This previous fall semester, students Reynald Pierre and Rachel Wood transferred to Cabrini University in hopes of furthering their education, being welcomed and making a smooth transition.
As freshmen, every student enters college with a new slate. Those students do not have to worry about prior classes they’ve failed, GPA or credits being transferred.
As a transfer, those are the things to constantly worry about.
“As a transfer late into the semester, I was extremely nervous that I may have missed the cut or that my credits would not have transferred,” Reynald Pierre, sophomore international business major, said.
Pierre was attending Valley Forge Military Academy, a two-year college, when he was notified that he had to attend a four-year college in order to continue his career.
“I would say one of the hardest challenges for transfer students is seeing how their credits will transfer into their new school. Schools will only allow a certain amount of credits and some schools count their credits differently. I do think Cabrini has done a great job in accepting student credits where we can,” Justin Sillner, transfer admissions counselor and Cabrini College alumnus of 2012, said.
Realizing that the courses students worked entire semesters on my not be valid in the new school they want to transfer to is nerve-racking. Without support, the idea of successfully and happily transferring into a new school seems far from possible.
“After stepping into the admissions office, I almost immediately felt relieved. The admissions team was very welcoming and incredibly supportive through my transfer process and all the way to the end,” Pierre said.
Rachel Wood is a sophomore business management major who transferred from High Point University in North Carolina.
“I transferred to Cabrini,mainly because I wanted to be closer to home and play [Division III] soccer. My previous college was located in North Carolina and was not the right fit for me,” Wood said.
As incoming college students, it is difficult to know and understand exactly what school you want to attend, what you want to major in and if that school is the best fit for you.
“Students transfer for a variety of reasons. Some feel their current school isn’t the right fit for them. Maybe the school is too small/too big, maybe their school doesn’t have the program in which they are looking to study, maybe they do not enjoy their program at that specific school,” Sillner said.
Wood admits to continuously being helped by Sillner and transfer admissions Associate Director John Solewin throughout her transferring process through phone calls.
Before transferring to Cabrini, Wood was “miserable and felt out of place,” but after transferring to Cabrini, Wood’s attitude grew stronger gradually now she feels “Amazing!” and expresses that Cabrini changed her perspective of college.
