For many transfer students, navigating social and academic life at The New School can be a challenge.
“You just kinda fall between the cracks a little bit,” says Lang student Olivia Long.
Several transfer students who spoke to the New School Free Press said that outside of school sponsored events that are transfer specific, there are no dedicated environments, like clubs or hangouts, where they can meet each other and find a community. Many of them say they find it hard to make friends within their grade as they come in with incoming freshmen.
“You’re not new and you’re not old; you’re kinda in between,” says Sophomore Parsons student Erryle Miranda.
Transferring credits and trying to adjust to a new life are also struggles students report facing, as the process often involves meetings with advisors and retrieving syllabi from classes completed at previous institutions. Miranda encountered difficulties in transferring credits over to the New School.
“They didn’t even catch that I’m a second-year student instead of a first-year so I had to deal with four weeks of going to the wrong class and then having to pay $200 for a late fee,” said Miranda.
Parsons student Iley Cao says transfer students have to really put themselves out there to find a community and make friends.
“I think the hardest part (about being a transfer student) is finding a community especially in New York City just because everything and everyone is so scattered. It’s really easy to feel like you’re floating around,” she said.
The New School has a transfer student task force that organizes events for transfer students, usually at the beginning of a semester. There were five transfer specific events organized during the Fall 2019 semester. The semester orientation events for transfer students have the highest turnout, with an average of 85 students showing up.
“Creating engagement and interaction and a sense of belonging is the primary reason for the transfer student task force to exist,” said Transfer Student Task Force chair Ar Adler.
Adler listed Tau Sigma Honor Society as a transfer specific organization that can bring transfer students together and engage them with the New School Community. It is getting recertified this semester and the deadline to accept the offer to join is March 13. Tau Sigma Honor Society gives transfer student scholarship opportunities as well as chances for leadership.
Transfer students advise incoming transfers to be present at events and put themselves out there. With the New School campus being so spread out, connections are more likely to happen with effort and determination.
“I don’t think it’s handed to you, but I think that you can find the right people; it just takes a little time and a little bit of effort,” said Cao.
The resources are out there. There is a career prep fair for transfer students on March 10. Students can check for other transfer events on bulletin boards all across campus, or on NarwhalNation, the New School’s campus life website where students can find events, organizations, and news.
However, some students believe these events could be improved. They recommend more events throughout each semester as well as events that feel less formal and more casual fun.
“There should be ones (events) that are more accessible to people and maybe more welcoming too,” said Erryle Miranda.
The End of Winter Social is intended to be a more fun event, usually revolving around a group game. Students also proposed a designated lounge or room for transfer students.
Beyond transfer events, there are ways for incoming and current transfer students to find their place. Many of them have found friends in fellow transfer students, others have found communities elsewhere. Cao has many friends that are transfers because she feels she has a lot in common with them. Miranda, however, has mostly first-year friends that he met in class. Most of the transfer students who spoke to the New School Free Press said their friends spanned over all colleges at The New School. Major specific events as well as clubs can be useful in finding a community. While they may not be the place for transfer students to find each other, they are one of the easiest ways to make friends.
Transfer students might have to look a bit harder to find their community but with effort and time, it is possible.