season. These are the people who make transferring to Carolina well worth the effort.