“A Whole New World.”
Anna Deschampe and Deanna Scheutte
Abstract:
Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the differences in
experiences between male and female transfer students. We were
curious to know if men and women would experience a life transition
such as transferring from one educational institution to another in
different or similar ways, and if gender socialization seemed to play a
role in this experience.
We interviewed ten subjects face-to-face, five male and five female
students, who are currently juniors and transferred to St. Olaf with
sophomore status. We felt this study was valuable not just for
our own personal, vested interest, but also because life transitions
generally are experiences that play a big part in our social lives both
when we ourselves transition or when we encounter someone else who has.
Condensing our results into one paragraph, or even into a thirty-page
paper, would be ignoring the fact that we have found that transferring
schools is such a very personal, individual experience. Each of
our subjects was able to talk at length not only about the facts of
transferring, but also about the more intangible situations and
feelings accompanying changing schools. We will do our very best
in providing an understanding of the transfer experience both from our
own transfer experiences and from the ideas shared with us from other
transfer students.
Setting/Community
St. Olaf College is a co-educational private liberal arts college in
Northfield, Minnesota. Northfield is the home of two private colleges,
St. Olaf and Carleton College, and is renowned for its small town
atmosphere. St. Olaf is a very beautiful and spacious college that sits
on a hill, with large oak trees, emerald lawns in the spring and
summer, and scenic views, which complement its beautiful educational
buildings and residence halls. Roughly 3,000 undergraduate students
attend St. Olaf College; there are no graduate studies of any kind.
St. Olaf is a residential college, meaning that over 90% of the student
population lives on campus, whether in dormitories or honor houses.
First-year students have the option of living in Kittelsby, Hoyme,
Kildahl, Mohn, or Ellingson halls, while upper-class students have the
option of living in any of the upper-class dormitories, including
Hilleboe, Ytterboe, Melby, Rand, Mohn, Thorson, or Larson Halls, or in
one of the service based honor houses. First-year dorms are moderated
by Junior Counselors, more commonly referred to as JCs. A primary
function of being a JC is to develop and promote interaction and a
sense of community among the residents. The upper-class dorms are
moderated by Resident Assistants (RAs). The role of the RA is much more
disciplinary, although they still strive to encourage community.
St. Olaf has many characteristics that make the College very distinct,
such as The St. Olaf Choir, an elaborate Christmas Festival, study
abroad, and an incredible network of Oles, whether they are alumni or
current students. This community is strongly encouraged by students,
alumni, faculty, and the administration, and each of these components
takes great pride in the community to which they belong.
The Issue:
Literature discussing transferring schools focused primarily on the
topics of transition, adjustment, and social environment. Throughout
life a person goes through many transitions both physically and
emotionally. People change homes, cities, friend, jobs, hair
color, religious preference, etc. When transferring schools people not
only relocate themselves from one educational institution to another,
but also set themselves up for a series of transitions in the new place.
One transition the students must make is in understanding the new
responsibilities and expectations of the institution demanded of them
by the professors, administration, and the students. They may find that
they have to make an effort to accommodate these new responsibilities
or expectations, but also that there will be people that will meet them
half way. They need to adjust to differing workloads, new living
environments (both physical location as well as the people around
them), and the bureaucracy of the institution. These expectations at
St. Olaf are addressed during Week One, when transfers and transfer
counselors gather together throughout the week to relate experiences
and the various stages of transition they will go through (George
1993), and orient themselves to their new campus. We found that other
schools have similar programs that are very focused on the students’
adjustment into the campus life (Davies 1999, 2000).
Research shows that gender can have a significant affect on students’
experiences. More women are transferring in reflection of more women
attending college and more women choosing to go to highly selective
schools (Jacobs 1996), such as St. Olaf. George Ritzer writes on gender
inequality theories “both women and men will respond fairly easily and
naturally to more egalitarian social structures and situations” (2000:
320). Further research discussed gender as an important variable in the
adjustment period, retention rates, and success after transferring
(Fredrickson 1998). In response to this we felt that gender would be an
issue in the transfer experience.
Overall, through our research we hoped to more fully understand the
stages individuals go through in developing their self-concept (Wood
2000). We learned through our literature why people transfer,
what it does to self-concept, and what varying factors influence how
people adjust. Barbara Townsend suggests to us that young people
are becoming more mobile in their lives, thus increasing the likelihood
of changing schools (2001). Literature discussed the adjustments
that all students have to make when attending college such as social
support, stress, self-efficacy, etc. and how these affect life
satisfaction (Coffman 2002). Finally, we examined in the
literature about what role social support networks play in transition
experiences (Skahill 2002).
Overall, although the literature covered an array of varied topics and
ideas it fueled our own ideas, thoughts, and questions regarding not
only our own experiences but also that of our fellow transfers.
