The Transfer Transition

St. Joseph’s University is a college made up of students that come from all over the greater Long Island area, but the school is not a stranger to the concept of transfer students– students who went to another school that then decided to go to St. Joseph’s instead. These transfer students have come to St. Joe’s for a variety of different reasons; some have come from a two-year community college and wanted to move on to earn a four-year degree, others got homesick while at their far-off university, and others realized that they wanted to pursue a career outside the realms of their old school. While some of these students are overjoyed at the prospect of being an Eagle, other students have already had a hard time at their new college. How well are these students assimilating to St. Joseph’s University, and what– if anything– is the university doing to help them?

Junior Accounting major, Daniela Garcia, who transferred from Suffolk County Community College’s Brentwood Campus, said she only came to St. Joseph’s because of a scholarship. “It's called the Stay On Long Island Scholarship,” said Garcia. “I really wanted to just win a scholarship, so I wasn't really looking at the school… because I won it, that's the only reason I came here.” Garcia got an Associate’s Degree in Political Science at SCCC before transferring to St. Joseph’s, but before she got the scholarship to come to her second school, she wasn’t very sure whether she was even going to continue her education further. “I would’ve just done something else, I really didn't think of continuing [to] a four-year degree.” Garcia seemed very happy and content with her decision to come to St. Joe’s however, when asked about the culture of St. Joseph’s student body, she replied, “I think it's very friendly and very social… I feel like there's things happening all the time, like all the time. Yeah, there's so many different clubs and they make all their events.”

Sophomore Child Studies major, Caroline Kelley, who transferred from SUNY Cortland, had a lot of enthusiasm towards having transferred to St. Joseph’s University. When asked about why she chose to transfer to St. Joe’s, she replied, “I did a semester at Cortland and then realized how much I hated being away from home…. When I visited St. Joe's I really just loved the size of the school…. I think I needed a small school where there's people who will help you, at a big school it's so hard to find someone to actually sit down and help you.” She then added, “[St. Joseph’s] had my major… I looked up Stony Brook and they don't even have any kind of Teaching major. I feel like St. Joe’s is the place to be for my major.” Kelley confessed on how excited she had been for the school to start this September, as St. Joe’s had truly made quite the impression on her when she visited for Admitted Students day back last March. She made it a point to emphasize that the events that the school holds is one of the main driving factors as to why she fell in love with St. Joe’s. “At Cortland, it's just such a big school that they can't really do that kind of stuff for all the students, and the clubs you join, they don't really do that kind of stuff. I feel like at St. Joe’s there's more ways to meet people and get involved than at the other [school].... [Cortland] was more of a party school where you kind of had to do [what] those kids did to be involved, but here… you know everyones in the same boat and everyones just kind of been welcoming.” So it seems that the events that are thrown as well as the student involvement of St. Joseph’s University is one of its clear-cut claims to fame upon the transfer student body as to why many of them chose this college over others.

Besides the wonderful reasons why St. Joseph’s felt like the right fit for Kelley, she also mentioned what she felt the downsides of going to a big school that’s far away from home were. “I just love the life that I have on Long Island… Upstate in Cortland, New York… I was getting a thrill from going on the bus to Walmart because there's no escape, like you're stuck on this campus and you can't get away.” Living at a big school where there isn’t very much going on besides the happenings of the school itself was a problem for Kelley, though going away isn’t a problem for everyone. A transfer student– who chose to remain anonymous– had gone to a school out of state and shared a different perspective on the matter. “I really loved going away for school… it was sad and hard to get used to being so far away from home, but at the time I really needed the chance to create my own life somewhere new, be able to become my own person,” said Anonymous. “I came back home because I kind of lost myself up there being on my own. I needed to ground myself, refind my roots, and figure things out, like what I want to do with my life, but I wanted to still stay on track with my schooling, so St. Joe’s is giving me the chance to figure things out while I’m here.” The different reasons why students decide to transfer to St. Joseph’s vary immensely, which is especially interesting when looking at all the different places they have come from. Whether they never left Long Island or they had gone away, and whether they came to St. Joseph’s University out of pure love or for convenience, they all have a certain appreciation for what this college has been able to offer them.

Many of the transfer students at St. Joe’s, while happy with their decision to come to this Patchogue-located college, found themselves having difficulties with the technicalities of transitioning into their new school. One of the problems stated in transferring over to this school is the lack of assistance students got when it came to getting directions in order to insure they’d graduate on time as well making their class schedules for their first semesters. “I could’ve gotten more help than I did. I felt like I was doing everything on my own, figuring things out on my own,” Garcia mentioned. “I would’ve felt more comfortable and more at ease that things would go well if I had a specific chance for a counselor.” This seemed to be a shared experience amongst the transfer students, as the aforementioned anonymous transfer student said that they felt “very lost in the process” and that they weren’t even given a guidance counselor to help them make their schedule, but instead “had a virtual meeting with an English teacher where [they] felt like [they] had very little say in the matter.” These types of situations even carried over into the school year for some, as Garcia also said that she “felt like [she] was coming in not knowing too much except for the first class [she] had that day.”

Though this lack of help was not universal among all the transfer students. Kelley was able to get an in-person meeting with a counselor and have an open discussion about her schedule, but told how she was well-aware this wasn’t the case for most in her situation. “Some people really had some horror stories!” exclaimed Kelley. “In my transfer class the other day, everyone was saying that they had a terrible experience… My experience was actually really great! When I got accepted I met with an admissions counselor at St. Joe's and we went through every[thing]... and we made my schedule. She already had one made and went over it with me.” I attempted to get information from several different members of the Admissions department about the transfer student population on campus and the programs in place to help with the transition of transfer students into St. Joseph’s University. No one has since responded, which adds a certain curiosity as to whether transfer students have very many opportunities set up to help them. If a transfer student cannot get a response from anyone at the Admissions office, is it possible for the programs put in place– ones which would involve more in depth communication between student and school– to be truly effective?