Sometimes, the more you study in the same university or college, the more fed up you get. Seeing the same faces and experiencing the same environment every day. Eventually, it just gets into you. Otherwise, you might already have an aim since high school to enter whichever university you want. Then you work towards your goal. Nevertheless, transferring from one university to another is nothing like restarting the game of life.

Apart from all the fuss of getting your visa done, applying for a new passport, purchasing your air ticket, and all those foreseen problems, there are still ample of unseen hassles lies ahead of your university transfer. One thing I’d like to focus is *advanced standing (or credit transfer).

If you are granted for a credit transfer, you are basically everywhere. In your first year at university, you are second year student and sometimes you are third year student. When you’re asked which year you’re in, you will get confused. However, this matter just does not end here.

There is no guarantee that you will be fitting into the rest of the pack in your new university, academically or socially. Like my case, I am supposed to be in second year, but I am forced to take third year subjects, otherwise I might as well fly back to Malaysia. Anyways, taking third subjects as a second year student is a suicide. Understanding the course becomes much tougher because you have not acquired the foundations needed for the subject.

Blending into your classmates seems to become tougher as well. In this semester you will be mingling with your seniors, then the next semester you’ll join those of your level, then it rolls back again a semester later. This might be a good opportunity to know more people, but in a university, what you want is a decent group of people whom you really know that are able to team up with you in group projects.

Having said all these, it is still up to you to determine whether transferring university can be hard or not. You judge your life. However, let’s look at the bright side, earning an overseas experience while studying is undoubtedly the best thing that can happen in anybody’s life. Isn’t this worth going through all the university transfer hassles?

*Advanced Standing/Credit Transfer – When you transfer to another university from your current university, the credits of your course is considered in a case by case basis. If it fits into their standard/system of studies. You will be granted advance standing.