Title: Resilience through Transition: Insights into the Transfer Student Experience
Presenter(s):
Pearl Lo (she/her)
Laura Widener (she/her)
Daisy Navarro (she/her)
Cierra Nestor-Gray (she/her)
Anthony Zolnier (he/him)
Room: Benjamin Banneker 2212
Session Block(s): Session II
Time: 11:35 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
Duration: 60 minutes
Program Abstract:
Transfer students have boundless knowledge and strengths to contribute to their new institution, while also facing challenges like “transfer shock” and social adaptation. This session highlights the University of Maryland’s Transfer2Terp (T2T) Learning Community as a program that addresses these challenges. Session attendees will also have the opportunity to engage with a panel of current University of Maryland transfer students and brainstorm strategies to better support transfer students at their respective institutions.
Program Description:
Transfer students are a resilient population that compose a significant proportion of all college students. Approximately 1.2 million students across the country transferred to a new institution in Fall 2024. At UMD alone, 2,456 new transfer students matriculated in Fall 2024, which represents 30% of all new undergraduate students who started their Terp journey that semester. An additional 956 transfer students matriculated at UMD the following semester in Spring 2025.
Despite their large population, transfer students are often undersupported and struggle when navigating challenges like "transfer shock" and adapting to a new social and academic environment. These obstacles can be even more demanding for nontraditional transfer students who may balance school with other responsibilities like working full-time or taking care of dependents.
This session provides insights on transfer students nationally and highlights the Transfer2Terp (T2T) Learning Community, a UMD course focused on the strengths that transfer students bring to the university community, while also providing them with a space to acclimate to campus life and culture. We will explain the implementation of the T2T program and its positive outcomes like increased GPA and degree attainment. Participants will also have the opportunity to directly hear from and interact with current UMD transfer students about their experiences navigating the transition to a new institution, the challenges they encountered, and advice they have for practitioners to better support transfer students across their respective campuses.