I realized that I wanted to transfer in the first semester of my freshman year. The general response from everyone around me was, “College is like that in the beginning. The first year is always hard!” I tried to be optimistic, but I couldn’t deny that I was miserable where I was; the academics weren’t on par with what I had hoped, and the campus life was dull and quiet. Instead of listening to the discouraging voices around me, I decided to embark on my transfer journey.
I had already missed the application deadline for most of the schools I wanted to apply to, but I also knew I didn’t want to spend another year where I was. I looked at articulation agreements between schools to see what credits I needed and what credits transferred. Unfortunately, I went to a small private university, so barely any credits would transfer. I came to the conclusion that going to community college was the perfect next step for me, so I could earn the right transfer credits and have an additional year to explore my college options. I knew that I didn’t have to graduate within a traditional timeline, but I wanted to graduate within four years along with my friends, and that kept me motivated throughout my transfer journey.
The I Heart College team was a huge help to me during this time. While I worked on transferring to community college, I sat down with Betty and Elena to discuss what schools I liked, what their requirements were, and what the application process was going to be like. When I was in high school, my dream school was the University of Southern California because I wanted to major in cinema and media studies, and there were several academics whom I admired working there. Unfortunately, I was not accepted as a senior in high school, and this second application process felt like a second chance for me. It made transferring feel worth it and validated the choice I had made.
While at Pasadena City College, I took advantage of every opportunity to transfer in time and graduate in four years. During the fall and spring semesters, I enrolled in up to six classes and even took winter and summer classes. It was a lot of hard work, but it was incredibly rewarding, and I was just relieved to no longer be on a campus that made me feel so isolated. In tandem with these classes, I worked on transfer applications for five schools, including USC. To my surprise, I found that the application process was easier than it had been in high school. The transfer acceptance rate was higher than the freshman acceptance rate for most schools. I also had a portfolio of academic writing I could submit. It made the experience much less stressful than when I was in high school!
I didn’t get accepted into as many colleges as I would have liked while I was in high school, and none of my top choices accepted me. However, the second time around, as a transfer applicant, I was accepted to every school I applied to. I was even accepted into USC’s cinema and media studies program! It was a real dream come true and it made all the hard work worth it.
In reflection, I am grateful for my transfer journey, even though it was not what I initially planned for. The experience encouraged me to listen to my gut instincts instead of caving into the pressure of those around me, and it showed me that I could work really hard to get what I wanted. The transfer process was stressful, but I found it to be entirely worth it, and I recommend it to anyone that is considering it as an option. College does not have to be a linear experience; it’s what we make of it. Whether you go to one college (or three) our happiness and success are worth fighting for, and we may even get a second chance at enrolling in our dream college!
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Pepper graduated from Blair High School in 2019 with her IB Diploma. She spent a year at Goucher College–a small liberal arts school–in Towson, MD, but soon transferred to Pasadena City College. In 2021, Pepper was accepted to the University of Southern California as a third-year student and now studies cinema and media studies in the School of Cinematic Arts. She works for the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative on campus which helps to collect data on diversity in media, and she hopes to continue this work after she graduates in the Spring of 2023. She started attending CAP in her junior year of high school, but what really cemented her relationship with the organization was all of the help she received during her transfer journey. As an Advisory Council member, she hopes to pay it forward, and that her experience with three separate colleges can help others find the school, program, or experience that fits them the best.