Methodology
Each year approximately thirty to forty students transfer to St. Olaf
from other educational institutions. We selected a group of individuals
that came in with the same status in order to have a more focused
sample of experiences. We decided to interview people who transferred
to St. Olaf in the fall of 2001, came with sophomore standing, and are
currently juniors. This was the most applicable age group since they
have been here almost two complete years. They are neither new to the
school, as newness can create positive feelings of excitement, nor are
they graduating this year, which can also have adverse effects such as
anxiousness to leave, and reluctance to leave, which can lead to
glorification of the surrounding environment. This left a total of
fifteen people, the interviewers included. We decided to look at gender
as a factor, comparing the experiences of males and females
transferring to St. Olaf. Considering that, we chose ten subjects, with
equal representation of males and females. We had to remind our
respondents via email to schedule an interview three or four times.
During this time, there were people who would respond and were more
willing to interview, and these are the people who we eventually
interviewed. The compiled data taken from these interviews we have
compared with our own personal transfer experiences.
Interviews
All of the interviews were relatively easy to schedule, as a majority
of the subjects were eager to get together. Everybody we interviewed
transferred to St. Olaf at the beginning of last school year. We also
came in the fall of 2001, which made us acquaintances, at least, with
everybody interviewed, creating a casual atmosphere. We decided to do
the interviews together, as we both had a vested interest in the topic.
Some of our classmates believed that two people interviewing would
inhibit the interviewee from fully expressing their thoughts. Despite
this hesitancy we felt that it would be valuable both personally for
the interviewers, as well as to elicit the best possible responses if
one person could wholly devote herself to listening. Each one of us had
one interview that was a one-on-one due to scheduling constraints.
After our solo interviews we agreed that a collaborative interview was
more beneficial. Also, since we both knew everybody being interviewed
we did not feel that there were intimidation factors that would
otherwise exist. The interviews were held in public places. We met in
Buntrock Commons, most commonly the Fireside Lounge, and then would
move to a more intimate setting at the subjects’ discretion. This was
helpful in maintaining the boundaries between interviewer and subject
so we were able to remain as objective as possible.
Findings
We have split our findings into three categories: factors that
influenced the initial decision to transfer, the transition experience
itself, and reflections on currently being a St. Olaf student. Within
these categories we found that the communities, academics, and
locations of the previous schools all influenced the initial decision
to transfer. The transferring of credits, initial dorm and roommate
situations at St. Olaf, and organizations participated in were the
factors considered in the transition experience. Reflections on being
an Ole and on the differences between four-year students and transfer
students were considered in what it means to be a St. Olaf transfer
student. After each set of findings we have added personal anecdotes,
which will be italicized.
Why St. Olaf?
The reasons why people have transferred to St. Olaf are very individual
and specific to the student interviewed. A feeling you get, the arts
department, community, studying abroad, being a legacy, fleeing the
past, faculty, reputation, alumni, size, location, and financial aid
are all reasons cited for coming to St. Olaf. Commonalities are few,
but one thing that some subjects have in common, is application to St.
Olaf while still in high school. Four subjects out of ten applied to
St. Olaf out of high school but decided to pursue other options.
Although they do not call attending their previous college a mistake,
it is clear that there is something special St. Olaf has that previous
schools were lacking. They have now found that St. Olaf provides
certain fundamental qualities that allow them to be satisfied in their
present situation.
When I was looking at schools to transfer to, I looked at schools all
over the country, I was looking to be as far away from Duluth,
Minnesota as I could get. I even accepted an invitation to attend a
school on the east coast. In the mean time, I visited some friends here
at St. Olaf. My friend convinced me to sit in on a class and I
reluctantly found that I could have everything that I wanted in a
college in Minnesota. The classes were small, professors had
relationships with the students, and students were engaged. Also, it
had the community that I felt was lacking at my previous school. I
visited 2 more times and I realized that St. Olaf was the place for me
to be. ~Anna
I had applied to St. Olaf my freshmen year, so I had already been to
the campus and known that it was a smaller, more accessible
campus. When I went to visit it again in my transferring search,
it just felt right. ~Deanna
Community
We found that a strong influence in desiring to transfer was the
community that students found themselves in at their previous schools,
as well as the community they imagined St. Olaf to have. As
elements of this idea of community, we identified four different
reasons for wanting to transfer. As either negatives of their
previous school, or perceived positives at St. Olaf we found that
student bodies, extended communities, organizations, and the “feelings
you get” to all be influences in wanting to transfer.
Individuals discussed the concept of “community” as something they
desired and hoped to find within the student body of whatever school
they were at. Some subjects attributed the lack of community at
their previous school as a result of the actual layout of the campus,
or the fact that fellow students were just not people they were eager
to develop community with. Marc stated blatantly that at his
previous school, “the students sucked.” In a more in-depth
statement, Thomas expressed that he did not feel that the students or
overall community cared about him or his fellow classmates.
A couple of students also shared with us that the extended community of
their previous institutions was not fulfilling what they desired.
