I’m Vanessa Broadrup ‘25, a current International Relations and Japanese Studies double major at William & Mary from just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I began my time as a transfer student at W&M last year during the Fall 2023 semester. When I decided to transfer out of my former academic institution, I was studying abroad at a university in Osaka, Japan as part of an exchange program. It was there that I realized I enjoyed the experience of being on a bigger campus so much that I wanted to have this opportunity to meet more people from different places once I returned to the United States. I also realized that a larger university with a bigger International Relations department like W&M would give me the opportunity to meet lots of new people who had similar interests to me but different life experiences from myself. 

At first the idea of leaving my old school and transferring all of my credits to a new place was daunting, but once I met with W&M Transfer Admissions Dean Dean Monica Pinier who answered all of my (many) questions, I felt reassured that W&M would welcome me and prepare me to succeed in my final two years of my undergraduate academic experience. My friends who are now W&M alumni themselves also encouraged me to apply, sharing a contagious enthusiasm for the campus and the courses they took here. So, to me, sending my one and only transfer application to W&M was a logical decision, and one I made with excitement and a lot of thought. I knew that if I transferred, the one place I would want to be was at William & Mary. So naturally, I was over the moon when I finally got my acceptance letter in early May (and when I found out so many of my credits transferred)!

When I first came to campus, I was a bit nervous about finding a sense of community and adjusting, but by the end of New Student Orientation, I could find my way around pretty easily. I also attended the Student Activities Fair, which I think really helped me get involved and make friends. Trust me when I say that W&M has just about any organization you could possibly think of, whether it relates to professional development, athletics, or hobbies. If you are a transfer student who feels a little nervous, that’s perfectly normal, but I promise you will find kind people in teammates, classmates, and student organization members who want nothing more than to help you and see you succeed. I have noticed that a lot of clubs here are also super welcoming to new people–including transfers. I attend Swim Club meetings (even though I’ve never been on a swim team!), and I am the proud Vice President of Programming for the William & Mary chapter of the Alexander Hamilton Society, a foreign policy related organization–which you’re more than welcome to join even if you’re not an IR or Government Major! 

If you’re a prospective transfer student like I once was, or you managed to find this blog post because you Googled “William & Mary Transfer,” and have some questions, I implore you to check out this page or email transfer@wm.edu. If you choose to come here as a transfer student, there are a lot of resources meant to set you up to succeed, so don’t hesitate to reach out or attend STEP events! Remember–if you’re a transfer, never sell yourself short. You’ve been in college before and you’ve got this! You are likely looking to learn a lot from your classmates about their cool experiences at W&M, but remember that you are interesting too and also have something unique to offer, even if you didn’t begin your academic journey here. Make connections with classmates, ask professors about opportunities to immerse yourself in fields that interest you, apply to campus jobs and other opportunities, and enjoy yourself here. Remember, you applied for a reason!