So What Brings You Here: The Transfer Experience

[MUSIC] >> Hey, everyone. Welcome to our podcast. >> So what brings you here on the non-traditional student experience? >> We are your hosts, Erica. >> And Celeste. >> This is both of our first years here at the college, but neither of us graduated with a high school class of 2023. I'm a transfer student from UC Santa Barbara. And I took a gap year. This is going to be a new series on the non-traditional university student experience at UChicago. Each episode will feature one or two guests who have a unique college journey. We're kicking off our segment with the transfer student experience. This year, the newly-wantigulated class had its largest quantity of transfer students at around 150 people. Today, we have one of these transfer students with us. Erin, if you'd like to introduce yourself. >> Hi, I'm Erin. I am an incoming second-year transfer. I'm transferring in for Brandeis studying e-con and CS. >> Awesome. So just to get started, could you walk us through why you chose to transfer? >> We are. >> So Brandeis, I was studying business in CS as well. And I basically, no, it was a combination of I wanted more academic rigor. I didn't love having such a small school. It was just kind of in the middle of nowhere. It was in Walthamast, which is boring. So I checked out transferring in UChicago seemed pretty cool. And now we're here. >> So before you even went to Brandeis, starting off your first year at college, did you have a notion that you wanted to transfer out? Or was it something that you ended up deciding on during your time at Brandeis? >> It. Okay. To be honest, I thought about it even before accepting Brandeis' letter. >> Good. >> Yeah. My dad game is a pretty good advice though. It was basically like, if you're at Brandeis, be at Brandeis. So I joined a bunch of clubs. I joined a frat. I became just very active and I don't know, prepared to stay for my four years. But going into it, I definitely like at least wants to consider transferring out. I thought I was a pretty good student in high school. And I thought I just kind of got unlucky and admissions. And so I was like, all right, I knew I wanted to at least try and just treat us in applications. For worst case, I just don't accept any of that. Yeah. >> And so when you began the transfer process and thinking about other schools, was UChicago at the top of your list? >> I honestly basically just re-did my applications. >> Wow. >> In higher process. >> How many schools? Like 12 or 15 somewhere around there. >> Wow, easy. A lot of top of like a Brandeis college, too. >> Yeah, I was also pretty stupid about it. I guess how the two dates work is most of them. Most applications are due around the same time, like on the same day. And I would basically just devote one night for these groups of six schools. And it was really bad, but it worked out. Yeah, so those were rough nights, but other than that, it was good. >> We all went through the college process and it takes a while to kind of figure out how to present yourself to people. And I think as you go through college, you acquire a bunch of experiences that make you kind of more secure and in how you want to present yourself to people when you're applying for things. So I was just wondering. >> I think I like was a better applicant if that's what you mean. I was able to do more stuff. >> Yeah, I also feel like the second time around, you already get a better sense of what college applications are about. Like I would say my senior year, I literally did not do research. And the colleges are just like, yeah, this one has kind of a pretty name. >> Yeah. >> It has a good vibe to it. And so I just applied without like knowing the schools at all. And I think that was definitely like a big like, on in my applications because like all the wide college essays, I was just like. Saying all the basic stuff that everyone else said. But like once you actually experience college, you have a better sense of like what you like about a school and what you don't like about a school. And I think that really helps with like the transfer location process because then you can be more specific with what you want. >> Yeah, 100%. >> Yeah. >> Hearing about your experience, I actually had a pretty different experience I would say really. So my parents actually wanted me to transfer the moment that I got all my decisions back. But I was so against it at first because I was like, why are you not giving me a chance to check out this school? Like it might not be what you had in mind for me, but I feel like I could really enjoy my college experience. And it wasn't until I visited my friend at UCL-A, mid way through the fall quarter that I was like, wow, like not everyone's college experience is as bland as mine to be frank. And so I was like, okay, maybe I should consider transferring then. And I remember like having this like existential crisis about like damn, I don't want to do what my mom told me to do because then she would have been right. You know, like that pettingness, like how's your parents telling you to do something and you're like, absolutely not. So when I consider transferring, I actually only considered like one or two schools. And you Chicago was my top one because at that point, I was like, I think I know what I want in a college and you Chicago pretty much checks all those boxes from what I knew of the school when I actually did more research about it. Yeah. So that's like, what's crazy to me that you like knocked out an entire full application of schools again. Yeah. Like on top of everything because I was only doing like one or two. And I was already like struggling to finish that. So yeah, it was definitely a year, you know? I also think like similar to that, I had kind of some like key moments at Brandeis that I was like, this is like kind of not normal and like I might one leave, you know? Like Brandeis is in Walton, which is like maybe half an hour from Boston. And so I had a chance to go to like, I don't know, Harvard, MIT, like, bit of talks, whatever. And I would just like, I would go to these