How do transfer students make friends in California?

[Olivia]

I thought making friends would be easier. Join clubs, talk to classmates, done. But when you transfer in as a junior, everyone already has their groups. Analí Salazar at Cal Poly said the transition has been huge — from a diverse community college to a mostly white university where people stare when you speak Spanish .

Airin Valdez, a first-gen student at Stanford, had a different but equally challenging experience: "As a first-generation student, I did not feel adequately prepared for college-level work, especially at a school like Stanford. I often feel behind compared to my peers who have more resources or had the opportunity to be exposed to content that is completely new to me."

What's helping:

• Programs for first-gen and low-income students (Stanford has these, and they're a lifeline)
• Summer bridge programs (Airin came early for math and English classes)
• Academic advisors who specifically work with first-gen students

Jeevan Acharya at Chapman University said the key was "trusting the process, having faith in myself that I would deliver in the end." He added: "That's a really hard thing for creative people, and especially art students to do: to trust what they're doing, really believe in themselves 100 percent."

I'm trying to believe in myself. But some days it's hard. Anyone else feeling this?