For giddy high school seniors across the country, years of stressful schoolhouse preparation and anticipation for the "best years of their lives" recently culminated as prospies signed on the dotted line of an admissions offer and sealed their collegiate destiny, marking their most momentous decision to date. And many will have made the wrong decision. Welcome to the world of the transfer student.
Traditionally, anywhere from 320 to 350 unsatisfied co-eds vie for 30 to 35 spots for transfer students at the Big Green each year, proving even more competitive than the regular admissions process crucible. And of the lucky chosen few, about 15 to 20 admitted transfer students throw their lives into boxes and cruise up I-89 to Hanover each fall, Daniel Parish, senior associate director of admissions, explained to me in an interview.
After arriving in Hanover ready to start a new life, immigrating undergrads inevitably face social challenges. Transfers enter the "Dartmouth bubble" without experiencing the rites of passage that define freshman year: late-night conversations with fellow bright-eyed freshmen in the Choates, scurrying around the Homecoming bonfire as upperclassmen verbally pelt "the worst class ever" with "encouragements" and beyond. How do these student nomads -- hoping to avoid a second dose of buyer's remorse -- settle down and find their "sense of place" at the Big Green?
I sat down with several transfer students to discuss their experiences assimilating into Dartmouth life.
Unwelcoming shut doors dominate the hallways of upperclass residential halls as socially-satisfied upperclassmen have mostly already nestled into their niches on campus, frustrating transfers' attempts to find new friends next door. "I lived in Butterfield my first year at Dartmouth and it was kind of quiet. I wished it was more social," said Denton King '09, a transfer from Colby College.
Already living in a small community, Dartmouth students tend to subdivide themselves into even smaller social silos. From Greek houses to the "Collis rats" of crunchy Dartmouth Outing Club members and Frisbee virtuosos, the social Balkanization helps transfers assimilate into Dartmouth. Tapping into one of the existing campus crowds allows transfers to meet many other students quickly.
The Greek system plays a uniquely meaningful and powerful role for transfers seeking their "sense of place" at the Big Green. Thanks to the fact that all aspiring Greeks cannot rush until their second year at the College and that most transferring co-eds arrive in Hanover during their sophomore year, Webster Avenue acts as a social equalizer for newbie students. The "meet" market of rush puts regular students and transfers more or less on a level playing field.
"I had been at Dartmouth for only two weeks and decided to rush. It is really easy for girls since you have to go to all seven sororities and do not have to know anyone else," said Lauren DeNatale'09, a former Wake Forest University undergrad and upcoming sophomore summer president for her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta. "All my best friends are in AZD. I am so happy with my decision to transfer to Dartmouth and rush."
DeNatale's experience serves as a testament to the close-knit community that Dartmouth enjoys and the distinct worth of the Greek system to transfers. "I highly encourage anyone who transferred to rush," said King, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
With "Camp Dartmouth" in session, transfers are able to build on relationships during their sophomore summer with fellow brothers and sisters in their class. "We're lucky that Dartmouth students don't rush until sophomore year. Pledging Kappa [Kappa Gamma sorority] sophomore fall helped me feel like part of my own class," said Rachel Hamilton '07, who transferred from Rice University in Texas.
As she rounds out her third term at the Big Green, DeNatale has surmounted a seemingly daunting task with surprising ease and satisfyingly admitted, "Nowadays, people even forget that I am a transfer."
