By Luis Rodriguez
Staff Writer
For Michael Miklos, a junior sports management major, something did not seem right. Miklos began his collegiate life at Becker College, but said he never felt at home.
After three semesters at Becker, Miklos said he decided to transfer to St. Bonaventure and he is not alone—in fact, Chris Brown, Director of First-Year Experience & Orientation, estimated about 57 transfer students this semester.
According to the New York Times, about one in three college students are likely to transfer at some point.
Miklos said he was recruited by Becker College, a Division III school, to play soccer but Miklos never wanted to attend Becker. Knowing that his intentions were not to stay all four years, Miklos said he began the process of searching for a new university to call home.
Other Bonaventure transfers said they chose their first school before transferring because of athletics.
“Soccer was the only thing keeping me, but the team was not what I expected. I remember St. Bonaventure coming to my high school, so I looked into it and it really grabbed my attention, so I made the choice to transfer,” Miklos said.
Sports is only one of the many factors students think about when choosing a college to attend. Matthew Williams, a sophomore journalism and mass communication major, said he transferred from Fairleigh Dickinson University because it was too close to home and the student life was similar to his high school days.
“I transferred from Dickinson because I was not going to play football anymore, and I got recruited to play rugby here at Bonaventure,” Williams said. “But the main reason why I chose to come here was because it was far from home.”
Unlike Williams and Miklos, junior sociology major David Woodbridge said he had a taste of Bonaventure before deciding to transfer here from Jamestown Community College.
“I had a friend who was attending Bonas last year, and I visited quite a bit and really enjoyed the campus and the people I met,” Woodbridge said.
“So when I graduated in the spring I decided to attend Bonaventure.”
Most transfer students said they have found the transition easy. However, others said they have had a tougher time adjusting to life at Bonaventure.
“Although classes have only been in session for a week, I have felt the struggle to meet people especially as a transfer student,” Woodbridge said. “Though I know attending events and participating in groups will help with meeting people.”
Miklos and Williams said they both are enjoying life at Bonaventure because of the different atmosphere it presents.
“It’s almost a different world when you compare Madison, New Jersey to Olean,” Williams said.
Although it has a small amount of students, students said the campus is still big enough to feel like a huge university, they said.
“The campus is much bigger, and there are many more activities here. The culture of the campus is very unique and makes the university more immersive,” Woodbridge said.
Lauren Doversola, a junior accounting and finance major, said the only thing she regrets is not transferring to Bonaventure earlier.
rodrigl13@bonaventure.edu
