Prospective students were inspired by the possibilities and encouraged to make an informed decision about enrolling at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during Transfer Visit Day held Friday, Sept. 20.
The event offered 37 students a tour of SIUE’s beautiful, sprawling campus, shared current students’ perspectives, and provided information such as navigating transfer credit, financial aid and how to ease the transition to becoming a transfer student.
“We want to give prospective students the tools necessary to be successful in their transition to SIUE, and to better understand their transfer credit,” said Ryan Downey, assistant director for new student and campus visit programs in the Office of Admissions. “It’s important that we focus just as much on the transfer student population as our incoming freshman population, since enrollment demographics are shifting.”
During the event, visiting students had the opportunity to interact with representatives from campus organizations and student services, including admissions, financial aid, University Housing and various academic disciplines.
Current transfer students hosted a panel where they shared advice and insight from their experiences. Senior sociology and pre-law major Melody Peterson, of St. Louis, was a panelist.
“I was a transfer student in 2017,” Peterson recalled. “I don’t think I would have been as acclimated with the University if it wasn’t for Transfer Visit Day. Traditional students have events like Springboard and the SIUE Experience, so I appreciated having Transfer Visit Day.”
Jessyca LeGault, of Belleville, attended the event and said she found it quite helpful.
“It provided a lot of insight on things like tuition, which is what I was most worried about,” LeGault said. “Finding out about tuition and where I can look for scholarships has been helpful.”
According to Downey, Transfer Visit Days have been a positive addition to the opportunities SIUE provides prospective students.”
“Transfer Visit Days helps raise awareness of SIUE,” Downey said. “Even if a visiting student does not enroll, they’ll go back to their community college or another institution and talk about their experience at SIUE.”