What One Transfer Student Taught Me About College SuccessJune 01, 2026

By Brie Ragland, MC Director of Marketing and Communications

As the marketing and communications director at Midland College, I spend a lot of time trying to understand students. Not just enrollment trends or statistics or what social media posts perform well. I mean the real questions students and families are carrying around every day.

Questions like:

• Am I smart enough for college?
• What if I fail?
• What if I can’t afford it?
• What if I start at a community college and can’t make it at a university later?

I read articles from Inside Higher Ed. I follow conversations about financial aid, workforce trends and transfer pathways. I listen to podcasts. I scroll on LinkedIn. I pay attention any time students talk honestly about what they’re struggling with.

And recently, during a casual dinner with a colleague and her younger brother — a recent engineering graduate from Texas Tech University now working in the Permian Basin oil field — I heard something that completely reframed the way I think about student success. Not because it was groundbreaking, but because it was honest.

He talked openly about his journey from a local community college to Texas Tech’s engineering program. At first, he described breezing through many of his core classes at the community college level. He made good enough grades to transfer and move forward, but admitted he didn’t always have to push himself the way he eventually would later.

Then came the transition to the university level. Suddenly, he found himself sitting in lecture halls with 50-100 or more students. The coursework became harder. The expectations changed. Professors were less hands-on. Nobody was checking to make sure he stayed on track.

And for a while, it was overwhelming. But then something shifted.

He realized that success at the university level wasn’t solely based on intelligence. It was about engagement. He started attending tutoring sessions, going to office hours, joining study groups, asking questions, and seeking help before falling behind. In other words, he learned how to be a college student.

That conversation stuck with me because I think so many students quietly believe that struggling means they are not “college material.” But often, struggling simply means you are learning how to navigate an entirely new environment.

And here’s the important part: Those support systems he eventually learned to use at Texas Tech? They already exist at community colleges like Midland College.

• Tutoring & Academic Support Services
• Faculty Office Hours
• Student Success Resources
• Study Groups
• Advising
• Mentorship

The difference is that at a community college, students often have a more supportive and accessible environment in which to learn how to use those resources effectively. And guess what? That matters … a lot.

Community college is not just a place to knock out basics cheaply before moving on. For many students, it is where they build the habits, confidence and resilience that help them succeed later at a university and in their careers.

And honestly? That transition period is important, because college is not only about mastering content. It is about learning discipline, time management, communication, self-advocacy and persistence. Those things do not magically appear overnight. Students develop them over time. Sometimes through success. Sometimes through failure. Usually through both.

I think one of the biggest misconceptions students have is believing that successful people never struggled academically. The truth is, many successful students simply learned earlier that asking for help is not weakness: It is strategy.

If you are currently struggling in high school or community college, doubting your ability to transfer or wondering whether you belong in higher education at all, hear this: Your current challenges do not define your ceiling.

Learning how to ask questions, seek support and stay engaged may be just as important as the grade you make on your next exam. And if you can develop those habits now, in a place where people know your name and genuinely want to help you succeed, you may be more prepared for the next level than you realize.

Education gives back what you put into it. That was probably the biggest lesson I walked away with that night. Not that community college is easier. Not that universities are harder. But that success often comes down to learning how to fully engage in your own growth.

And that is a skill students can start building right here at Midland College.

Say YES to your success at Midland College! Enroll today at midland.edu/yes