Got back to campus to find my apartment flooded… as a transfer student, I came here to live a life of the mind, not a life in the mold.

The transfer process is extremely nerve-wracking, and although Barnard stands out for being uniquely supportive of unconventional students, transfers run into a major issue: we don’t get housing. It’s not just “not guaranteed.” The housing office told me dorms are pretty much off the table after your first semester as a transfer. 

For a million reasons—from limiting social life to financial burdens to the misery of apartment-hunting in NYC—being forced to live off campus absolutely freaking sucks. 

Case in point: my radiator broke, flooded my apartment over winter break, and I arrived home to find a moldy lake where all my worldly possessions used to be. Yay! Was my landlord responsive? No. Did I have heat for the first few days? Also, no (it was like 15 degrees). Were my belongings salvageable? The recovery rate was about 50%.

Thanks to my amazing apartment (which, by the way, also does not have a laundry room… let me repeat… there is no way to do laundry in the building), I just had the worst week of my college career.

I came to Barnard to be a student. While learning to yell at management until you get what you want (like a livable apartment) is a pretty important life skill, I would much rather have hit the books all week. Instead, I spent most of my waking hours on the phone, shivering, slamming my head against the moldy, moldy walls in hysterical frustration.

Even when everything goes right, being forced to live off campus negatively impacts the college experience of transfer students. When the end of the semester rolls around, I’m going to lose precious study time to another apartment hunt. Sometimes, I feel unsafe walking home alone at night from a late class or club; I would expect a women’s college to take that into consideration. I definitely feel that living off campus means I have to work harder to nurture and maintain a social life because I don’t have a built-in dorm/hall/suite community, and spending time with friends always means one party has to go out of their way.

I ADORE this college. It’s the best. The best. I’m not saying that dorm life is perfect or that living off campus is unbearable. I love my friends. I love my roommate. I love NYC. But I’ll be honest: after this costly experience, I would happily trade half of everything I own to be living in Sulz.

Barnard, my love, I beg you. Make space for transfer students on campus.

The City via Bwarchives