Transfers Start Fresh

By Oliver Haslegrave
Assistant Features

On Tuesday, September 1, as the class of 2002 descended upon the Wesleyan campus, they were joined by the new members of the sophomore and junior classes.

In addition to the 719 students that comprise the frosh class, 53 equally bewildered yet less naive transfer students joined the Wesleyan community.

While the transfer students participated in frosh orientation, including Wesleyan Orientation in the Wilderness (WOW) and the community service projects, they were placed in groups with fellow transfers. The transfers also took part in a first-night dinner and advising sessions scheduled solely for them. Likewise, the transfers were placed in homogenous housing situations such as an all-transfer LoRise and seventh floor of HiRise.

"I am living now with six transfer students," said Nathan Gleiner ’01, who came to Wesleyan from the University of Maryland. "It has helped to build a strong sense of community, and most of my friends are transfers."

"Having other transfer students in my WOW group and on my floor definitely helped," added sophomore Rachel Kurlantzick, formerly of Georgetown. "It made me feel like I had been here for a long time."

While the transfers agreed being paired with fellow transfers facilitated the orientation process, some dissented that the activities with the frosh were not helpful.

"Basically, the transfer student orientation was good, but the programs with the freshman were bad," stated Trevor MacGregor ’01, who spent his frosh year at Northeastern University. "They are trying to experience college for the first time, and we are trying to get used to a new environment."

There are two methods of transfer into Wesleyan University: the common September matriculation, to which the majority of the students apply, and the January matriculation. For the 1998-99 academic year, 345 students applied for the fall semester, 121 were admitted, and approximately 53 matriculated, while for the ’98 spring semester, 45 applied, 10 were admitted, and 5 matriculated. These figures don’t include the small number of special visiting students.

"In the last five years, there has been some decline in the number of applicants, with the highest being 410 in 1994," commented Therese Overton, associate dean of admissions. "But it is typically in the upper 300s."

As for students transferring out of rather than into Wesleyan, official statistics are not kept, often because students do not supply the University with their reason for withdrawal. The transfer rate can be inferred, however, from the non-retention rate of freshman and sophomore students.

"There has been about a two percent drop in the non-retention rate over the last eight years, in part due to the Ivies and other colleges accepting transfers after one year," said John Pothier, director of institutional research.

The reasons for students transferring into Wesleyan are as varied as the colleges they come from. Troy Boutin ’00, formerly of the University of Chicago, transferred to Wesleyan a year ago because "the two-year course curriculum there was too constrictive, and Wesleyan offered freedom within their curriculum."

According to Gleiner, he came to Wesleyan because he "hated the University of Maryland. Everything I thought I wanted in a college, academically, socially, size, location, they all changed."

Kurlantzick liked Washington DC, but "didn’t like the Catholic aspect. I’m Jewish, and Georgetown was only like six percent Jewish."

When asked why they chose Wesleyan as their new school, the majority of the students cited Wesleyan’s excellent liberal arts reputation and strong curriculum. After two days of classes, every transfer interviewed believed he or she made the correct choice.

"I am definitely enjoying it," Kurlantzick concluded.