BWW Blog: Deferring - A Hard Decision to Make

Transferring during a pandemic is something I never thought I'd have to do, but with the new challenges also came a decision for me. Study remotely or defer and wait to get the full experience. This came with many pros and cons for both options and was a very difficult decision to make. Here's how I came to the conclusion to defer for a semester.

I was super excited to transfer to Rider University in New Jersey for this upcoming academic year and even more excited to experience the new surroundings and meet all the new people that would come with the new program. I was ready to start this new chapter in my life, but with the challenges of the current world I wasn't sure if online schooling would really work for me. I stayed hopeful but also realized that safety should be the number one priority for schools. Rider always kept open channels of communication which made these times that much easier to navigate. Which leads me to say that if you are unsure about anything involving your school or transferring, don't be afraid to email or get in contact with people. Worst case you have the wrong person or department and they'll help you find the right one.

At first I was dead set on attending Rider in the fall. I had picked my dorm and all the supplies I would need, I was thinking about what clothes to bring, and even put in my last day at work. Once I found out about the new plan for a remote semester I had to weigh the pros and cons. With my past experience at Dutchess Community College with online classes I knew that for me it just simply didn't work as effectively as in person. I am easily distracted and find it much harder to invest and fully understand the material. So once Rider announced their online schooling plans for the fall semester I had to do some real soul searching to figure out what would really lead me to get the most out of my four year school. After thinking about not only cost but missing out on the college experience. I realized that deferring for a semester would probably be my best bet.

My first step was to get in contact with my advisor so that the school could help me with deferring and so that I could cancel my housing application and remove myself from the classes. Once I did this I realized that there was no time like the present to try and get some gen-ed requirements out of the way so that I could take more classes of interest once I did go to Rider. So I got into contact with the Associate Dean and talked about which classes from Dutchess would transfer over. Since I needed a foriegn language, I decided it would be best for me to take a Spanish class and made sure the requirements fit what I needed and would transfer when I completed the class.

The choice to defer was a difficult one but was made a lot easier with the open communication of Rider University and the continued support of my family and friends. Ultimately I feel even more prepared for my time at Rider hopefully in the upcoming spring semester.

See you next time, Ben