Extended community was articulated as alumni or the school’s
administration, and again pertained to a bad experience at their
previous school, or positive experiences had or hoped for within St.
Olaf extended community. Betsy shared with us that she had
randomly met some St. Olaf alumni that were eager to hear about what
academic direction she was taking, and wanted to help her in any way
possible to achieve those goals. After meeting them she felt that
she would like to be a part of that community that produced these kinds
of individuals. Carrie expressed that at her previous school the
administration seemed unreachable, and she was looking for an extended
community that was more personal. She felt that there would be a
greater possibility for this at St. Olaf.
One interviewee also identified that there was just “a feeling that you
get” when you are here at St. Olaf College. Ryan related a story
to us about coming to visit one of his high school friends during the
time of Christmas festival. He dreamily told us about first
walking into Buntrock Commons, seeing the Christmas trees and all the
lights and decorations. He told us about how he heard the
Christmas bells, and how his thoughts wandered back to his school at
the time, “ I didn’t feel it had something special compared to St.
Olaf. I knew I needed to get out,” he said.
Subjects also identified school organizations as a valuable experience
that they wanted in order to have a more fulfilling college
experience. Ellie stated that a main reason why she left her
previous school was because they did not have the organizations she
wanted to be a part of. She felt that organizations were a
valuable way to develop a social life in school, and really desired to
find an active college Republican group. She believes that
organizations are valuable outlets in making friends with your similar
passions and beliefs.
At the beginning of my sophomore year of college I decided to embark on
a new collegiate journey and transfer to St. Olaf College. I
transferred from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Coming from a
small town and a small high school I was accustomed to living in a
close-knit, caring community. During my first year of college in
Duluth, that was the farthest thing from my experience. I was somewhere
that didn’t live up to my expectations of what college should be.
First, the college was a large institution. I had huge lecture classes
where I felt like merely a face in the crowd. I didn’t have personal
relationships with any of my professors. ~Anna
.
In concluding this discussion of the idea of community in a college
experience we found that students are not just concerned with their own
personal situations, but also with the intimate world around
them. Collectively, in ideas of student body, extended community,
organizations, and the overall feelings you get, our interviewees
illustrated for us the value of social connections in a fulfilling
college experience. In a variety of ways they all hoped to feel
connected and cared for by fellow students as well as administration
and alumni, and wanted to feel something special within the contexts of
their college years.
Location
The location of the previous school was a factor that heavily
influenced the initial decision to transfer for six out of our ten
subjects. Location was something that we suspected would be a factor in
the transfer experience, so we specifically asked a question regarding
the location of their previous college. However, during the interviews
many respondents cited location as a factor before we raised the issue.
Both Carrie and Tyler cited the location of their previous school as
the main reason of transferring. Carrie initially attended school in
New Brunswick, Canada, and felt that the Maritime Provinces were both
too isolated and too far away from home. Also, the cultural differences
between Canada and the United States were more extreme than she
expected or desired for her college experience. Tyler said that he
primarily wanted to leave the northwest part of the United States
because it was both where he was raised and where he decided to attend
college the first time. He needed a change, and he also wanted to get
far away from that part of the country for personal reasons.
Two other subjects, Ryan and Ellie, both initially went to college in
the Twin Cities, St. Paul and Minneapolis respectively. Although
neither of them said that location was a primary reason for
transferring, they said that the urban setting was among the factors
that heavily influenced their decision. For both Ryan and Ellie the
rural setting of St. Olaf was very appealing, and this was enhanced by
the Twin Cities being easily accessible from Northfield. In comparison,
one student said that her previous college in Morris, Minnesota was too
rural, and one of the reasons for coming to St. Olaf was that there are
more entertainment and cultural options. In fact, the location of
Northfield and St. Olaf was very appealing to many students who desired
the small town community and atmosphere while still having the
opportunity to experience the culture and the life of the city.
Duluth Minnesota is very close to my home, and there were many of my
close friends who went to high school there. I didn’t feel that I was
in a situation where I could grow or change as a person, personally or
academically. ~Anna
My previous school was in Milwaukee, WI, right downtown, and had about
7,000 undergrads, and 5,000 graduate students. A significant
factor in leaving my first school was its’ urban setting. A grad
student was shot about a block form my dorm, and I could never go out
at night by myself. My parents and I never had a phone
conversation where sirens weren’t blaring in the background. ~Deanna
Academics
Some subjects cited academics as being a major reason for leaving
his/her previous school. There are many different aspects of academia
that can be the cause of an unfulfilling experience. In Stu’s case, he
was kicked out of his first college for academic reasons, encouraged to
go to a community college, and then opted for a “restart program in
pursuit of a degree.” On the other end of the spectrum Betsy reported
pulling off “perfect grades with minimal effort,” and was extremely
disappointed in her previous college’s academic demands. Marc was
frustrated with the professors who were not helpful and were often
rude. The religious requirement at his school was twenty-four semester
hours, which equals six religion classes at St. Olaf. Academics is a
very significant part of the college experience, and it is not
surprising that if these expectations are not fulfilled it will lead to
discontentment. What is interesting is that only three subjects out of
ten cited academics as being one of the reasons for transferring,
considering that academics are portrayed as typically fundamental to a
college education.
