For many students at the University, the first memories made on Grounds are not those of hall meetings in the basement of AC-deprived Old Dorms or searching for hard-to-find buildings with other new Hoos as clueless as they are. Every year, more than 500 transfer students enroll at the University and adapt differently than most first years who enter the University directly after high school.
In 2015, the University admitted 990 of the 2,597 students who applied to transfer into the University. Of these accepted students enrolled, 622 enrolled, giving the University a 39 percent average offer rate and 63 percent average yield rate across the various schools. These numbers are typical for the general acceptance rate from the past 25 years.
Transfer students face the same adjustment as incoming first years, but often do so without the help of a dorm community or the knowledge of a resident advisor.
“The adjustment was hard to say the least. Everyone already knew each other. Here I was with the label of a second year but the experience base of a first year,” fourth-year College student Julia Scoper, who transferred to the University as a second year, said.
Both the physical and electronic Grounds of University operation can be a maze for new students to try to navigate on their own.
“Just learning how to use the different tools like Collab and SIS was daunting at first, and not knowing where gyms and libraries were made you feel pretty lost,” third-year Batten student J.t. Meyer said.
Academically, transfer students come from a variety of schools across the country and have diverse educational backgrounds. However, they all must undergo the process of becoming acquainted with the rigor and unique academic climate of the University. Like Meyer, third-year College student Olivia Brodnax transferred as a second-year and found the adjustment difficult at first.
“What was hard was definitely the classes at the beginning … just learning how to prioritize my time and deal with the difference in workload from high school and community college,” Brodnax said.
Many transfer students seek and receive help with the adjustment from their professors and advisors at the University.
“Academically, I think leaning on my professors really helped,” Meyer said. “Going to office hours and asking a lot of questions allowed me to get into the swing of things and learn to succeed in a new environment.”
However, not all students find the assistance they need in the University faculty.
“For classes, the teachers are not as helpful compared to a smaller school and are not as personable, for the most part,” third-year College student Will Morgan said.
While professors are an option for help with academic life, social life is an adjustment that is typically left up to the individual student’s effort.
“Socially it was also somewhat nerve-wracking at first not knowing many people, but the students at U.Va. were actually really nice and inviting to me. People were a lot quicker to accept me than I expected. As a transfer you definitely have to put yourself out there more, but if you be yourself and put in the effort to meet people it is not hard to make friends here,” Meyer said. “It took me a whole semester to really feel comfortable at U.Va., but it does become a home.”
This process can be tiring as well as long; however, most students regard the effort as well worth it.
“What really helped me adjust was when anyone ever invited me to do something, I went. I took advantage of almost every opportunity possible to meet people,” Scoper said. “It was a lot of work. It was exhausting trying to meet people and make friends. But it worked out in the end.”
In-state transfer students may also experience the benefit of having friends from their hometown or previous peers willing to help them figure out the social scene of the University.
“I was lucky enough to know a few people that introduced me to others. This was immensely helpful in meeting people. Other than that adjusting just is a waiting game,” Meyer said.
Transfer students can also face the chaos of trying to find housing in the spring, after many leases have already been signed since the beginning of the academic year in early fall. Many transfer students face limited options.
Brodnax lived off-Grounds in the Flats after getting accepted to the University in May, at a point when most students had already determined where they would live the following year.
“Housing had already been figured out by almost everyone,” she said. “My roommates were random … we didn't really have the same interests, so it wasn't a very welcoming or homey environment, but it worked.”
Other students attempt to find housing or roommates through mutual friends.
Scoper said she was paired with her roommate — who was also a transfer student — through a mutual friend and lived on-Grounds in Bice House.
“Our room was so small that we could reach across and hold hands while in our own beds,” Scoper said. “It was not optimal. But since housing stuff is all so early, it was basically our only option.”
Many transfer students felt the University to be rather hands-off with their affairs.
“I think that the University does all that it can, but it's also a hard feat because everyone is so different, and we're all in different parts of our life that it’s so hard to have a program that would benefit all of us with all our diversity,” Brodnax said.
Other students felt more strongly that being independent was the only way to navigate their University experience.
"U.Va. will not help you that much — you have to be independent and usually find your own way,” Morgan said.
However, students who have the motivation to gain acceptance at the University tend to be willing to put in the time and effort to find community, and express that other students are often extremely welcoming when one does.
“My advice for transfer students would be to dive into U.Va. head first and don’t look back. Get involved, meet people, do not be shy. This university is full of wonderful people and incredible opportunities, but you have to be willing to seek them out,” Meyer said.
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