College Transfer Day: 20 Years Later

This blog looks back at a college transfer event that I attended in 2002. This event would decide my future when I graduated from community college the following Spring. It was held at the local vocational-technical school, the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center (GJCTC) in Richland Township, across from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.

It’s October of 2002, and I am now in my third year of college between having attended the Hiram G. Andrews Center and the local community college. I am now taking the major courses at “the college” (my major at the time was accounting). By now, I’ve started to think about my future plans after graduation. I’m almost certain that I will be transferring to a four year college to obtain my Bachelor’s degree.

The local community college was holding a college transfer fair that I was very interested in attending. This event would determine where I would be attending college in the Fall of 2003, if that’s where my road was leading. That morning, I took the bus from the Hiram G. Andrews Center to the downtown transit center from there, going to the GJCTC in Richland Township. The weather conditions were less than ideal on the day before Halloween, with the forecast calling for sleet, snow, and freezing rain. Keeping in line with the holiday, it was going to be a scary ride to my destination.

I had the option of several schools to choose from, but quickly whittled it down to three or four choice schools. Penn State was a hard pass due to SAT scores and finances, and Clarion wasn’t there because of the wintry forecast. I spoke to college representatives about what their schools had to offer, what student life was like, and other things (i.e., food). The reps were friendly and professional and I narrowed my list down to three when it was all said and done. My tote bag runneth over with college brochures and other literature, including financial aid forms.

That night at the Hiram G. Andrews Center, I read through my literature and within time, I had a place after graduation in mind. A green and white school with a funny name. Fast forward to early next year. My mom and I began to fill out the necessary forms, like financial aid and admission. I wrote a check for the enrollment fee that I knew I wasn’t getting back, regardless of whether or not I got in.

We took a drive up to Slippery Rock University in March of 2003 and spoke with the transfer admissions counselor. She went over some important things that we needed to know before my first class that coming August. I also had a chance to see what I could take for electives, also known as liberal studies courses. We got a lot from that visit and I was taken in by the beautiful campus that I hoped to call home later that Summer.

I got the call early that Spring that I was accepted into Slippery Rock. Despite the good news, I wasn’t out of the woods quite yet as I still needed housing for the upcoming 2003-2004 school year. Even after orientation a month later, I still didn’t have a place to go when I got in. A few weeks before my graduation from community college, a spot opened up and I finally had housing lined up. Interesting how the universe works, right?

We made a few trips up to the campus between graduation and when I moved in during the new student rush in August of 2003. My parents instilled in me some tips that I could benefit from, as Slippery Rock was going to be a far different beast than the Hiram G. Andrews Center or community college was.

Before I close off the blog, August 22 will mark the 20th anniversary of my move-in date at Slippery Rock University. Even though I posted it back in May for my friend and SRU alum Rocco’s birthday, I’ll highlight it again and hit on some of the growing pains that I was dealing with my first year.