By Monica Racicot
Hi students! Can you believe that we are just two weeks away from stuffing our faces with delicious turkey and mashed potatoes?! I for one am beyond excited. Before I get sidetracked thinking about how anxious I am to get a couple days off of school for Thanksgiving, let me tell you a little about myself.
My name is Monica and I’m a senior, finishing up my B.A in Speech Communication. I was born and raised in San Diego, California and attended Palomar College for three years before becoming an official Beaver Believer. I know what you’re thinking….why in the world would I voluntarily choose to leave behind the beautiful Southern California sun? Good question.
The truth is that I finished community college right when California colleges and universities were having major budget issues. To make a long story short, I was denied from the school I was certain I’d get in to. I was a psychology major at the time, and the school had very little space available for psychology transfer students. By the time I received the rejection letter, the California State and university applications were closed. I was then forced to reevaluate my plans for college, and consider applying to an out of state school. At first, I was horrified at the thought of being so far from my family and friends. My plan had always been to stay close to home. But the only constant in life is change and I knew I had to adapt.
The decision then became Oregon or Arizona… and since I don’t enjoy extreme heat, Oregon it was! Interestingly enough, I didn’t even consider the University of Oregon. I applied to Oregon State, Portland State and Southern Oregon University and was accepted in to all three. Viking…Hawk… or Beaver? It was a no brainer.
So here I am…orange and lovin’ it!
I’d like to let you all in on some out-of-state transfer tips and tricks that I’ve picked up during my time here at Oregon State.
- Transferring here from another state is expensive. DO YOUR RESEARCH. Stay on top of any financial aid or scholarship deadlines. If you plan on or have already taken out a student loan, make sure it’s suited to fit your financial situation and future plans. According to an article in the Daily Barometer this morning, the average debt of graduating undergraduates is $22,000. Be prepared.
- Get to know your advisor and triple check your transfer credit. Most transfer students have a graduation date in mind and are looking to stick to a plan in order to graduate on time. Your advisor will be the most help in getting you there! Be sure to take a look at your Advance Standing Report and make sure everything is correct. I had to get an advisor to change a mistake on my MyDegrees profile because one of my math classes in community college wasn’t counted when it should have been. You have to be your own advocate!
- Traveling home for breaks and holidays is a royal pain. Start looking at flights home for Thanksgiving and Christmas right when you get to OSU in September. It might sound crazy but air travel these days isn’t getting any cheaper. Depending on where you live, you may also want to consider Amtrak or Greyhound—they also offer student discounts! Try carpooling with friends to the airport to avoid paying $80 for the Hut Shuttle. It’s important to remember that it’s okay not to go home for Thanksgiving. It tends to be pretty costly for just three or four days at home. I haven’t been home for Thanksgiving since I’ve started college at OSU. Try making plans with friends who are local or also not going home. Shari’s here in Corvallis offers a turkey dinner that you can purchase for you and your friends! Oh, and if you have to fly to get home be sure to sign up for the airlines’ rewards program-it’s free and you can rack up points pretty fast if you go home every break.
Even though Oregon State was never in my “plan”, I wouldn’t change going to school here for anything. And I hope all of you are enjoying your time here as much as I am!
Wishing you a happy and healthy last few weeks in Fall term! Good luck on finals J
Hi Monica,
You have no idea how happy I was reading this article.I have been looking everywhere online for out of state experiences especially from californians..I was looking into transfering to OSU since forever.I’m in my last year of community college and I was looking to apply to OSU.my question/s are
1) How was your admission process like?
2)Was it hard for you to settle in?
3)Would it be best to live on campus the first year?
4)Did you visit the campus before you transferred?
5)Lastly,how is the vibe on campus or everywhere in general.is it like cali?
I hope you get the time to answer my questions.I love OSU and I hope I get accepted.
Cheers,
Bevy
Hi Bevy,
Thank you for reading my article! I would love to answer your questions, and any others you might have. Feel free to contact me in the future with any- racicotm@onid.orst.edu
1.From what I remember, the admission process was super easy. I completed the application and got my acceptance pretty quickly after.