I was in an environment where many people were academically
unmotivated. These attitudes were addictive to me, and in trying to
become part of the crowd I found myself putting academics in last place
yet still being very successful in terms of grades. ~Anna
I guess another factor was that I was attending a private institution,
but TA’s were teaching four of my five classes. I felt I wanted
an even more intimate classroom experience. ~Deanna
Transferring Credits
Being able to retain credit for the work done at a previous college is
an important factor in the transition process. Half of our subjects had
a difficult time transferring credits, while the other half thought
that the fusion of credits went smoothly. For those who had problems,
their attitudes and experience were generally extremely negative while
those with positive experiences were generally elated with the results.
Five of the ten subjects had trouble transferring credits. When we
asked Marc about his experiences transferring credits he sarcastically
chuckled and replied “They screwed me over here.” Both Marc and Tyler
were able to keep only half of their credits. Marc has been fighting it
since he got here and he eventually gave up and will catch up with
summer school. Stu also had severe problems bringing credits with him
to St. Olaf and blamed the transferring of credits for his current
junior status after five years of college.
On the other hand five of the ten subjects had a smooth transition of
credits between institutions. Everybody in this category expressed
satisfaction because either all of their credits transferred, or more
credits than they had anticipated transferred. For both Carrie and Ryan
transferring credits was a dream. Carrie had all of her credits
transfer while Ryan got more credits than a typical first-year student
would have. Ryan came with eleven credits and received upper level
credit for introductory classes at his previous school.
Problems transferring credits caused students to attend summer school
or carry an overload to make up for their alleged insufficient amount
of course work. Losing semester hours due to changes between systems,
and schools having different emphases on particular requirements also
had extreme effects. For those who lost credits, there were different
assumed reasons that particular credits didn’t transfer. Tyler talks
about majoring in music at his previous college and St. Olaf’s
hesitancy in accepting music classes from another school since St. Olaf
is so musically acclaimed. Tyler also received credit for participating
in choir at his previous school, where choir participation at St. Olaf
does not grant credit. Academic performance at the previous school
makes a large impact on the number of credits transferred because in
Tyler’s findings, St. Olaf only accepts courses with grades of A’s or
B’s. St. Olaf also refuses to accept courses from a discipline that
does not exist here. All of these factors influence the success of
transferring credits. This process can be very indicative of a positive
or negative initial experience at St. Olaf. It has a huge effect on the
ease of transferring, and how long the effects of transferring linger
academically.
I didn’t really have many problems transferring credits. I got seven
classes out of eight transferred, but I don’t know why my eighth class
didn’t transfer. It was an English literature elective emphasizing
gothic literature. I didn’t push for it to count. However, from going
to a system where semester hours are counted instead of credits, I
ended up being behind in credits and had to take summer school to make
up. ~Anna
I did not have many complications transferring credits. I came in
with nine credits, but there was one course they did not accept which
at this point in time I cannot even recall. ~Deanna
First Year Living Situation at St. Olaf
We have broken down living situation into two transitional factors,
where one lives and whom he/she lives with. Subjects lived in the
following upper-class dorms: Hilleboe, Larson, Ytterboe, Thorson and
Rand. Eight of the interviewees felt that the dorm in which he/she
lived made an impact on their experience in terms of making friends and
the quality of the living facility. The remaining two students felt
that their experiences would have been the same regardless of the
residence hall they were assigned to.
Since there was a housing crunch at St. Olaf when the students first
arrived on campus, two males, Marc and Stu, did not have a place to
live initially. Marc claimed that he was only accepted to the college
because he offered to live with a relative near the college. Both feel
that living on campus had positive effects on their situations. Stu was
later placed in Thorson, and felt that it had a very large impact on
his transition. First of all, he was extremely glad not to be living in
a first year dorm as a transfer student, where he would have felt
isolated and out of place. Thorson was great for him both academically
and socially, “Thorson had just the right amount of seriousness and the
right amount of partying,” Stu said. Marc, while he felt positively
about living on campus, had mixed feelings about the specific dorm in
which he lived. Marc was placed in Ytterboe and felt that it had a very
large effect on his experience. He felt that Ytterboe was a fun
building, promoting a lot of social interaction and it is where he met
all of his friends, with the exception of the other transfer students.
Adversely, there are some disadvantages to Marc’s situation. First of
all, since Ytterboe is mainly a senior residence hall, all of the
friends that he met were older than him, which gave him the feeling
that his social life was in their hands. He also felt that the turnover
rate at graduation was hard because all of his friends left. Laura and
Carrie had specific remorse about the dorms in which they first lived.
