Transition Tips for Transfer Students

Here are some tips to help you achieve as much success as possible during your transition to UCSD:

• Read your email often. Upon entering UCSD, you will be assigned a University email address and your name will be placed on a transfer listserv through this UCSD email account. If you have an off-campus account and would like your mail to be sent to one address, go to http://www-no.ucsd.edu/.
  
  
• Stay on top of College and University requirements.
  
  
• The quarter system is only ten weeks. This is a major adjustment for students accustomed to a 16-week semester system. Avoid procrastinating. Your first quarter may be a challenge until you get a feel for how fast ten weeks actually pass.
  
  
• Take advantage of free meals provided at most events for transfers and commuters. Even a "starving" student can survive by keeping an eye on fliers, posters, and emails.
  
  
• Go to your professors' office hours to discuss how you are doing in your courses. Stop by and talk to important people in your academic department even if you aren't in their classes. You only have two or three years to create the networks needed to receive recommendations and to meet the people who can assist with graduate school applications or attaining your dream job.
  
  
• Size of the classrooms will vary from class to class. You may be in discussions or sections with 10 other people or in a large lecture hall with 400 students. It is usually a good idea to sit in the front of class and ask questions to show you are interested in the discussions.
  
  
• UCSD has a tremendous amount of resources and services. Surf the UCSD homepage or just wander around campus to check out all the free or nearly-free resources available on campus. UCSD also has its own information line. It is (858) 534-EDNA.
  
  
• Find the lounges around campus. The best ones include Library Lounge in Price Center, the lounge at the Warren College Shuttle Stop and the Warren College lounge in the Computer Science and Engineering Building. Comfortable couches and computers are key when you are between classes. Throughout the day, you can usually find other transfer students gathering at the 1974 block on Library Walk.