Henry2011

I would have posted this question in the transfer forum, but that board seems pretty dead right now.

Anyway, I was admitted (!) as a transfer student to UChicago on Wednesday, and I couldn't be happier. Coming from a LAC in the northeast, I realized early on that the small school setting just wasn't for me. UChicago seems like an exciting (but daunting) change of pace, and I'm really psyched to go.

I want to ask current UChicago students on this forum about how the student body perceives transfers. Would you say UChicago is particularly transfer-friendly? If not, why not? I really don't have a sense of how transfer students are received by four-year students in general, so any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

unalove

First of all, the school is big enough that you don't have *transfer* written across your forehead.

Second, most transfers live in Stony Island, which can be nice (if you like the idea of living in an apartment) or isolating (if you still want to be in a dorm). It seems like a lot of people transfer in from Northeast LAC's-- Chicago is a major change of pace!

Probably the biggest hump will be the fact that your housing will be somewhat isolated, but it's not a big deal. You're not too far from a lot of quaint stuff on 57th street, nor are you far from fraternities, classes, or anything, really. I just think that you'll have to invest more of yourself into integrating with others through classes and extracurriculars, as the rest of us who moved through the house system as first-years had a strong sense of house structure and only later decided to move off-campus.

But yeah, nobody is going to look at you funny, and the fact that you transferred in probably won't come up.

phuriku

Transfers are awesome. Seriously. It's why I'm moving to Blackstone next year.

yougotjohn

Does the extensive core make it hard to structure your core/make friends? I feel like it's such an assimilating component (you know, everyone taking Hum at the same time, etc) that taking it later would just be weird. I would also feel so behind as soon as I arrived on campus.

unalove

I don't know how much core transfers take, but I don't think it would be that strange or unusual. The only sequence that more or less everybody takes together is hum.

Also, in college (or at least here), the difference in years is so minimal. People make friends across the years and classes are often a mix of years (this is truer in fields like anthro, art history, and English than it is in fields like econ, bio, and math, where there are more required courses that one takes in progression).