Transfer student 'fell in love' with 阿宾顿

肖恩·凯利, an intern in the 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 Office of Strategic Communications and 社区 参与ment, will graduate from 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 on May 4 with a bachelor's degree in corporate communication. Below, Kelly shares his thoughts about his decision to attend Penn State.

Being a senior in high school is a fun but stressful time for everyone. We’re enjoying our last few months with the classmates who we grew close with over the last four years, and we’re also deciding what we are going to do with the next years of our lives.

However, some of us don’t find that to be easy. We procrastinate because we are scared, don’t feel ready, or a million other reasons. 我就是其中一员. 我准备离开高中了, but not entirely ready to decide what college I wanted to attend for the next four years.

After procrastinating and missing all of the acceptance deadlines for the universities that accepted me, I ended up at my local community college. The plan was to go to community college for one year, 两个学期, and then transfer to a school in the city and live with my friends where I would spend the next three years of my life.

我已经准备好出发了. I was accepted and about to sign the lease for an apartment with my friends, and then one morning I woke up and decided against it. I’m not entirely sure why, but I knew that I wasn’t going to be fully comfortable there.

所以我就在那里, back at my local community college for another year, not knowing where I was going to attend after the year was up. Basically, I was stuck where I was as a senior in high school.

First semester goes by, didn’t know where I was going to go. The winter break comes, and I talked with a relative who mentioned 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校. 我根本没注意到. Right after that night, it was the only place on my radar.

As soon as I got home, I researched the school to learn more about the programs, the cost, etc. I fell in love with 阿宾顿 and applied immediately.

"Every person, professor, faculty, and staff member I met gave me the same feeling. 一个有用的, 种类, and welcoming feeling that made you feel like no matter what, they were going to help you get where you needed to go."

—肖恩·凯利, senior, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校

过程进行得很顺利。. Transfer admissions contacted me not long after to set up a meeting to determine my transfer credits, 我很惊喜. 阿宾顿 accepted more credits than all of the other universities I had applied to.

I attended my transfer orientation that spring, 选择我的课程, and spent the summer anxiously awaiting the beginning of classes. I am not a huge fan of school to begin with, so to get me excited it had to be something special.

I got there on my first day, and — I won't lie — I was a little lost. I was a 20-year-old stepping onto a four-year college campus for the first time. It was nerve-racking, but immediately I felt at home when I saw my first professor. He gave off such a friendly, helpful and 种类 notion. It didn’t hurt that he cracked a few one-liners within the first five minutes to relax everyone. 

From there on every person, professor, faculty and staff member I met gave me the same feeling. 一个有用的, 种类 and welcoming feeling that made you feel like no matter what, they were going to help you get where you needed to go.

还有几周就要毕业了, and I am extremely excited to get out in the real world, 然而, there is a part of me that is sad to leave. 阿宾顿 has brought me countless memories and opportunities for which I will forever be grateful.

If you’re reading this and are wondering whether or not to attend 阿宾顿, 不管是不是调来的, 停下你正在做的事情，去申请. If you’ve already applied and have been accepted, stop what you’re doing and accept that offer. 你不会后悔的. 我知道我没有.

关于宾大阿宾顿

宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 provides an affordable, 可访问的, and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st century public higher education within a world-class research university. 有将近4个,000名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 19 majors, 本科研究, 施赖尔荣誉项目, 美国大学生体育协会第三组, 和更多的.