Advice for Transfer Students
Written by Ella Shelburn
This week is National Transfer Student Week, which raises awareness of transfer students’ needs and the process of transferring itself. At the University of Indianapolis, Ben Houston, Assistant Director of Admissions, provides personalized support and guidance to future Greyhounds as they navigate the transfer process.
“I view students’ education as being on a journey or telling a story,” said Houston. “When a student comes to me for help or works with me through the admissions process, I am honored that they’re allowing me to help them tell the next chapter of their story, essentially letting me into their personal life and their educational, personal, and professional goals.”
In this article, we’ll explore and answer some of the most common questions about the UIndy transfer process.
Why should I transfer to UIndy?
While Houston believes that the school someone transfers to should be based on their motivation for transferring, he does think that UIndy is a great option for anyone who wants the best of both worlds in a college experience.
“We offer a small school, personalized experience, where you’re not just a number in a lecture hall, but you are a human being in a classroom. You know who your faculty are and who your peers around you are, and they know who you are,” said Houston. “On the other side of that, we offer resources and opportunities to our students that you typically only find at much larger schools. If you want both of those in the same package, then I think UIndy is a fantastic option for you.”
Will my credits transfer?
For a transfer student’s previous credits to successfully transfer to UIndy, they must have at least a C in a course from a regionally accredited school. From there, the University can determine how these credits will transfer depending on the student’s major and intended path. Some credits may be transferred as a major-specific class or a general education equivalent. However, if some credits do not fall into these categories, the University will try to count the courses as elective credits when possible.
“If we just do not have any specific class that matches what that student took somewhere else, but they still have the grade requirement for it, we’re still going to give them elective credit for it because the student has already put in the work at another school to earn that credit, and if they meet our requirements to transfer it in, then we’re going to do everything we can to award them credit,” said Houston.
How long does the credit evaluation process take?
Once a transfer student sends in their transcript, they can expect the credit evaluation process to be completed in approximately two business weeks, depending on how familiar the University is with the school the student has transferred from.
“There are some schools where we get transfer students from every semester, every year, and we’re very familiar with their credits, and we have a lot of them on file already. There are other schools, especially out-of-state schools, where we don’t get as many transfer students from normally. We have to do a lot more research on the classes and how to apply them to the student’s path and record,” said Houston.
What if I am unsure about transferring to UIndy?
Houston believes that reaching out to him as well as visiting campus and becoming more informed about the University will help students make the best decision.
“Without that information [about campus], you’re just taking a shot in the dark on whether transferring here is a good fit for you,” said Houston.
How does UIndy make the transferring process less confusing or stressful?
At UIndy, Houston hopes to simplify the transfer process by helping students every step of the way instead of sending them from office to office.
“I try to be a one-stop shop for the transfer admissions process so that students are not trying to sort everything out themselves [or are] getting bounced from one office to another,” said Houston.