Unlike the three-day freshmen orientation that eases the
transition process between high school and college, transfer
students are given a crash course about the UCLA experience in one
action-packed day of orientation.
Having already spent one or two years in a community or another
college, transfer students do not require much information about
the transition process, said Colin Sterling, a student coordinator
of the orientation program.
Entering freshmen are generally coming straight from high school
and require more time to get familiar with the rigors of college,
Sterling said.
But some transfer students have expressed interest in a longer
orientation session though they said they were not there for the
socializing.
“I probably would have benefitted from a longer
orientation, but making friends was not my priority,” said
third-year philosophy student Esther Dela.
Still, Dela said she would have appreciated some extra time to
learn about other resources that were available to her.
Dela, having entered UCLA as a second-year transfer student,
said looking back, she would have wanted more information about
financial aid and resources available in Murphy Hall.
“If I had seen them sooner, I would have made different
decisions,” Dela said.
Freshmen and transfer students’ orientation sessions are
organized in the same format, but since freshmen orientation is
three days long, more time is allotted for non-academic activities,
Sterling said.
Freshmen orientation includes an information session about
alcohol and sexual violence, with students convening afterward to
discuss the topics presented.
Transfer students are also not given a tour of the campus
because counselors have found that transfer students are generally
more interested in learning about courses, Sterling said.
Though a shorter orientation may leave transfer students less
informed than incoming freshmen, most programs and services
available to freshmen are also available to transfer students.
This includes the College Honors Program, which offers priority
enrollment, special library privileges, summer research funding and
scholarships among other services.
In addition, students can attend workshops held in Covel Commons
that increase awareness of programs such as Peace Corp and studying
abroad.
Another resource transfer students can utilize is research
opportunities in fields ranging from the sciences to humanities,
some of which offer stipends ““ generally $1,000 per quarter,
said Audrey Cramer, director of the Center for Academic and
Research Excellence.
Some open research positions are posted on a bulletin board on
the second floor of the Life Sciences Building, and Cramer said it
is particularly important for transfer students to become involved
quickly.
“Faculty are very welcome to new transfer students, and
it’s really important for transfer students to get started in
research right away because they have less time here,” she
said. “It’s really an essential part of an
undergraduate education, especially if you’re in the
sciences.”
With reports from Menaka Fernando and Charlotte Hsu, Bruin
Senior Staff.