Questions from a Potential Transfer Student

Colleges and Universities A-Z Seattle University
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I'm currently thinking of transferring, and had a few questions. The board doesn't seem to be very active, but if anyone can elaborate that would be great. I am currently a sophomore, and would most likely transfer fall 2010.</p>

<p>1) How dominant is the religious life at SU? I understand that it is a Jesuit university, but are all the students there Catholic or of a Christian denomination? I am not a religious person and find it deeply troubling and frustrating when it is forced upon me. If anyone could elaborate on the spiritual and religious life at SU, that would be great.</p>

<p>2) How is the financial aid? Most of the reason I am considering transferring is for financial reasons- but switching to a small liberal arts college to a large university of 30,000+ students is a bit daunting, so is SU decent with financial aid? I still want a small college feel- yes, I understand that this will be difficult to find at a reasonable price, but is the FA office at SU decent- is the staff and administration supportive, helpful, etc?</p>

<p>3) Could someone please explain the Core curriculum in a few simple statements? The website was a bit vague- to me it looks like a large chunk of time out of my schedule to take all these required classes. What's the benefit of it?</p>

<p>4) How is the social scene? Describe different types of students at SU.</p>

<p>5) Is anyone knowledgeable of the biology department- faculty, courses and the workload, graduate school placement, etc?</p>

<p>6) Are they very picky in their transfer applications? My GPA is about a 3.17 (there is a reason for why this is much lower than it should be, and it would probably be explained somehow in my application), and have generally been pretty active on campus.</p>

<p>Thank you! ANY answers will be appreciated.</p>

<p>If any one could help that would be REALLY great. Thank you!</p>

2

<p>Hi there~</p>

<p>1) No, not every students are Christians, and you don’t really have to be one. Life there isn’t that religious as well. Its just like a normal college life. The buildings all look quite Christians tho. I’m not a religious person too, and Im doing okay there~</p>

<p>2) Yes, there is a finical aid offering. As a transfer student, you need a GPA of 3.5 before coming in. That means the GPA you got at your college. And, you need to maintain a GPA of 3.0 after getting in. </p>

<p>3+5) In short, there are four types of classes you need for Core Curriculum, and they are General (12 classes), Social Science (1-2 classes), Interdisciplinary (1 class), Language (1-4 classes). (If you are foreign international student, you wont need to study the Language part). Also, there is a part called “Major Requirements”, these will be your major academic classes. For biology, you have 67 major credits to complete. You have at least 15 biology classes, at least 6 chemistry classes, some maths and electives. Sounds lot, but if you talk to your future advisor, he/she could really guide you. If you wanna look up for more information about your classes, go to here [Seattle</a> University - College of Science and Engineering - Degrees & Courses](<a href=“http://www.seattleu.edu/scieng/biology/Default.aspx?id=9416#CP]Seattle”>http://www.seattleu.edu/scieng/biology/Default.aspx?id=9416#CP) There are also some very useful pdf file at the bottom. Go download it and take a look at them~~</p>

<p>4) Same as most college, there are Geeks, Nuts, and something in between lol Don’t Im sure you will make friends. People are nice there. And, in fact, most SU students are transfer as well. Me too, indeed. </p>

<p>6) 3.17 maybe ok, i think~ as I am not really sure about the entry requirement thing, but if you look here [Seattle</a> University 802395 Bachelor Of Arts In Biology USA US](<a href=“http://www.uniguru.com/studyabroad/United-States-courses/Bachelor-Arts-Biology-course-details/cseid/802395/cid/2674/programs.html]Seattle”>http://www.uniguru.com/studyabroad/United-States-courses/Bachelor-Arts-Biology-course-details/cseid/802395/cid/2674/programs.html) It says the freshmans are in between 3.3-3.8. I would say you will probably make in, if you did explain your GPA~~ Biology is a pretty hard major at SU, so hope you will be doing fine :)</p>

<p>I got 3.5 when I first got in last year. University does feel different than college. Make sure you don’t miss your classes too much. Most teachers only allow students to miss 3 classes only, while some don’t care. You will have to study Theology too. Thats not too bad, I liked it. Im a Psychology and Design senior student. Welcome to our school~~ :)</p>

3

<p>Some thoughts to add…
I’m a current sophomore too and came in as a freshman, so my experience might be a little different, but here’s my take:</p>

<p>1) Like the last poster said, religious life isn’t really dominating at SU. Only about a third of students identify as Catholic on their applications (which is probably more than actually practice Catholicism), and a bit more than that identify as another Christian denomination. Like dogdoghong mentioned, you’ll have to take two Theology classes, but that can include a world religion course or something more broad . </p>

<p>2) I will warn you that there seem to be fewer merit scholarships for transfer students, but the financial aid counselors are extremely understanding if you actually talk to them. I think that’s been true of my experience with most faculty/staff at SU–everyone’s pretty understanding if you make an effort to make introductions, which isn’t that tough at a school this size with this kind of environment.</p>