Laura lived in Larson and said that it was hard to meet people because
the way in which the rooms are arranged. She felt it prohibited
social interaction and made it harder to make friends. She did not make
any friends as a result of her residence hall. Carrie lived in
Hilleboe, and described her fellow residents as being quiet, very
involved and busy on campus, and valuing their personal space.
This type of atmosphere did not promote the formation of social
relationships.
There are many factors behind the level of contentment with first year
dorms, most involving social issues. The atmosphere of the dorm is very
important, for example the contrasting social isolation of Hilleboe and
the socially interactive environment of Ytterboe. Depending on which
dorm the students were placed their experiences will be very different.
The construction of the residence halls is also an important issue, for
if the dorm is not set up to promote social activity it will be much
harder for a new student to interact with and meet new people. Each
dorm typically carries with it a reputation of what the atmosphere will
be in that dorm, and an upper-class student usually has the choice of
what type of atmosphere they choose to live in. The transfer situation
is different, in that transfer students are usually not aware of these
attached reputations, and thus cannot choose a dorm that will fulfill
their expectations. However, these reputations do not seem to be strong
enough to prohibit satisfaction since eight of the ten interviewed had
a positive experience.
I first lived in Hilleboe. Hilleboe was an anti-social, quiet dorm, and
it was very separated from the rest of campus. I feel that this had a
strong influence on my experience here because the people who lived in
Hilleboe didn’t seem interested in meeting new people, so I didn’t
really meet any of my neighbors or make any connections in that way.
~Anna
Mohn; I guess I got so immersed in academics as soon as I got here that
I didn’t really get to know the dorm I lived in other than the girls on
my floor. I remember hearing what sort of reputation it had, and
not even knowing why it was known as a wilder dorm. I spent a lot
of time in my room studying, or in the library. My experience
with Mohn was not what people made the dorm out to be, but I was able
to get to know the girls on my floor pretty well. I still say
‘hi’ to them on campus, but we don’t spend free time together or
anything. ~Deanna
Roommates
Another important factor to consider in the transfer experience is how
the transfer student related to his/her roommate. We found
various experiences both good and bad among our subjects, and a gamut
of reasons why they held the opinions they did. In our initial
coding endeavors we believed to have found a factor that could be
directly correlated with gender, but when we had accounted for our own
particular roommate situations we came to find that gender was not
necessarily a determining variable. In general we found that
there were more subjects who did not have a successful relationship
with their roommates than those who did. Thos who did not have
successful relationships were primarily females.
To begin with positive roommate situations, it seemed that although
none of the transfers knew more than the basics about their roommates
upon arriving to St. Olaf, they found that sharing a space with them
bettered their time here. Thomas said that he lived with a senior
who was very nice, but also “a big dork”. Interestingly, a
girlfriend of one of Thomas’ high school friends had recommended the
senior to request Thomas as a roommate. Thomas did not know him,
but felt in the end he was very easy to room with. Stu felt that
his first-year roommate was perfect for what he needed when he first
got here. They related in that they both were “nocturnal,
‘manic-depressive’, and dealt with crunch time in similar ways”.
He stated that his roommate “was really smart but not an asshole.” Very
confidently, Ryan believed his roommate “was the best thing that
happened to me in college, [because] everything worked out really
well.” Echoing similar feelings, Marc said that it seemed as
though he and his roommate had known each other forever, and felt very
fortunate for this. “It was great,” he said.
Subjects also voiced some not-so-great roommate situations. Ellie
initially got along great with her roommate until her roommate stopped
talking to her for no apparent reason. She eventually moved to
the floor she had been an RA for over interim. Tyler felt he and
his roommates were definitely not compatible; he “thought they acted
like alcoholics.” There were some more drastic situations as
well. Carrie expressed she felt like a guest in her own room as
her roommate had already drawn up a floor plan by the time she arrived
on campus, and that although she herself admitted to having controlling
tendencies her roommate was a “control freak”. Later on she came
to find that her roommate equally disliked her, and had described
Carrie as “a vulgar, bi-polar, hard-core partier, psycho bitch”.
Carrie giggled as she told us about the situation.
One key factor in roommate struggles was difference in study
habits. Becca lived with an international student whom she got
along with great, but just could not adapt to her intense study
habits. Becca said her roommate would wake up about 4 a.m.,
study, go to class, study, grab meals to go, and continue
studying. She also told us the room had to be consistently quiet,
which was frustrating. By the end of November the roommate had
moved out, Becca stated, “we were very different.” With similar
frustrations but from the opposite angle, Laura said, “I am a serious
student, my roommate was a slack student. I learned what the word
‘sexiled’ meant.”
