Transferring colleges can feel overwhelming, but it can also open the door to new opportunities. One Rowan University student shares how changing schools helped her discover a supportive community, pursue a new academic path and find a place she proudly calls her second home.
After having an awful freshman year, I decided to transfer to a different college. I completely changed my major from dental hygiene to public relations and began searching from there. While choosing which college to transfer to, I made a list of things to consider since I know what I didn’t like from my previous school. Being from a small town in Pennsylvania, I knew I wanted to go further away from home but not anywhere drastic. I knew I wanted a decent-sized school, not too big or too small. Lastly, I wanted it to feel like my second home instead of school.
Searching for the Right Fit
As I was looking around the Philadelphia area, Rowan University came up as an option. I saw that Rowan had an amazing public relations program so I went to tour the campus, as well as other campuses I was considering.
While touring, I came to fall in love with Rowan’s campus and what it had to offer. I loved the housing, while my mom loved all the food options for me around campus.
What really got my full attention was Rowan’s highly regarded programs including reputable professors and clubs. After visiting about four more schools, I kept comparing them to Rowan. My parents and I knew Rowan was the right choice for me.
Finding My Place at Rowan
Since transferring to Rowan, I now double major in public relations and advertising as well as minor in journalism. I make the Dean’s List every semester, joined three clubs that correspond with my majors, joined a sorority (Alpha Sigma Alpha) and even got a summer internship through the university. This may seem like a lot to handle with classes, but everyone at Rowan is so involved no matter what their major and it makes you want to do more, too. Rowan does not only push me to prosper, it makes it easy for me to do so.
A Second Home
I love when my parents come to visit me because I get to show them where I live and what I do every day. They love seeing me thrive socially and academically and wouldn’t want to see me at any other college, despite the distance and out of state tuition.
I constantly say “I wish I would have went to Rowan for all four years,” but I don’t think I would have truly appreciated the experience Rowan has given me and still gives me. As scary and lonely as transferring might sound at first, Rowan became my second home in no time. Rowan was everything I was looking for plus more!
Story by:
Molly Purcell, senior
Double Major Public Relations and Advertising
About Rowan
Since its founding in 1923, Rowan University has evolved from a teacher preparation college to a public research institution ranked among the top 100 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Rowan University offers bachelor’s through doctoral degrees and professional certificates in person and online to nearly 25,000 students through its main campus in Glassboro and its eight other locations in southern New Jersey. Rowan focuses on practical research at the intersection of health care, engineering, science and business, while ensuring excellence in undergraduate education. The University has earned national recognition for innovation; commitment to high-quality, affordable education; and the development of public-private partnerships. A Carnegie-classified R2 (high research activity) institution, Rowan is the fastest-growing public research university in the Northeast and among the nation’s top 10 fastest-growing, as reported by The Chronicle of Higher Education. In 2025, Rowan opened New Jersey’s only veterinary school and is one of only two universities in the nation to offer M.D., D.O., and D.V.M. medical degrees.