<p>3) A big part of Jesuit education is this idea of educating the “whole person,” so not just providing professional training but preparing students to be leaders for a better world and encouraging different types of critical thinking and awareness. Part of that is accomplished through the broad liberal arts base that is the Core. I actually really like the Core. My favorite class so far is one I sort of just took for the Core that I probably wouldn’t have gotten into otherwise–World Poverty (which is either humanities or just a general social science class–it counted for Social Science II).</p>

<p>6) I’ve heard informally from the rumor mill that it’s easier to get in as a transfer than as a freshman. Naturally you should still give it your best, but I really think you’ll be perfectly fine.</p>

<p>4) I’ve thought about this a lot before, and I honestly think it’s tough to peg the typical SU student or to definitively define the labels. I’m sure people say this at every school, but I honestly think SU excels in the diversity of the types of people it attracts, and as far as the social scene and what people do for fun it’s pretty mixed too. Without greek life, it’s not centered around everyone going to the same big parties, but people party. There’s also always other stuff going on around the neighborhood/city and campus.</p>

<p>As far as the types of people, the school’s identity is so much impacted by it’s location: right in the heart of Seattle. Not that everyone at SU is a commuter or is from the area, but the location is a big attraction for people. I don’t know where you’re transferring from or how familiar you are with Seattle, but SU is in the Capitol Hill/First Hill neighborhood of Seattle, touching or close to Central District, Squier Park, downtown, International District… That said, Capitol Hill is known largely for its hipsters and for its gay community. On the one hand, that means SU has its fair share of hipsters and a very active, significant LGBTQ community, and drawing from Seattle and the Northwest coast in general, the population is overwhelmingly liberal and particularly eco-concerned. On the other hand, that also means SU attracts the type of people who don’t want to go to school in a college town sort of bubble but instead the vast types of people who’d rather go to school in an urban environment–whether it’s for the arts and culture, the exposure to different ethnic communities, the internship opportunities, the volunteer opportunities, etc. And I feel like most people are interested in all of those things to some degree–people I would expect to be ambitious business-y types are still a little artsy, the churchgoing crowd has a good number of protesters and hippies, guys who act like bros can be huge nerds at heart, etc. So far, I’m pretty sure Republicans are the most underrepresented social group, and it’s not like the handful of them all stick together.</p>

<p>I’m sure a lot of that sounds like bunch of shameless plugs, but I honestly, legitimately believe that, haha.</p>

<p>Good luck, and if you have other questions, shoot 'em!</p>

4

<p>This is great, thank you. And if you wouldn’t mind a few more questions/responses, heh :)</p>

<p>1) I applied as a freshman applicant 2 years ago, and was accepted with their Trustee Scholarship of $15,000 a year- will my application and this info still be under file?</p>

<p>2) Do you know what students generally do after they graduate- graduate school, or directly go into the workforce? Teach for America? And what the 4-year graduate rate is? If you know this particularly for the biology department that would be helpful.</p>

<p>3) Would it still be possible to study abroad even if I transferred fall of junior year? Is study abroad very popular?</p>

<p>4) How is the faculty-student relationship? Is it strictly faculty-student, or is it very casual, and are they helpful and personable? Is it seminar style or completely lecture-based? Do they have many office hours, and do they encourage those or not?</p>

<p>5) What is the housing situation like- since it is in an urban area, do students generally tend to move off-campus over their 4 years there? Do you know how this would work out for a transfer student?</p>

<p>6) How stressful is registration? I have gone through registration the past year and a half really easily without many problems, and so especially as a transfer I am a bit worried about not being able to get the classes I need. Are the professors pretty easygoing about coming in on the first day of class and letting you in? As a transfer I would probably have to register after everyone else does, so…</p>

<p>7) Can you double count Core requirements? And will some of my classes at my current institution count toward the Core sequence? I do not want to be bogged down by having to take a bunch of required classes my junior and senior year when I would rather take those akin to my major or of just general interest to me, and this worries me. Will my AP credits from high school still count toward any courses or credits I can receive even as a transfer? I like the idea of educating a “whole” person which is why I am more attracted at trying to stay at a liberal arts college (where I am now), but I want to have a sense of freedom when filling my requirements instead of having to choose between very few specific courses.</p>

<p>8) Do many students volunteer on a regular basis? This is something I really miss that I did often in high school and would really love to be a part of again with easy access to, something that I really like Seattle for.</p>

<p>9) The admissions page said that the fall 2008 stats was 61% women and 39% men- is this noticeable? I attend a women’s college, and don’t really regret my decision, but a large factor of me attending is the social life- I feel very stifled and basically miss having guy friends. Could any of you elaborate on what a typical weekend is like for a student?</p>

<p>Thanks! Sorry for the long list of questions and if I’m asking you about a lot of details… (I work in the admission office and am used to getting probed so it’s kind of me now doing the same).</p>

5

<p>Haha, wow, long list indeed. I personally don’t mind at all, but I’m going to answer a few now and come back as I think/learn about the answers more. 1 & 7 I haven’t touched at all yet.</p>

