Transfer students transition to IU life

Dozens of transfer students stepped into the bowling alley Thursday toting old college t-shirts. They left holding cream-and-crimson alternatives.

About 80 students gathered at the Indiana Memorial Union Back Alley for the Transfer Student Bowling Night organized by the Office of First Year Experience Programs.

Holding her brand new IU shirt, sophomore Chantel Pitts, a transfer student from the University of Iowa, said Welcome Week has made her feel like a freshman again.

For junior Eri Rolland, a transfer student from Grand Valley State University in Michigan, it’s helped her find a social campus where she finally feels welcomed, she said.

For all students, it’s a time of transition.

At a Transfer Student Kick-off meeting Wednesday night, one student asked if the FYE program offered any other events throughout the year specifically for transfer students.

The presenters, including sophomore and former transfer student Taylor Millner, encouraged the group to join the Transfer Student Advisory Board that meets every two weeks. But the presenters noted that no other transfer student social events were planned throughout the year — it would be up to the students to get involved on campus.  

“I came in from a really small school. I was extremely nervous,” Millner said. “Freshman year is when everybody finds each other. That was the biggest challenge.”

When sophomore Ari Feldman transferred to IU at the end of last year’s first semester, his biggest hurdle was transferring credits, he said.

Feldman used IU’s online Credit Transfer Service to determine which classes would transfer into IU credits.

The program reported that all but one of his classes would count as credits toward his major. But once he began registering for classes, he said he realized about 11 credits wouldn’t count toward his major.

“It definitely put me back a bit,” Feldman said. “I think the University should do a much better job identifying what those classes actually mean ... It can be very misleading, in my opinion.”

Vice Provost of Enrollment Management David Johnson said IU uses a streamlined process through the Credit Transfer Service to articulate to students which classes they should take.

“I’m sure some students experience some difficulty, but we want to work to ease their transition,” Johnson said.

Feldman, originally from the Chicago area, transferred to IU after last year’s first semester from the University of Miami in Florida. He had loved the natural sciences program and scholarships offered by his former university but wanted to return to a school in the Midwest.  

As a transfer student, Feldman said he was unable to be admitted directly into the School of Public and Environmental Affairs or the Huttons Honors College until after he completed a semester.

Feldman said he was also unable to apply for most IU scholarships because he was a transfer student.

Incoming transfer students are ineligible for automatic merit scholarships most freshmen apply for. Although the Office of Scholarships offers a few external scholarships with separate applications, these are highly selective. The only scholarship catering specifically to transfer students, the Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarship, offers a limited number of selective awards for Indiana residents.

“For scholarships it kind of sucks to be a transfer student,” Feldman said.
Johnson said many transfer students may have chosen to transfer from a less-expensive degree program to save money to come to IU.

“We don’t offer as much aid in terms of scholarships as a transfer-in,” Johnson said. “The automatic merit scholarships are focused on our freshmen cohorts to keep them here for four years.”

Feldman’s best advice for this year’s class of transfer students is to reach out to advisors within specific degree programs, he said.

“They know those specific programs inside and out” Feldman said. “The university won’t necessarily set you up like that.”

Associate Director of First Year Experience Programs Emily Arth said her team aims to cater to transfer students’ distinct concerns when they arrive on campus.

“The things we talk to freshmen about at orientation, they already heard that at their old school,” Arth said. “Instead they need to know how to do it at IU.”

For the last two years, the Office of FYE has implemented an initiative to support the transition process by offering transfer student events aside from new student orientation.

“Most people assume it’s just traditional freshmen but almost a thousand transfer students enroll every year,” Arth said. “Their experience is different. They have different needs.”

During Welcome Week, transfer students have a Welcome Week assistant to help guide them around campus. The FYE office has also set up times and locations for transfer students to meet to walk to events such as IU Traditions and Spirit.

In addition to the bowling night and Transfer Kick-Off Meeting, transfer students have connected through a Facebook group with 199 members. The office also encourages students to meet other transfer students through its mentor program and Advisory Board.

This will be the first year the program will offer a campus chapter of Tau Sigma National Honor Society, which is designed specifically for transfer students, Arth said.
One of the hardest aspects of transferring is not knowing what questions to ask while going through the process, Feldman said.

“It takes a lot of confidence in the decisions you make,” Feldman said. “If you’re at one university, you’re used to their bureaucracy and their way of doing business. You have to really do business for yourself.”

Feldman said he was lucky to have friends on campus when he transferred, thanks to his older brother who previously attended IU.

“I don’t know if I’d be open to it without knowing people that went here,” Feldman said.
Despite his hurdles with credits, Feldman expects to graduate on time. He found his place on campus in the spring racing with the Indiana Cycling team in the Little 500. He also found a group of roommates on the IU classifieds to live with this year.

Feldman said he has no regrets with his decision to move to IU, and he doesn’t think this year’s transfer students should either.  

“Transferring is great,” he said. “Just don’t look back. It’s never a good idea. Just keep moving forward.”

Follow reporter Samantha Schmidt on Twitter @schmidtsam7.