The MichiqarrDaily-Thursday, September 10, 1981-Page 17-B Transfer students discuss unique status at University By LISA CRUMRINE Along with the thousands of incoming first-year students in September, thousands more transfer to the University from other colleges. These students - most often juniors but often at other levels - ex- perience the same discoveries that await freshper- sons, but face unique pressures as they approach the completion of their majors. According to Charles Judge, director of counseling for the LSA college, students transfer to the Univer- sity after hearing about specific programs unavailable two years ago. Many others, who applied but were not accepted earlier, are admitted after racking up credits elsewhere. SOME STUDENTS, like Rick Pazin, a transfer from Wayne State University in Detroit, have friends who influenced them. "I visited one of my friends a lot," he said. "Just from those short visits, I knew it was the right thing to do. I knew it was a good school and I had to come here." Dave Hall, also a Henry Ford transfer, said he came to the University to enjoy the engineering program and the "good reputation of the school." According to statistics from Joanne Meagher in the Office of the Registrar, there were 1,517 transfer students in the fall of 1980, the Winter term, 558 students were enrolled. WHILE TRANSFER studentsd may come here for different reasons, and from unique backgrounds, they seemed to agree that transferring to the Univer- sity was the right decision. "I've always liked this place," said Nancy Schuur, a transfer from, Western Michigan University majoring in political science. "There's a lot more to do - it's much more challenging. I've gotten in- volved with it. In some ways, I do wish I'd been here earlier, to get into a sorority earlier, but it makes me appreciate Michigan a lot more." Entering the University as a junior does have its drawbacks, though, according to Jim Zimmerman. He mentioned that "It was difficult to come in. I lived at South Quad and felt like a freshperson. There was so much to learn. It was tough - I never identified with the class of 1980, which I really was." Yet, he agreed that the University was a good thing for him. "Henry Ford was a 'weekend-type' school - people had jobs. Here there's a sense of unity you don't have there," he said. "CHANGING SCHOOLS was the best thing I've done so far career-wise," said Pazin. "I'm in the business school and for me, it really fulfills the purpose. It's very competitive." Despite all the beneficial things which seem to characterize transfer students' opinion, certainly there are some large adjustments which have to be made. "Transfer students tend to need a lot of advice," said Judge. "The students have to see how their work done somewhere else applies here. They are automatically different in their program. The greatest problems are in science and math, where coursework builds on itself. The burden is on the transfer student to adjust." ZIMMERMAN AGREED that there are problems in sequence courses. He said biology was differently paced here than at Henry Ford, and that it was a problem. Academically, the transition can be awkward. "Coming here from Wayne State with a really high G.P.A. and then coming to business school and fin- ding myself in the middle of the pack was difficult. There were so many pressures at first - taking five classes at the same time, feeling pressure to do well." Nancy Schuur said that for her; one of her academic adjustments was in getting used to the professors. "I'm kind of disillusioned with the professors, the problem is that they're so good!" Added Schuur, "The counselors were unhelpful. I had a really bad time - different counselors told me different things in terms of graduation requirements.-It's important to always get a second opinion." IN ADDITION TO the academic problems imposed on transfer students, there are also the social ad- justments. "The transfer student doesn't have the same support systems that a freshperson has", said Judge. "The transfer student probably doesn't live in the dorm. He may not be able to have the same help, the informil network that first year students have. Some transfer students feel isolated, that the Univer- sity is not fun. The transfer students don't have a good way of getting socially integrated, they don't have reasons to get to know people." Living situations have a great deal of influence on the social and acadmeic experience of transfer students. "I lived in Bursley, and if I had it to do over, I would definitely do it differently. The whole at- mosphere really set me back - probably six months to a year academically. It took me my first two terms to get used to this place, partly because of living out on North Campus," said Hall. "THE DORM REALLY didn't help," said Zim- merman, who lived in South Quad. "I didn't ap- preciate the pranks, I didn't have fun. Personally, I would rather have gone into an apartment." The transition from a small residential school or a commuter type college to a large rschool like Michigan is a big one. The