Transferring to Penn

Though a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, I am also a two-faced, duplicitous defector with a secret past.

I am a transfer student.

As you make a mad dash to grab the Ben Franklin talisman you keep handy to ward off the impurity, I warn you: there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, for there are some 800 transfer students trekking our campus at this very moment.

Penn sets aside between 200 and 300 spots in every incoming class, many more than our peer institutions, just for transfer students. Our university sees transfer students as "a unique and valuable part of the student body," according to Mark Shank, Associate Director for Transfer and International Admissions, who was a transfer student himself at Boston University.

Like Shank, I long ago left my first alma mater, Northwestern University. Many of my best friends hail from universities across the nation, and one-sixth of DP columnists, in fact, are transfers. All of us are now proud Quakers, but I will say this: putting on the tricorner and bifocals could have been made a little easier.

The transfer process is a grueling one. The complications are many, but a few are particularly worthy of attention.

Transferring course credit is of paramount importance since, well, we'd like to graduate at some point without coughing up another 40,000 clams. Getting credits is the most exasperating aspect of transferring, especially since we're not guaranteed credit at all. We come with boxes of notebooks and tests; we're given fistfuls of forms; then we're let loose like experimental mice to navigate an unfamiliar campus. Each of our courses must be individually reviewed and approved by a specific professor in each department office, and this all takes place during Penn classes, rush and more. Though these steps are necessary, there might be an easier way.

An alternative would be transferring credits during the summer, but as the transfer office points out, this would pose a number of problems. Instead, a designated week in the fall during which transfers would be guaranteed the undivided attention of credit evaluators would be a good solution. We'd be done quickly, could get out of everyone else's way.

Additionally, any transfer knows that there's a large disparity in how departments approve credit. Some departments glance at a course number, sign their John Hancock, and show you to the revolving door. Others ruminate for weeks, buried in piles of paperwork. While each department should have autonomy in awarding credit, a little more standardization and efficiency would work wonders. The transfer office tries to keep close contact with department evaluators, but a single, brief, trans-department evaluator's meeting at the beginning of the year might bring everyone closer to a median.

Then there's housing. Transfers are kind of like chewed gum -- they stick us wherever there's room. There is no Mecca comparable to the freshman-laden Quad where transfers live together to forge friendships. As a result, we're scattered amongst purebreds who don't always relate. This year, the old ZBT frat house, now known as Stouffer Annex, came closest to being such a transfer hub. But next year, that house will serve a different purpose as the Franklin Community, and our diaspora will continue. We've all managed to assimilate pretty effectively, but it would be appreciated if Housing and Conference Services gave new transfers a haven.

Finally, we would like a voice. Currently, our communication with the transfer office, while positive, is ad hoc since there is no formal mechanism for feedback. Give us one of those Bodek Lounge sessions or even throw a form our way (God knows we're good at those) and there will be no shortage of advice. Unlike anyone else at Penn, we've personally seen alternative ways of running things and could suggest improvements that might make everyone's experience more hassle-free.

Granted, Penn has done much already to improve the transfer process. A few years ago, transfers had to pay out-of-pocket for Transfer Student Orientation (yes, we too debauch). But Shank and his office took care of the problem, and now TSO events are funded by Penn. Additionally, President Amy Gutmann, another self-described transfer, gave us a much appreciated shout-out at this year's convocation.

But more can always be done.

If you're a transfer, you need no convincing. If your pure Penn, just think: chances are almost one in 10 that the chick in line in front of you at the College office is a transfer from Bucknell and is one of us. We're the sketchy kid from Colgate in the back row of your Russian class. We're your lab partner from William and Mary, your roommate from Notre Dame, your besotted teammate from Rutgers. In short, we're Penn too, and we want things to be better for everyone.

True to my already schizophrenic education, I'll be skipping town again in October for a year of study abroad at Oxford University. And when I've had my fill of crumpets and scrums, I'll come back to the one university that I can most call my own. Hopefully by then, transferring will be just a little easier.

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