Some take longer to adjust
COMMENTARY
Roxanna Latifi

It has taken me three months this semester to realize there is a major difference between being a college student and a university student. Coming to TCU as a transfer student made me realize that a difference exists. Think of the college student as solely the academic half of the university student — without the purple pride or the Horned Frog identity.

Transfer students have already taken college level courses, establishing the concept of what it takes to be a college student. But when they transfer to a four-year institution, they may find themselves entering the shoes of being freshmen all over again.

The remaining identity, the university student, lies within discovering what the university’s culture is about and how to become a part of that culture. Imagine having to become a part of a family who you know nothing about. You are eager to find your place within this family, but everyone already has his or her identity within the family and are not going through the same learning experiences you are.

As a new university student at TCU, you may be eager to learn all about the university — how to become involved on campus, where everything is located and how to find your place on campus. But as an established college student, the transfer student already knows what the essentials of college life are. I never would have thought that the transition to TCU would be so trying since I do have an Associate’s Degree and that’s more than any freshman can say.

Unfortunately, transfer students must deal with the constant criticism of not being “real students.” Because we come from community colleges we seem to be dubbed inferior.

I came to TCU with the expectation of jumping into student organizations and making a name for myself, both of which are very possible, but I was crazy to think I could do everything from the moment I stepped onto campus.

Transfer students must give themselves time to adjust. There are new professors who have different teaching styles and expectations, new people to meet and friends to make. You have to adjust to the new surroundings, to dorm life and to having a roommate.

I had to leave the well-established place on my former campus to create a new place on a new campus. I was a part of many organizations and an editor for the district newspaper. I went from receiving Who’s Who in community colleges to “Who Are You?” at TCU. Laugh if you will, I still do sometimes, but there is a lot of truth in what I am saying. I have to realize that just because I am a college student, that doesn’t mean that I should expect myself to adjust as quickly as I want to at TCU.

Roxanna Latifi is a junior news-editorial journalism major from Fort Worth.