My first roommate situation was very brief. I talked to my roommate and
although she was a nice person she made it clear to me that she was
intended on getting an international student and was “stuck with a
transfer.” This made me nervous to start of with, although she went out
of her way to come and meet me before I left for the Transfer camping
trip and in no way made me feel unwelcome. She was only going to be on
campus only first semester, so I knew that another roommate was on the
way. A couple of weeks into the semester a transfer student across the
hall had a vacancy in her room, so we moved in together and it was a
wonderful experience. ~Anna
My roommate here first year changed and formed just about my entire
experience here. She was expecting to have a roommate that she
had chose, but then a month before classes began she heard she wasn’t
coming back to school. We spoke once on the phone, and I couldn’t
read her one way or the other. Turns out though that we couldn’t
have had a better situation. She was a quieter person, but
incredibly kind and sweet, and very academically focused. Also,
she was the connection to the friend group that I now live with.
I feel so incredibly lucky! ~Deanna
In the end, we were again reminded that transferring is a very
particular and personal experience. Although some of our subjects
would agree that they had higher hopes of a roommate situation, they
did not share all the particulars as to why they did not get
along. In much the same way, positive roommate situations seemed
to be greatly appreciated but worked out for different reasons.
Reflections…
Part of understanding the transfer experience is evaluating what
students’ feelings are about their present situations in light of how
they view the past. We felt that valuable topics to investigate
would be in regards to what they perceive as being an Ole, how their
academic expectations have been met, continuing friendships with other
transfer students, and the differences they see between four-year
students and transfer students. It is only by time passing that
understandings of our transition experiences evolve.
…of being an “Ole”
Subjects’ perceptions of being an “Ole” varied from individual to
individual. Some had pre-conceived notions as to what it meant,
while others only now feel they are grasping what it means. Stu
felt he knew of certain stereotypes the Ole community had which
happened to all be things he was looking for; a largely
Norwegian/Scandinavian, Lutheran campus where everyone sings, “I
expected the beds to be shaped like music notes” he said. Marc
knew of the meaning of being an Ole through his family, and knew that
community was very important. He knew of the emphasis on
international travel and of being a better person, which was reinforced
once he got here.
Some transfers did not recall coming here knowing what an “Ole”
was. Tyler was one who did not know, but now thinks in being an
Ole there is great focus on school pride. He believes Carlton is
to be seen as bad, and when you are here you are all about Olaf (at
which time he gave us a little “Um, Ya, Ya” cheer). Laura thought
there would be an elitist feel of money and status in the air.
She now sees being an Ole as a diverse experience where there are many
kinds of people within the community. Becca also did not know at
first what kind of people these Oles were. She thought she might
transfer and feel like there was no way out. But she also shared
with us she likes it better than she thought she would, and that there
is more diversity than she had expected, “it’s never how you think it’s
going to be” she said.
Upon arriving I had a few generalizations about St. Olaf students.
Coming from a town with a significant amount of Ole alumni I knew that
Ole’s had a great sense of school pride. I went on the transfer camping
trip, and the first impressions that I had as an Ole were the President
of the College and the Dean of Students came out to welcome us to the
school and to wish us well on our trip. This amazed me, I knew who
neither the President nor the dean of students was at UMD, and I
definitely had never seen them. Among the first things that we learned
on the canoe trip was UM YAYA. The pride and community were
overwhelming and refreshing. Along with this, I had come to St. Olaf
with expectations that it was a very conservative place and many of the
people who attended were very conservative. Although there is some
truth in that, I find that it is much more liberal than I had
previously thought. My first reactions to being an Ole stay the same,
there is still a great sense of community and Ole pride. I feel that
there is a definite sense of prestige that comes with being an Ole.
~Anna
I was not really aware that being an Ole was anything other than
attending school here. I feel like it has taken me until now to
even have a glimpse of what people mean when they say they are an
Ole. I see it now as something that separates you. Not
necessarily making you better than anyone else, but just
different. People here have so many experiences overseas, as well
as within the small Northfield community, and are just focused so much
on things outside of their experience. To me being an Ole means
not being satisfied with status quo, and making efforts to learn and
live outside the box. ~Deanna
…on academics
Looking back at the transfer experience it is important to note whether
or not expectations have been met. Respondents mentioned professors,
course difficulty, and workload as influences on academic satisfaction.
Only one subject expressed dissatisfaction with the academic realm. Her
complaint was about a specific branch of academic life, the professors.
Ellie expected that St. Olaf would be more stringent and that
professors would be better. However, she is dissatisfied with the
quality of professors on campus saying that the only two professors she
liked were guest professors and as a result she appreciates the
professors at her former school immensely. In comparison, Stu boasts,
“St. Olaf definitely met and broke any expectations that I had.” Betsy,
Marc and Laura expressed positive feelings about the challenges of
academics stating that courses are more challenging at St. Olaf, with
specific references to the increased workload. Marc agrees that courses
were more difficult at St. Olaf and expressed his disbelief because his
former school was ranked much higher than St. Olaf. In addition, Ryan
is also happy with academics at St. Olaf. “Difficulty is not always
quality. I expected to be getting my money’s worth. I gave up double
digits [to attend St. Olaf]” he said. However, Ryan also says that he
finds it hard to make a direct comparison between his former school and
St. Olaf because the only place he has experienced upper level courses
is at St. Olaf. This is an important point to be made because most of
the other respondents are in a similar position as a result of the
status of the group of people interviewed.
