<p>I’m a college freshman looking to transfer into UVA.
What is the transfer experience like? Are transfers separated from the rest of the school community?</p>
<p>I just transferred this past semester. No one knows I am a transfer unless I tell them, so I am not sure what you mean by separated. I live off campus, but as I understand transfers can live in same dorms as non-transfers. </p>
<p>I followed this blog pretty actively and found it extremely helpful. [Transferring</a> to UVA](<a href=“http://www.uvatransferadmission.blogspot.com/]Transferring”>http://www.uvatransferadmission.blogspot.com/)</p>
<p>Do you have any specific questions in mind?</p>
<p>My S1 transferred to UVA the beginning of his 3rd year year. The answer is: it depends. Transfers can live on campus just like everyone else & they are not separated from the rest of the UVA community. If anything, UVA bends over backward to integrate transfers into the college community. They truly want you to feel like UVA is home.</p>
<p>That said, it is a bit harder to join an already established community. This is true of any school, not just UVA. Classes tend to bond as a cohort during freshman year. You will need to make more effort to join your cohort as a 2nd or 3rd year than if you entered as a 1st year. It isn’t impossible, but it does take effort. You can’t spend time wishing that other students will include you - you must take the initiative to belong, not the other way around. There are plenty of clubs and campus organizations that will welcome you if you reach out to them. </p>
<p>The other difficulty with transferring is developing a relationship with your professors. Once again, that will depend on you taking the initiative. Students who have been on campus all 4 years have an advantage over a transfer who is on grounds for 2 or 3 years when it comes to building a relationship with professors. This can become an issue when requesting letters of recommendation for internships or applying for study programs (such as the McIntire school of business at the end of 2nd yr or the Batten school for public policy in February of 3rd yr).</p>
<p>None of these are insurmountable issues, but you should be aware that if you apply as a transfer, UVA will make every effort to include you but inclusion at UVA is also a two-way street.</p>