Do I really go to UConn if I go to UConn Stamford?

“I go to UConn.” The sentence basically rolls off the tongue. You tell anyone this side of the Mason-Dixon line that you go to UConn, and you are bound to get some sort of reaction out of them.

“I go to UConn-Stamford.” You don’t usually get the same reaction. First off, most people don’t even know the campus exists, and people that do usually don’t know how to react. Some even say, “Why didn’t you go to Storrs?”

I mean, sure, I would have loved to have gone to the Storrs campus. I also would love a million dollars in my bank account by tomorrow and Ryan Reynolds knocking on my door telling me he loves me. We don’t always get what we want.

I chose not to attend the Storrs campus because I could not afford it. I was transferring my sophomore year from a expensive state school in Rhode Island, and I knew I wouldn’t have been able to afford going to the main campus. While I knew I wanted to go to the Storrs campus if I had my choice, I knew I needed to think about my future and how in debt I was already in from my freshman year.

I love UConn- Stamford, and all of the friends and memories I’ve made there, it’s just sometimes feels funny to call myself a “UConn Student” even though I am one. We don’t get a lot of the same opportunities and perks as the students at the main campus, such as getting to go to basketball games and parties, so it is tough sometimes to call myself a UConn student without feeling like I’m trying to be something I’m not.

Now this isn’t meant to bash UConn- Stamford, or any student at the branch campus or the main campus. I love UConn and I love getting the opportunity to study here even though I am unable to attend the main campus. I’ve just been reflecting a lot lately on my time here at UConn, and I’ve always been asked why I transferred from a big university out of state to UConn-Stamford.

I decided to branch out of of my own head, and see how my fellow peers at UConn and the branch campuses felt. Everyone has a different view of how they want to experience college. Some people really want a small, intimate college experience, while others just simply cannot afford to attend the main campus even though they want to.

“Sometimes it feels like the Storrs students and the campus all together get more opportunities. But overall I feel like we are all generally the same, except we save a ton of money.” said Taylor Demarco (Junior), a Communications major.

Alanna Cooney, Junior, Marine Science

“I definitely don’t feel like the same Uconn student I did while attending the Storrs campus. It has a completely different feel not being on the main campus and I get the impression we are mostly an after thought.”

Alanna transferred from the Storrs campus to the Avery Point campus last semester. She also brought up a good point about changing campuses, “I was very involved on the Storrs campus and here I just come for class and go home. There are a few clubs but not many.”

Fernanda Ferrari, Senior, Business Administration

“I do not feel like a true UConn student. I feel like a student who goes to Uconn in Stamford.”

Kailey Cappozi, a Junior Human Development and Family Studies major, also transferred from a larger university to the Stamford campus. “It’s an in between.” she commented, “But I lean more towards no.”

Carlee Fuller, a Junior Psychology major, transferred from Stamford to the Storrs campus this semester. “Attending the main campus is definitely a different UConn experience, but I wouldn’t say that I feel more like a UConn student.”

Like I said before, I love UConn, and I love being a Husky. I wouldn’t have transferred here if I didn’t, but it’s not hard to admit that sometimes I don’t always feel like a true UConn student because I chose to attend a branch campus close to my house.

At the end of the day, whether we want to believe it or not, we are UConn students, and we should be proud of that. UConn is an amazing university that I am proud to be a part of, whether or not I attend the main campus.

(That’s me on the left. See? I do love UConn!)