Academically, I didn’t really know what to expect from St. Olaf. I
expected it to be more challenging than UMD, but I expected many things
to be the same, for example things such as class attendance. Upon
arriving I was very overwhelmed. At my first school I could go to class
only on test days and maintain good grades, and it was not the case
here. I only took three classes so that I could have an adjustment
period, which I think helped a lot. St. Olaf was very different in that
it is a lot harder to skip class, the classes are much more
interactive, and something very unexpected is that people do homework—a
lot. Although it is more difficult than my last school, St. Olaf has
been very positive for me academically. ~Anna
I honestly didn’t even really consider academics that much. I
knew that St. Olaf was a tough school to get into, but I felt my
previous school was as well. In transferring though I just kind
of went with my gut, academics were not a focus. Now that I am
here I realize how academically demanding this school is, but it has
not ruined my college experience. I find myself greatly
challenged, but equally engaged in my coursework. ~Deanna
…of relationships with other transfers
One more aspect of these reflections is on the present status these
transfers have with fellow transfer students. Most acknowledged
that at the very least they had made acquaintances during that first
week they were all together. Collectively Marc, Tyler, and Stu
said that their relationships with other transfers were very
significant. Stu and Tyler said they live in a pod with all
transfers, and Marc said transfer students make up his largest
friendship base. Echoing these sentiments Betsy said that in
comparison to the larger community, she knows all the transfer students
while still not knowing everyone in her class. She felt she
continues to get closer to some transfers. Laura as well said
that her best friend is a girl she transferred in with.
Not everyone though has felt the need to maintain transfer
connections. Ryan said that we’ve all gone our separate
ways. During the day we’ve all got different stuff to do and just
make other friends. We say ‘hi’ in passing, but have lost
touch. Ellie said she only had friendships with “a few” other
transfers, and Carrie explained that it takes another year to establish
friendships, “you won’t continue being friends with other transfers
just because they are transfers.”
I have definitely continued friendships with other transfer students.
Last year, I was a very close friend with a couple of transfer
students, and that is still the case. However, it is interesting
because the transfer students who were close to me last year have gone
in separate directions over the summer, and I find myself being very
close friends with different transfer students than last year, along
with other people. ~Anna
I definitely have continuing friendships with other transfer students,
and regardless of how often I see them, I always have a sense of
connection with them. ~Deanna
…on the difference between four-year students and transfers
It is believed by our subjects that being a transfer student creates a
college experience that differs from somebody who has stayed on one
campus for his or her entire college career. Our respondents feel that
at St. Olaf College there are vast differences between transfer
students and four-year students. There are both negative and positive
effects of transferring, and to many of our respondents they balance
each other out. The differences listed are friendships, perspective,
maturity and appreciation of St. Olaf College.
Friendship was cited as a large difference between the two groups. The
ways in which transfers make friends is very different than first year
students. Many first-year students share a bond built due to
transitioning from high school to college. Stu feels that “These two
groups are totally different. Freshmen coming here are all friends with
each other and they live together. They come here straight from high
school and they have their cheers, t-shirts, etc.” he said. He
also feels that there are certain social skills transfers have which
first-years have not developed, specifically the ability to know how to
meet college aged students and how to strike up conversations with
them. Transfers have this advantage because they did it at their
previous school. Marc feels that transfers lost a very important
year at St. Olaf because he believes the first year is when students
meet their life long friends. To many of our respondents, the reason
behind the close bond of first year students is due to the social
structure of the college, and the community. The first year corridors,
screws, and JC’s were all cited as being reasons for such a cohesive
group. Ellie says that as a transfer, networking is essential to make
friends and become involved in the community. “It is what you make it,”
she said.
Three of the subjects said that maturity upon entering St. Olaf made a
large difference in the St. Olaf experience. Stu talks about transfers
being more unreservedly in dealing with professors, administration, and
different systems. Also, he feels that since transfers are more mature
upon entering they don’t feel the pressure, nor are they expected by
others, to “conform to first year stuff” he says. With this maturity
comes a reward, according to Tyler. He appreciated that transfers had
more power than first years upon arrival. Laura feels that she had a
different way of reading people due to her experience. This aspect of
being a transfer student has been positive to those who spoke of it.
One thing that eight of our ten respondents noted as a crucial
difference between the two groups is a different perspective of St.
Olaf. All eight talked favorably about their perspective. Laura says
that after being at a different school she feels more connected to
people of other backgrounds and as a result of her viewpoint she
notices an Ole attitude of affluence. Betsy spoke about how people who
have attended St. Olaf for all four years have an attitude that St.