academic potential is greatly increased, and socially, the organizations here offer what seems like endless possibilities. Even though she came from a smaller school, Schuur says she feels more comfortable here now. "You get more grouping - I feel closer to people here, since people join more organizations. If you transfer, you have to make more of a point to know people." "DON'T EXPECT THINGS to come to you," ad- vised Jim Zimmerman. "In a small school all the in- formation is on the bulletin boards. Here you have to search those things out - about grad school, and by talking to counselors. You're a step behind, you must search things out quickly." According to Hall, the most important thing a tran- sfer student can do is "to get to know someone who goes to the University in your field, and who can tell you what to do. I've had formal counseling all through engineering school, but I didn't really get all that much information." Judge explained that since the support-systems aren't as sound for transfer students as for freshper- sons, "being aware of the fact that the burden of ad- justment is left to the transfer student is important. Be cautious that there will be frustration, but that if the student is willing to make the effort, there is sup- port around. Use the counselors that are available." "The best advice I can give," said Pazin, "is that even though there's a lot of talented people here, you have to immerse yourself in whatever interests you have. It's important to get involved in clubs and ac- tivities - to concentrate on two or three things. Go out of your way to meet people, and when you give something, you can't necessarily expect anything in return." Daily Photo Killer THE RESIDENTIAL COLLEGE in East Quad has been known as a haven- for-the-offbeat for years now, but the recent "Killer" wars at the dorm have l made earlier behavior seem placid. Residents "kill" each other, one by one, and only the fittest survive. Start your stockpiles. Wat toa C avoi*d the mai stemporm U, offers several unique alternatives By ANN MARIE FAZIO There is life beyond the common l~piversity programs - lots of life, as a tter of fact. e University offers a wide variety of ways to get a degree, from taking a German class in German, to attending a small college within the large Univer- sity. Students can even design - their own majors if standard programs don't suit them: \THE MOST WELL known alternative study program is the Residential ,Allege, located in East Quad. The RC a four year undergraduate, degree granting program with its own concen- trations. Some RC academic requirements are the same as LSA requirements. But there are several important differen- ces, however, according to assistant director Razelle Brooks. One difference is the RC core curriculum, consisting of a first-year seminar, foreign language proficiency and an arts practicum. IN ADDITON, RC students are quired to live in East Quad for their first two years in the program, Brooks said. The grading system is also unique to the Residential College. For the first two years, students are graded on a pass/fail basis, and they are given writ- ten evaluations. In the junior and senior years, students have the option of r meiving a letter grade or continuing *ith the evaluations. - The classroom atmosphere is dif- ferent also, according to Brooks. Class size is usually 15-20 students, and enrollment in the school usually only reaches about 650. The faculty is also very accessible, Brooks said. NOT ONLY DOES the size add to the unique atmosphere, but the students are unique, she said. They tend to be "intellectually aggressive, forward and politically involved," Brooks noted, and about one-half are from out-of-state. Students are encouraged to par- icipate in the student government committees which decide all the mat- ters of the college's curriculum, per- sonnel, and budget. she added. The Pilot Program, housed in Alice Lloyd, is the forerunner of the Residen- tial College, according to Director David Schoem. It grew out of the six- ties, he said, and currently personalizes e college experience of about 500 Iudents,. THE PILOT program is a two-year supplement program within LSA. Students and Pilot Program course teachers, all graduate students, must live in Alice Lloyd. That is one of the most important fac- tors, Schoem said. It integrates the academic and residential experience. Students can talk with their teachers at any time of the day or night, he said, in a more relaxed atmosphere than usual. The program is much less structured than the Residential College. There are only a few Pilot Program courses to take, and most are not applied to a students' major, he said. THE STRONGEST emphasis is on the student as a unique individual, Schoem said. There is a sense of com- munity in the dorm and "you don't get lost," he added. "You feel like you count." Along with the courses they offer, the Pilot Program directors often plan out- side events such as films ;or poetry readings, and field trips. Schoem added that the diverse population of students adds to the