Transfer students come from many different backgrounds, and their experiences differ from those who start and complete their college journey at one institution.

At Wichita State, admission requirements for transfer students focus on how many hours they are transferring, their age, grade point average and test scores.

Owen Klos transferred from WSU Tech in the fall of 2024 and is now majoring in international business. He works as a transfer guide to help run events and answer questions prospective transfer students may have.

“We’re reaching out to those potential students and letting them know what WSU is all about,” Klos said. “We have someone here that will answer your questions and walk you through it as a student, and not so much like a faculty member.” 

Transfer guides and scholarships for transfer students help reduce general anxieties about the process of transferring, Klos said.

Emily Phung, WSU’s transfer marketing coordinator, said those efforts go beyond academic factors.

“A lot of times, generally we have a lot of incoming freshmen that would start here all four years without transferring, but we also try and make it more inclusive for transfer students coming from community colleges or other universities,” Phung said. “We want to also make sure that we have that same environment for them to be like, ‘Okay, this is my home away from home.’”

Klos said they were never treated differently or looked at differently for being a transfer student. Phung added that traditional and transfer students can share similar challenges to feeling welcomed on campus.

“A lot of students come from many different backgrounds, and we have a lot of students coming from out of state, too, and it’s really hard for them to navigate,” Phung said. 

Transfer students experience support gap

The best way to address the feeling of isolation is just putting yourself out there, Klos said.

The university seeks to facilitate that sentiment with many social events and groups to get involved in.

Some transfer students said the university’s catering toward traditional students creates challenges in accessing these outlets.

Melissa Porter, a transfer student and adult learner from California, is graduating this spring with a pre-medical degree. She plans to continue her education through a veterinary medicine program.

She is the event planner for the WSU Pre-Veterinary Student Association. Her experience validated Klos’ perspective that getting involved helps students feel more connected, but she said there are barriers that make it difficult.

“I kind of feel like I had to make myself more involved,” Porter said. “As much as I like this school, it does not cater to non-traditional students.”

Porter said being an adult learner gave her access to support resources that transfer students often lack, especially from Pam O’neal, associate director of student engagement in the Office of Online and Adult Learners.

“I kind of had to warm my way into any kind of involvement on the campus, with the exception of Pam in the office, I love her,” Porter said.

Addison Poorman, a peer adviser at the Shocker Career Accelerator, is a transfer student from Butler Community College graduating this spring with a bachelor’s in social work. 

Poorman said that WSU can see transfer students as already knowing what they need and where to go once they’re enrolled.

“I think, in their minds, they think typically you kind of have it figured out at that point,” she said.

Poorman said a lot of the outreach before the semester begins does provide valuable information. But the amount of information can make it difficult to remember important points, especially when it lacks the necessary feeling of engagement, she said.

“As a transfer student, I was looking for flexibility and something that’s going to work around my life,” Poorman said. “So then having to go to a specific event for resources is kind of a barrier because it’s like, well, I don’t have time for that because I have to work, so I can afford to go (to school).” 

Both Porter and Poorman said they think the resources are there, but are difficult to access because of how they are presented.

Porter views the university as being heavily catered to the experience of traditional students.

“It’s just not geared for people who live off campus,” Porter said. “People who didn’t start normally with everyone else or who don’t know anybody else.”

Poorman said that her experience as a social work major involved looking into how accessible different resources are for students.

She said the university’s ability to create resources for students doesn’t always match how accessible they are. Klos’s experience indicates resources are there and available. Poorman’s and Porter’s show that is not the case for everyone.

“In my opinion, it’s not that the resources aren’t there. It’s just that students don’t even know they exist in the first place,” Poorman said.