schools and come back and just be like, not super sad, but like come back to this campus. It's like so ugly. Yeah. Brandeis is, oh my god. And it would just make you like so sad, not like that atmosphere, but just like seeing this like, very like hideous campus. And there's no way that I'd be like there for like a while, you know? Let me describe the cameras to be because I'm not familiar with Brandeis at all. Eat, eat, eat. Okay. So basically it has like a few like flagship buildings. Once the admissions building, I would say that's one of the only nice ones. We also have this, like the, I would say the second flagship is this huge bronze building. Do you know how like the, um, it might be copper, like the statue of Liberty. It's like oxidized. So it's like green. Yeah. There's a building that's completely made out of oxidized. It's all right. Wow. Yeah. And so it's just like, like, why? It's not like, it's all just like mismatch. You kind of just like through a bunch of stuff, you know? Yeah. And so we have a bunch of like concrete. Yeah. It was a time. That's, that's pretty interesting. Yeah. So now you must be pretty happy here at Hishikago. Yeah. I feel like it's a beautiful, yeah. The Hogwarts S. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah. Like honestly, I'm going to be upset like with myself the day I like don't appreciate reading around me, you know? I think this is just beautiful. Yeah. Yeah. Like sometimes when I walk, when I'm walking down the quad, I'm like, oh my gosh, it's just so beautiful here. With a sky too. And like, yeah, crisp, autumn breeze. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm hoping that the seasonal depression doesn't get to me too much because so far I'm really enjoying the views here. Yeah. So is Hishikago what you expected when you decided to transfer? Honestly, I would say mostly. Yeah. Like I just knew like the academics are difficult, but like I expected that obviously. Um, setting in like socially, basically played in how I expected. Like it was just kind of like a second first year, you know? Yeah. And you're in a suite with three other transfer students, right? Yeah. Um, have you guys been able to compare and contrast your experiences? Do you guys ever, does the topic of being transfer students here ever come up for you guys? Um, definitely me and my roommate talk about it a bunch. Um, yeah, yeah. It honestly feels like, like maybe you feel this, like I'm Jewish. And so like when I like, I'm talking to someone and I like find out they're Jewish, I get like a little excited, you know? It's kind of the same with like transfers because like if I'm like talking to someone and I find out they're a transfer, like that's just awesome, you know? Like we just have like a lot of common ground. Yeah, I got that. Yeah. It's like the shared piece of identity. Yeah. Um, and you talked a little bit about this, but how do you feel your first quarter here as a transfer student is different from a typical first year student? Interesting. It's just like the, I don't know, anecdote that I've been giving people is that like there's a show called the rookie. Um, where it's just like like 40 year old guy that decides to be a little like a police officer. And so he's just like super old relative to the other rookies. Mm-hmm. And I just like kind of feel like that. Like do you feel old? A little bit because like I also feel like, or I feel like I spend a lot of time with like first years, you know? Um, and so I just feel like I'm in this like weird in between between like I am basically a first year. I'm basically a second year, but then I'm like the age of a second year and I feel like old. No, I don't understand. I'm going to be 20 in what five days. Yeah, yeah. And I think, you know, the mindset coming right out of high school and going right into college is different than having, you know, a year. of experience under your belt. So I don't know, I think I think you can definitely sometimes feel the difference in experience, but I also think that it's nice to, I don't know, to integrate yourself with the first years and feel, feel yugging. It's like one year difference. So do you have like a nice once of trans like second year friends versus first years or most of your friends first years? Honestly, so I got a bit lucky because like from my hometown I have like a close group of friends that's maybe like 12 people. Oh wow. Weirdly, let's talk from New York and so like Shikago's like prominent and like known, but like not many people go to Chicago. And so of the like three people in my or no, I have the four people in my grade that ended up at UChicago. Three of us are in this like 12 people, which is just like kind of crazy. And so like I'm here with my good friends like Max and Ronan. And so I've just been able to like, I don't know, just hang out then hang out with their friends. I would say that's most of my like second year friends, just people have met through them. Otherwise, I'd say I've more so first year friends, honestly. Yeah. Yeah, because I feel like because we're made to, you know, do human a lot of the first year classes, it's kind of like it's built in a way where we're mostly interacting with first years, unless you go out of your way to kind of find second year friends or above. I guess an RSS and stuff is easier than to find other second years. But yeah, I would say like I also have like from my classes all the people I talk to are first years. Yeah. And like all my second year friends are people who are like in my house or like from other organizations where you kind of meet them or you already know them beforehand. Like before coming to the college. So I'm curious about like you with a lot of like do you try to make other friends other than first years, even though you're like, why don't think about it consciously. We also have a baby face so no one thinks that I'm a year older. But I mean, no, I do think I do find that it's nice, especially finding someone else who's taken a gap year as well. Because yeah, I do think that your prior experiences inform how you are like navigating campus