Alex Sawyer had a plan in mind when she started at Joliet Junior College, an Illinois community college, to get to the University as early as possible.

“I always knew I wanted to come here, so I took a lot of classes during the summer and winter breaks,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer, junior in the School of Social Work, transferred to the University in spring 2015.

Between fall 2010 and spring 2015, an average of 350 undergraduate students transferred during spring semesters, based on information from the Division of Management Information. The University expects to receive about the same amount this coming spring, said Thomas Skottene, director of enrollment management, data analysis and systems for Undergraduate Admissions.

Skottene said through an email that the final spring enrollment numbers will be available after the 10th day of classes.

Kristin Smigielski, associate director of Undergraduate Admissions, said all transfer students start their college paths differently. She said in an email that the University sometimes has transfers who want to come to the University from a community college early, leading them to transfer in the spring. The University also sees transfer students who stayed at community colleges longer than two years, also possibly leading them to transfer in the spring.

Smigielski also said some students must transfer during the fall because some colleges and majors at the University aren’t open for spring entry. Another reason could be that students choose to attend somewhere else for the fall semester, such as an out-of-state school, but then these students might decide they want to be closer to their home in Illinois and transfer to the University for the spring semester.

Alexis Shotton, junior in Engineering, transferred to the University in spring 2015 from Kishwaukee College, an Illinois community college.

Shotton said transferring in the spring made it harder for her to explore the campus because of the cold weather. She said it also might have been easier to meet people had she transferred in the fall because she noticed most of the people on her floor at Hopkins Hall had transferred during the previous semester.

She does not regret her decisions, though, and she said she’s happy she transferred in the spring because it gave her more time to spend at the University. Shotton finished her associate’s degree early at Kishwaukee College, and instead of taking a semester off, she decided to transfer early.

“I can’t imagine it was too much different than transferring in the fall,” Shotton said. “It still worked out.”

Sawyer also completed her associate’s degree early, and she is happy she transferred to the University during the spring because it allowed her more time at the University.

Sawyer said she felt there weren’t enough events for new students at the University. During her first week on campus, there were a couple new student events, but it was difficult for her to make all of them, and after that first week, there weren’t many other events.

Students who plan to transfer this spring should “be prepared as you can and talk to people before you come. And make sure you do involve yourself with things because it’s easy to get lost in the spring,” Sawyer said.

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