To many students at the University, college is an opportunity to explore different interests and take a wide variety of classes to decide which career to pursue. Many students switch study paths in the middle of their undergraduate journeys. Some go beyond just changing their major, though, and switch schools entirely.
Third-year Nursing student Rhode Baptiste originally was a premed student in the College, but transferred to Nursing, deciding she preferred the more patient-oriented approach to learning about health care.
"I wanted to study something that I could learn from and use ... I love going to class and going to clinicals where I get to work with patients this semester," Baptiste said.
Jennifer Hursh, a third-year student who transferred from the Engineering School to the College during her second year, said she made the switch because she realized engineering was not the path for her. Hursh, who now aspires to become a high school chemistry teacher, said although she was not suffering through her courses in the Engineering School, she knew there were other fields she wished to pursue later in life.
"I wouldn't have been happy if I stayed," she said.
Transferring between schools may offer academic and long-term benefits, but it is not always an easy process, third-year Architecture student Kate Martin said. Martin, who transferred from the College last spring, was majoring in art history originally. She said she struggled during the transition to architecture because her peers already had gained three semesters of experience with the major and had learned much of the language that is unique to the Architecture School.
"Catching the terminology used in the Architecture School was a challenge at first," she said. "There are special words used that I had never heard before. That was a rough part of the transition."\nTiming also is an important factor when considering a transfer of schools, Hursh said.
"One of my friends transferred at the end of his second year and had to course action into all of his classes the next semester," she said, "It can be stressful."
Hursh suggested that students considering a transfer make their decision as early in the semester as possible so they can begin assimilating themselves with the new academic environment.\n"The earlier you decide, the easier it will be," she said.
Despite the challenges and changes that can come along with moving from one school to another, students said their decisions to explore a new discipline have changed their outlooks and career paths. Hursh said she is now more enthusiastic about the material she learns in class and takes greater pleasure out of her day-to-day academic life.
Martin said she still is satisfied with her choice to transfer schools, even though she will have to remain at the University for one additional year to complete her major requirements.
"Finally, I feel like I'm working towards a goal," she said. "I'm working for a tangible goal that I can use in the future."
She added that students should not hesitate to consider transferring if they are not satisfied with their major or career path.
"I know someone who thought about transferring, but never did," Martin said. "She's graduating this year but hates the major that she selected. Now she wants to go back and pursue a completely different major that will take her another year. Transferring may seem like a hassle, but it's worth it."
Baptiste said that so far, she is happy with their decision to transfer to another school, as it has allowed her to pursue an academic path that fits her interests and goals for the future.
"Being in a place where you know that this is what you want to do with your life is the greatest benefit," she said. "It's being happy that you are in the right place for you. It has become clearer and clearer to me everyday that this is what I want to do."
Baptiste said, without hesitation, of her choice to enter the Nursing School, "I have no regrets"
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