2. It was hard for me to settle in at first in many ways. I am very close to my family and I didn’t have much time to adjust to the idea of going to college out of state, because it was never in my plan. But truthfully, I was also dealing with the loss of two family members who had passed away right before I left for school, at the same time. But living in Halsell Hall was probably one of the best decisions I made. I highly suggest living in Halsell as a transfer for at least your first year. They do a nice job at transitioning you into OSU.
3. That also answers this question, YES I highly suggest living on campus at first. I decided to live in Halsell for both of my years because it is very hard to find off campus housing and I personally didn’t have enough friends who were looking for a place to live so it was easier for me to stay in Halsell.
4. So the reason why I even thought about OSU was because my good friend was already going to school there. I had visited her during her first year, and of course loved the campus. (It’s hard not to love). But again, I never considered leaving California. So that was the first time I saw OSU, and then the only other time was during START orientation, the summer before I started. I believe they hold START orientations in Cali also, but none in SoCal and I wanted to check out the campus more. I went with my Mom, and I think we were only at OSU for 3 days for START.
5. The Oregon vibe is nothing like Cali, haha. People move slow in Oregon, which is usually very refreshing. It will take some time to get used to the highway systems, because there are only 2 lane roads in and out of Corvallis. People actually drive the speed limit. Oh, and I brought my car up here which is something you should consider. But what I absolutely love about Oregon is that almost everyone enjoys the outdoors and everything is green! I enjoy driving around Oregon because it is just beautiful. You’ll want to note that when it is sunny here (which is almost never), it is not warm sun. So don’t be fooled. Although I hear the summers can get pretty warm. The rain really isn’t that bad, unless rain just so happens to really annoy you. It’s never hard rain; it never pours like it does in San Diego. It just rains often. But it’s nothing a good pair of rain boots couldn’t fix. I get the feeling when I walk around campus, that students really appreciate their surroundings. The campus is clean, well kept, and students enjoy lounging around. One of my biggest complaints with Community College was that I always felt like people just wanted to go to class, and leave. Nobody ever stuck around. But that is completely different at OSU. Also, Oregonians are very kind and welcoming. I’ve never felt weird about being from California.
Overall, I really feel like I was meant to come to OSU. It has been a tremendous time for growth and trying new things. I’m glad I got out of my comfort zone, but I’m also excited to be graduating. If you have anymore questions, feel free to email me! I’d love hear about your potential major and your interests so I can help you out with getting involved around campus!
Thanks for posting this! it was so helpful.:) I have a question.So how did your parents react to you going out of state? I am considering going to Oregon for college,but my parents don’t exactly want me going out of state.So it’s hard to ask them for money for application fees outside of California. Any advice?
Hi Niya! I’m glad you liked the article! The way that I ended up out of state is different than you because I was never interested in leaving California. I had to make the last minute decision to leave because I wasn’t accepted into the college I wanted in Cali. So my parents were supportive of me going out of state because I had no other choice 🙂 But if you’re really interested in going out of state (which I whole-heartedly recommend) than here’s what I think you could try– Do your research. Get all the facts from the schools you are interested in. Know the cost of tuition and housing, make sure you have all the details about your major and what they require, and look up some facts bout the area and the town. Present the information to your parents. It shows initiative, responsibility, and it shows them that you are serious about trying something new. This is what I did for my parents when I first started applying to schools. Also, talk to them about visiting the schools. There is no commitment or strings attached when you are just visiting. We just got back from taking a family trip to Texas to see a school for my brother and now my parents seem more inclined to let him go there. My last suggestion is that I’d do some research on how California colleges are doing right now. From what I know, watching my brother start to apply right now, it is extremely hard to get in to Cali schools. So that could also be an approach for you.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! Also, if you are interested in OSU be sure to sign up for the information packets that they send to your home and watch all of the videos on the youtube page! It gives you a great idea as to the vibe of OSU and its community. Perhaps your parents would like to see them too 🙂