here. And so it's nice when someone is like, oh yeah, I also was traveling and you know, I missed my flight and I had this crazy story. And it's just nice to find comfort in people's experiences being similar to yours. So actually the maroon has allowed me to meet a bunch of older students on campus. And I'm really grateful for that. Yeah. Oh, so nice. One question I also had was I feel like my first year at UC Santa Barbara, I had a lot of regrets on how I came into the school, how I like interacted with the community there. So coming into you Chicago, I was like, I really want a fresh start, like a redo of my first year almost. So I'm curious, it sounds like you had a great time at Brandeis in terms of like socially, you were very integrated, you were putting yourself out there. So I'm wondering when you came here to you Chicago, where you like, okay, I'm going to treat this as my second year of college or were you like, okay, this is going to be a redo of my first year because for me, it was kind of like a let's redo my first year kind of thing. Yeah, no, I get that. I would honestly say, I'm doing that on the same page, like with the redo of first year. I do think like I'd like some regrets from Brandeis, you know, and so it was nice just having a chance to do it all over a bit. Yeah, like a clean slate. Yeah, yeah. Like I feel like that's why before I got sick, like I was like, I'm going to do like everything or going to myself out there. I'm not going to let this be like a second youthy set of Barbara, but yeah, but I think it turned out pretty well. So yeah, it's nice learning from your experiences and getting almost like a second chance. Yeah. And is there any part of the college experience here that wasn't part of your prior experience or anything that surprised you? Honestly, well, I would say the main kind of like difference or something like the thing that surprised me is just like the people. It's like everyone is like really, really smart and just like kind of crazy. Like I remember like in my e-con class, I was sitting next to this guy and like, I don't know, he just looked like a guy. And I see like halfway through class, he's just looking at this like app that he like developed and published and it's just this insane thing. And like, I joined the Jiu-Jitsu Club. And so I just like casually roll with like this like insanely famous chest grain master like, I bet him. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Perspective overnight. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I watched him play a chess game. Yeah. The another perspective student. And it was really cool. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And so I guess like that's just what's different. Like I go to like a party or like whatever. And I just see someone like doing homework or like something like that, you know, or like people talking about like, I don't know like, keensie and economics at the bar, you know, like all this is just like wild to me. Yeah. Yeah. So I would say here, my mind has never been more active even when I'm not in a classroom setting. Yeah. Every conversation is so stimulating. It's it's almost been tiring to get used to. Yeah. But I love it. I mean, the information people carry around in their heads that I've just had no idea about that's so exciting to just learn from. I don't know. I think that that's one of my favorite parts so far about you Chicago. Yeah. I definitely think like a very defining factor of the community here is like everyone has something that they're so passionate about and that they're genuinely like curious about finding out more about. So once you get them to start talking about that thing, it's so interesting learning from them because like I feel like everyone here is just so driven and like they have something that's keeping me motivated when they like genuinely go out of their way to more learn about it to learn more about it and they're like happy to share with everyone else too. So yeah, I think I feel like that's the biggest difference that I've noticed between you Chicago and my previous college. I feel like that is kind of like a defining factor between the brand-ized community and here at you Chicago as well. Yeah. Yeah. I'd say 100%. Yeah. Yeah. And what other differences have you noticed where you've been like, oh, that's like really different? The only like key thing is like the like reglaif scene here. I honestly feel like the brand-ized one was like better if that makes sense. Like it was just like I'm betting it's the like a pro of like a smaller school, but like you just kind of like walked into a party and you like kind of do everyone which has this like frozen cons, but like here just seems like different, you know? Like at Brand-Eyes, we had stuff where we like wrought all friends together and like did stuff, but here it seems like they're very separate. Other than that, I don't know, it's just kind of like all very minor differences that like come together to make it a very different experience, you know? Yeah. Yeah, you can see that. Do you feel integrated into the U Chicago community so far? Yes. Yeah, I think so. Yes, with a caveat? I, yeah. I mean like I'm still like finding my place. I think we all are right. We're in the heart of being a transfer student. Yeah, yeah. But I feel like on the other hand like when I wake up, I'm like, okay, like I got to be this, this, whatever, like yesterday, you just got a haircut. And like I feel very, I don't know, like accustomed to being here and like, everything, yeah, around. You found a barber? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a 57th street salon. Okay. It's a little, yeah, a little 100%. Okay, guys, 57th street. Okay. Yeah. Your hair looks good. Thank you. Thanks. Yeah. I'm sure. Okay, I know we're going to talk more about this next week. But do you feel like the school has played, like, has been helpful in integrating you into the community? Or do you feel like it's mostly a thing that you have to figure out on your own? I, I will say like I was talking to someone and in terms of introducing us to like other transfer students, I feel like they didn't do a great job. To be honest. To be honest, I'm curious, you know, because I think certain colleges, especially prestigious colleges, see the transfer student community as something that they can really, like profit off of and, you know, I mean, not like monetarily, but I mean, I don't know, getting the best transfer students that want to transfer and finding the the best ones. And I don't know, like, that's curious question. I don't know. I feel like I like, I only chose you Chicago because I already applied once. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, I don't know if they would, they went out of their way to like try to get say like it's good. Right. Okay. Yeah. The one thing that I'll say that's notable or that like I saw transfer ED. Oh, yeah. It's like, it's like, one of the only schools in the country that does this. It's like early decision for transfers. Okay. Like, I think it's literally just like Austin UW-Madison. Like, that's it. Like, it's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like that's definitely an enticing part of the U Chicago transfer process. But like, in terms of credits, that's not like, that's not a plus. Yeah. If you're looking to transfer a lot of like credits over from your previous college, like, U Chicago is not the school to go for that. So was that it, I mean, clear that wasn't a deciding factor. But do you, can you guys talk more about that? how it feels to love your prior classes kind of disregarded. And how do you feel about having to do a lot of what you've done over because of you should not take in credits? I mean, personally, I had, so I had one class actually count for like a you should go equal and that was econ two. But the funny thing about econ two at Santa Barbara is I did not do well in that class. Like I don't I don't think I you know left that class with a really strong understanding of macroecon, you know. So it was funny to me that that was the only class that actually transferred over and everything else I think I got like six classes for gen electives. But that's not really helpful. It's not like it didn't have for courage and how for any major classes. I don't think I really minded that I have to redo core because I actually really really like how core is structured here and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to choose you should go to transfer over to. But I wasn't bit salty about my major classes because I was like I already took like two like introglable studies classes like how different could get introglable studies class here be. But I am like retaking introglable studies class and even though there's like kind of an overlap in what I'm talking in what I learned and what what I learned at Santa Barbara and what I'm learning here I feel like it's still very very enjoyable. So I guess it's really just a question of like I'm enjoying all the classes that I'm supposedly like redoing here. But even though I'm enjoying them like I would like to graduate on time. Oh that's another thing like I was given on autumn 2026 graduation thing which is one extra quarter. But I don't know how that would work graduating mid-year. But I'm talking to them. So like how how has your experience compared? It like sucks. It's just been like the example I've been telling people is like I took econ basically the equivalent of like 100 here. I took micro brand nice right from a professor that went to you Chicago. So like I don't know I feel like that adds I got an A plus I set the curve for one of the exams like I killed in that class I clearly learned micro economics and I didn't even get transfer elective credit like I know I know they were just like I've been like I've been like I've been like fighting with the econ department. We're just like not a fun way to like start school you know but like like they're basically just like no like it's not the same. And I'm in this class now like I'm taking micro with Santa and it's like the same like micro economics you know there's not much that you can really change. Did you get any transfer credit transfer? I got basically 900 like total credits after like you include like you left that credit like all that. Well so you do have some core that's shaved off then. Oh yeah I also I don't have to do this band or the language of our man. Yeah that's nice. That was the one thing that I did guys. Yeah yeah. But there's a core I do have to. Did you get it like any other core requirement? Do you don't have to do anymore? I need to petition for art and humanities. Yeah that's the only like other way. Oh so are you taking a human that's quarter then? Yeah. Okay you are okay. I guess we just count for like one more class for humans. Yeah I see. Yeah. Yeah. I guess I'll ask the ultimate question with four years four years for the question of the you Chicago experience under your belt. Do you feel you made the right decision? Yes. Yeah I do. Yeah. That was pretty definitive. Yeah yeah. I like there is some things that like make me not want to say no but like that way on the other side of the scale you know like getting transfer credit like I miss some people at Brandeis you know but overall love it like people are great. I like having a bigger school. I'm gonna have a very sick degree in a few years and all that just yeah I'm very happy about the decision. Yeah. How about you? I would say the same. Yeah I'm pretty satisfied with like the people that I've got to meet here. The classes that I'm taking. I definitely feel like the things that I didn't quite like about my previous college are all fulfilled here. Overall my experience here has been a lot more positive than it has been previously so I'm quite satisfied as well. Yeah. Yeah. Anything else that you like to add before we wrap it up? I think that's it. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. Well thank you so much for coming on this podcast and being our first guest. Come and talk to us stay tuned for our next episode on the transfer student experience during a week. We'll see you guys next time on so what brings you here.