programs' uniqueness. More than 50 percent are from out of state, and 15 percent are minorities. Students can "experience (other) students who have experienced life different ways," Schoem said. SOME STUDENTS in the Study Abroad program decide to get away from the University altogether for a while and go see what the Romans do when in Rome. The basic reason why students go abroad to study is to achieve fluency in a foreign language and to exerience, first hand, a foreign culture, according to Hank Peters, director of the LSA of- fice of Study Abroad. "Sometimes, in experiencing a foreign culture, you learn more about your own," he said, because you see things you take advantage of here. THERE AREaTHREE basic types of programs in this area - full year, semester and summer programs - all with varying degrees of host language proficiency requirements, Pieter said. One thing to keep in mind, he added, is whether the program matriculates the student into a European institution of higher education, or whether the student is just being taught by an American professor in Europe. European teaching methods are very different from those here, he said. There is usually no discussion - simply a professor with lecture notes. Office hours are virtually nonexistent.. The place of the professor is much more exalted, and students are not en- couraged to ask questions of inter- pretation, he said.. THE ATTITUDE is changing, Pieter said, and the American style of dialogue in the classroom is becoming more common. Study abroad is not cheap, he said, but prudent students can do it for not much more than what it costs to go here. Being prudent, Pieter said, means eating in student cafeterias, living in dorms, not eating or drinking too much, and restricting outside travel. Usually, students going abroad through an American college program can take any financial they would have gotten here, Pieter said. Some programs have independent scholar- ship programs based on need and scholarly promise.. PIETER ADVISED that students should go through a University spon- sored program to assure credit transfer and to find living arrangements more easily and cutting red tape. If students do decide to stay here, and in LSA, they don't have to stay with the structured departmental curricula to get a degree, according to LSA coun- selor Liiha Wallin. The Individual Concentration Program was developed for students to essentially design their own majors, if there isn't one fitting their particular needs offered here, she explained. To apply to the ICP, students must write out their intended majors, listing goals and the classes they hope to take. This must befapproved by the ICP Committee before students can go ahead with it. THE COMMITTEE members have two main concerns in mind when reviewing someone's major, Wallin said. The program must have a focus, theme, or thread that runs through every course; and the concentration cannot duplicate an established University concentration. Common ICPs are Urban Studies, Labor and IndustrialvRelations,Cand Organizational Behavior and Com- munications. The ICP is for students who know what they want and have a lot of deter- mination to get it, Wallin said. THE BACHELOR OF General Studies degree is another alternative route within LSA, Wallin pointed out. It was created in 1969 because some people thought the Bachelor of Arts or Science degrees. might not be flexible enough for some students to shape their own academic program. The language requirements were a particular con- cern, she said. The only requirement of the BGS program is that of the 120 credits needed to graduate, 60 of them must be upper level classes, and no more than 20 can be from any one department. Many students that choose the BGS degree are pre-professional students going into professional school or looking for a job right after graduating. There is also a high percentage of returning or transfer students, Wallin said. lIERMONETTES An octet of singers/entertainers from the Women's Glee Club; are holding AUDITIONS for new singers this fall. Call Teri 996-0654 for details. ,. r '1 offers you the following and more: " Beit Midrash (15 Judaica courses) " Concerts. * Counseling " Dorm Programs " Films " Friday night dinners * Grad group * Great parties * Holiday celebrations Independent study O PEN [ Israeli dancing " Jewish Elderly Project (Psych. 201, Outreach) " Jewish Joggers of Ann Arbor * Kosher co-op meal plan * Lectures * Musical groups " Scholars-in-residence S-Shabbat services (Reform, Conservative, Orthodox) *Sunday evening delis HOUSE STUDENT HEALTH Q. & A. QUESTION: What's new at UNIVERSITY HEALTH SERVICE THIS YEAR? ANSWER: Lots! For one, a new and more comfortable lobby. D _ _ -1 . : Y _ _ .., ....J-- 9 - - ;m r ' n n i r+ Thursday, 10,81301 Sept.11PM HILLEL is the Jewish Student Center at the University of Michigan. There are -no membership dues and it costs nothing to receive the monthly calendar listing activities and events. Sign up to receive the mailing at the annual Open House September 10. For more in- formation call 663-3336, or stop by your