Olaf life is college life. She goes on to note the ways in which life
at St. Olaf differ from life at other colleges.
Because of this “outside” perspective, respondents felt that they have
an appreciation for St. Olaf that four-year students don’t necessarily
have. This is the factor that Marc believes makes up for the lack of a
first year. Ryan feels that he appreciates being at St. Olaf more than
others, and doesn’t regret missing the first year, he sees it as being
primarily symbolic. As Carrie describes it, “It takes me a second to
realize that I wasn’t here first year and it is starting to feel like
home.”
I believe that there are definitely differences between transfer
students and four-year students. Although St. Olaf is a home to me, I
do notice differences in my experience than if I would be here for four
years. First of all, I think that the first year at St. Olaf is
important in becoming an Ole. First year dorms are important for
friendship connections. This school is much more “grade oriented” than
my last school, and I believe that has a great deal to do with the
solidarity of the first year. I appreciate not being here for four
years, as I feel that I have a different perspective to offer. St. Olaf
is very different from a lot of other colleges, and I feel that often
many students think that all colleges are like St. Olaf, which is
definitely not the case. I enjoy having experienced something else, it
is positive in appreciating the college. ~Anna
I definitely feel there is a difference between four-year students and
transfer students. It believe the first year hear carries a
certain amount of weight in building friendships and experiences that
are unique from any other year here. People frequently talk about
the friends they had or still have from their first-year corridor, and
the amazing times that they had. I am thankful though that I have
been somewhere else, just so I know what things I really do value about
my experience here at St. Olaf. ~Deanna
What We Learned:
Our initial belief that gender would be a variable in how people
experience transferring schools turned out to be irrelevant. It
appeared to us that each person had very individual reasons for
deciding to pursue attending another school, and that upon arrival
their transitions were equally as personal. We found even the
depth in which the subjects would elaborate on their experiences was
not gender specific. There were men and women alike who were
quite open about why they left their school, or why they chose St.
Olaf, and there were equally divided gender responses that were not as
divulging about what their experiences were like once they arrived to
St. Olaf.
We also found feelings of present ‘labeling’ as a transfer to be
nonexistent. Most students reflected that if anyone knew they
were a transfer, it was because they had shared the information.
Upon arrival people seemed to have wondered if they were a first year,
but being the new face on campus eventually faded away.
Another inquiry we would have added to our questionnaire would be that
of the subjects’ Week One experience. Here at St. Olaf there is a
weeklong orientation before classes begin, which consists of activities
for first-year college students, transfer students, and international
students. The goal of this orientation is not only for the
students to become familiar with the campus, but also to initiate
social networks for students first arriving at St. Olaf.
Information about the subjects’ experience during this time would have
been valuable in more deeply understanding their transition
experience. Some people we interviewed alluded to this time as
being a positive influence in their transfer experience, and one of our
subjects said that it was a direct influence in his confidence and
ability in forming a group of friends.
In analyzing our questionnaire more fully we also would have removed
the question pertaining to participation in extra-curricular’s.
While we initially felt this would be a significant portion of transfer
life, we found instead that people either chose not be involved right
away, or they tried a variety of things to discover what activities
were worth pursuing. We only found this after reviewing the
interview results.
One other factor that we feel is important to consider in this specific
life transition is that of the experiences of upper versus lower-class
students. Because of our chosen study sample we came to realize
that we had completely disregarded the factor of age and amount of time
spent in school in understanding the transfer experience. We feel
that our scope may have been too narrow in coming to fully understand
why people choose to transfer, and what their experience in
transferring is like. We believe that there are transitions as
well between years in school that influence people whether they are new
to a school or not. It is also possible that transfer
students who come in their sophomore year would again feel a transition
when moving from lower to upper-class status.
Finally, we feel another factor to consider, which may seem more
trivial but one we feel would be highly influential, is that of when we
interviewed our subjects. More specifically we feel that the time
of year both seasonally and academically (especially at St. Olaf due to
drastic seasonal changes and high academic expectations) would have at
the very least some influence on the subjects’ responses. We did
our interviews primarily when the weather was getting warmer and
sunnier. We believe from our own personal experiences that this
gives us a more positive outlook on any experience or situation we
consider. We also interviewed at a time when most students would
have been between mid-semester exams and the anticipation of a
stressful end of the semester. We acknowledge that this may have
been a factor outside of our control, but one in which could have
influenced how the subjects viewed their experience.
Most significantly we learned the importance of not having expectations
of how results will turn out, or what explanations there are for a
particular experience. Often we have preconceived notions of why
certain phenomena happen, or how they are experienced. In this
study we learned that while it is natural to believe certain facts will
influence people in a certain way, human subjects are unpredictable,
and they may do or feel quite the opposite of what you expected. Our
research can be valuable for those who are transitioning in
understanding the depths of the experiences and changes they go
through. Further research would be valuable with a narrowed focus
group.