<p>2) This is one of those things I don’t know stats for yet. Last I heard from Career Services, SU sends a higher-than-average chunk of grads to post-grad service like Teach for America, Peace Corps and other lesser-known orgs. From my (biased) perspective, I know more people planning on post-grad service than grad school, but I have talked to a number of people going the grad school route or who are now working after college.</p>

<p>3) I would definitely say study abroad is popular. It’s actually required for some majors (what you’d expect–foreign languages, int’l studies/business) but definitely easier in some majors/schools than others (bio might be harder than some but not the hardest). The two reasons I can think of it not being possible for you are these, and you can get around them by doing summer abroad: a) needing too many credits (Core) to fit in to too little time or b) some major classes are only offered during certain quarters (typically in small Arts & Sciences majors), which can complicate the issue of finishing requirements.
But like I said, there are lots of summer abroad programs, both through SU and through other organizations. The other weird thing to keep in mind is that study abroad can sometimes be complicated with the quarter system. Most international schools or other programs run on semesters, so in my opinion it seems easiest to either do an SU program if there’s something that appeals to you (if you want to do it during junior year, start researching and getting in touch with people now), or if you’re going to go through another organization (like CIEE, SIT, etc.) plan for a summer or fall semester (not spring). In any case, I’d talk to you advisor about it as soon as you have one. There are also some short-term international service immersion trips, if that’s something that appeals to you.</p>

<p>4) My experience has definitely been more seminar-based and excellent experiences with professors. Of course the seminar/lecture balance varies by major/class/professor, and each professor has her/his own style, but I’ve never felt like a professor didn’t know me or like a professor wasn’t available. Office hours are encouraged, and my professors have been really great about setting up times outside of set office hours when those don’t work. Some profs will take small groups at a time out to discuss readings over coffee outside of class time. Another friend did badly on a test, and her prof, realizing she’d shown understanding of the material in her class participation, talked it out with her, recognized where her learning style had led to misinterpretations of the questions and gave back some of her points. Even when my friends have gotten the short straw on professors, they’ve been able to find other professors in the department who are willing to help them out. Every professor is different, of course, but in my experience, helpfulness has been consistently true.</p>

<p>5) Housing is technically guaranteed at least 3 years if not 4, but most of the housing available to juniors is the apartment/townhome-style housing (Murphy, Logan Court), which is more expensive than the traditional residence halls. Chardin (which is suite-style) and the Kolvenbach community (which is an application-based intentional living community in a pair of houses across the street) are between the prices of the traditional halls and the apartment-style. I think as a transfer you might be able to live in a traditional hall, but you might not want to (just because they’re so socially overwhelmed with freshmen and sophomores). Most people do move off campus for junior year, a handful sooner, a handful later. This is largely because campus housing is limited and expensive–it’s nice, but there’s cheaper in the neighborhood or a short walk/ride away.</p>

<p>6) The suckiest thing about registration is just that some classes are only offered during certain quarters, which can totally screw up your four-year plan. The nice thing is that you only have to take three or four classes a term, so there are less pieces to work out. Registration can admittedly be stressful, but a lot of things are workable. Core classes, in particular, can always be worked out somehow. As for the question about just dropping in, not sure. I’ve seen it work, but I’ve also seen professors say flat-out at the beginning of the first class that the class is overfilled…I’m sure it depends.</p>

<p>8) Yes! I would say there are more people individually volunteering, though, than clubs or groups who regularly volunteer together, but there are a ton of opportunities. The Center for Service and Community Engagement (which is an office centered around connecting students with service opportunities) also sends out a newsletter with upcoming temporary volunteer opportunities in the area.
If you want to get an idea for some of the opportunities around, the Center for Service and Community Engagement: [Seattle</a> University - Center for Service and Community Engagement - Programs Home](<a href=“http://seattleu.edu/csce/programs/]Seattle”>http://seattleu.edu/csce/programs/)
Campus Ministry is another resource: [Seattle</a> University - Division of Mission and Ministry](<a href=“http://www.seattleu.edu/missionministry/campusministry/Inner.aspx?id=4600]Seattle”>http://www.seattleu.edu/missionministry/campusministry/Inner.aspx?id=4600)</p>

<p>9) Yeah…it’s noticeable. I’m not gonna lie to you, haha. I went to an all-women’s high school so I was never one to surround myself with all guys, but I haven’t had trouble making guy friends at SU. This could potentially sound weird, and I know high school is different from college in a lot of respects, but my experience at all-women’s high school involved a really estrogen-centric cycle of man-hating and slumber party-esque girliness. This is not the case at SU. We appreciate guys. We have some great ones. There just aren’t a ton around. It’s a ratio that allows for enough guy friends but that can be romantically frustrating for some.</p>

<p>Saving the typical weekend part of the question for another day. This has come out to be a pretty long post as it is, haha.</p>

<p>I hope this has been helpful so far!</p>