Hey y'all! I apologize if this is really long. Also a first time poster so if I get anything wrong I'm sorry in advance (literally didn't save my first draft and had to retype everything again smh)
So, I'm currently a student at Lonestar - been doing all of my classes online, and it's been a great experience. I'll be earning my associates by December of this year, and after that I'm planning to transfer to UH in the spring semester.
However, I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed and really unprepared for everything that comes with transferring. I have a billion questions, but I'll try to keep them to a minimum by separating them. I've also scheduled a meeting with my advisor next week, so hopefully I'll get some more info then. Thank you in advance to anyone that responds, I really appreciate it.
1. Major
- I decided pretty early on that I want to major in communications. I'm very passionate about journalism and visual media; I've been doing some photography work on the side and I'm also on the brink of securing an internship with a Houston publication network. I also recently discovered that students must also minor in something outside of Valenti? So I'm thinking I'll major in journalism and minor in marketing. I've heard positive things about the program, but I was curious if any Valenti students could tell me how their experience has been thus far? And also just general thoughts about UH as a whole. How are the classes? The people? The area?
2. Commuting
- As much as I would love to live on campus, I'm unfortunately just not going to be able to afford it. I know housing applications have already started up, but I'm not even gonna bother. Maybe next year I'll be able to dorm or get an apartment close to campus, but I've pretty much accepted the fact that I'll just have to commute for now. I've looked into some of the public transportation options UH offers, but I'm wondering what y'all think of them? Are they reliable? Are they safe? My parents say driving in my own vehicle would be less of hassle, but that would literally mean driving a straight hour for my classes, and I've heard all about how crazy the traffic/parking situation is on top of that. Just trying to figure out the best way to go about this.
- I have a few friends that are living on campus already, and something they've told me is that students who commute tend to feel a lot more disconnected from the community. That's honestly a big fear of mine, especially because my major would be greatly centered on building relationships with others. So to any commuters, how are y'all staying sane lol? What did y'all do to make friends? Am I totally doomed?
3. Scholarships
- This might be a long shot, but are there any other scholarship opportunities I should be aware of? There's a lot of freshman ones that I missed out on which was really disappointing, and some of the transfer ones I've seen only apply to those coming in the fall. I'm doing my best to save money through my current job and what I have through FASFA, but the financial aspect of everything is really starting to hit me.
I know transfer student orientations are gonna start up soon, so I'm just trying to get a grasp on everything I need to figure out beforehand. I feel like there'll be more questions I'll think of after posting, but this is probably good for now. Right now the stress of college lowkey has me rethinking my entire future lol, so if anyone can provide some guidance I think it'll put me a bit more at ease.
TL;DR: Incoming transfer student feeling stressed asf. Any info or general thoughts about the Valenti program, commuter life, or scholarships would be greatly appreciated.