Transfer students give Penn a mixed midyear report card

Despite a student-run orientation program, an e-mail listserv and a large network of students going through the same things as them, many first-year transfer students have mixed feelings about the school they thought would be a better place than their initial choice. And while some students said such perks eased their transition to Penn, many found it hard to meet non-transfer students. About 250 students transfer to Penn each fall. The Transfer and Advanced Standing Credit Office helps them determine their standing upon matriculation at the University. "For the most part, [transfer] students are happy," Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions Mark Shank said. Although several students said the transfer-credit office was helpful, College sophomore Damian Werts, who came to Penn from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, described the process of transferring credits as "frustratingly slow." Slow-moving departments, which must approve all transfer credits, are the main hurdle to receiving credits from one's former school, Werts said. But he praised the student-run programs which first welcomed him to the University. "The transfer orientation program was great," he said. "They made sure there was something to do every day and every night." College junior Sarah Greenbaum, who began her college career at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and is now the co-coordinator of transfer orientation, said many transfer students find their best friends through orientation. The students also preserve their strong bonds through an e-mail listserv. "Most of my friends are transfers," said College sophomore Kate Keane, a transfer from Drew University in Madison, N.J. College sophomore and Drexel University transfer Marion Huie agreed that the orientation programs were a good way to meet people. But "meeting other people besides transfers" was difficult, she said. The large size of many College classes aggravates this problem. College sophomore Kirsti Lee, who originally attended Smith College in Northampton, Mass., found all her classes to be "humongous lectures" which "were definitely way too big [to meet people]." Also, the "anti-social" nature of the high rises, where most transfer students live during their first year, makes it harder to meet other students, Lee said. Many transfers choose to meet other students through extra-curricular activities, and Greenbaum noted that transfer students are "excited to get involved." Huie, a member of the College Republicans, made an effort to join several clubs. However, she criticized the University for not making information about extra-curricular activities more readily available at the beginning of the year. And although her first semester had its ups and downs, Lee concluded that she is learning to be "better adjusted" to Penn.