Changing course is an expected part of the undergraduate experience. With access to 13 schools and 170 areas of study, it makes sense that some students may decide to focus their studies on a different topic than they had originally planned. In fact, 65% of all students at the University change their major at least one time. Though deciding between these disciplines may be stressful for undergraduates, switching from one area of study to another shouldn’t be.
To avoid giving students unnecessary anxiety, schools should offer admissions statistics for potential transfers on their internal transfer websites.
Melinda Wang, economics and management information systems sophomore, went through the internal transfer process this past spring to add on an MIS major.
“I internally transferred into McCombs, and I knew that I always wanted to do it since I was an incoming freshman,” Wang said. “I did have a lot of resources. I knew that I needed to reach out to my advisor and other students who also went through the same process. I did have to reach out to admissions multiple times, and they gave really vague answers. So I wish that they would have been more open about that.”
Providing statistics on the average number of applicants by major or school can help students better gauge their chances at getting into their desired area of study and reduce any anxiety during the application process.
“I think stats can be helpful. I also think that every application pool changes for that application cycle,” said Vanessa Garcia, assistant director of the Vick Advising Excellence Center. “I feel like there are ways that it could be helpful, and there are also ways that it could be harmful.”
Providing exact statistics may cause students to misjudge their own chances for acceptance into a particular major, but offering average GPA ranges can help students determine where they may fall comparatively and lessen any unnecessary stress surrounding transferring. Wang said she felt like people typically overexaggerate the competitiveness of the internal transfer process.
“Throughout the school year, I joined a lot of clubs and I kept my grades up,” Wang said. “But to me, I think it was really overwhelming on my mental health because I developed this perfectionist mindset.”
Students should not have to submit an application without having access to relevant information. Being more open about admissions statistics and requirements can help lower students’ anxiety relating to the internal transfer process. While information that aims to ease the process, such as the internal transfer website and the Vick Advising Excellence Center, is available to potential transfer students online and on campus, certain answers are harder to find.
“I think students need to be informed of what eligibility requirements are so that they put themselves number one in a position to be eligible to apply to internal transfer,” Garcia said. “But if they have further questions, connecting to an advisor can be really helpful to let them break down the internal transfer application or what’s being asked of them.”
The University’s provided resources are beneficial to students, but the internal transfer process is still confusing and stressful, therefore UT should make their admissions statistics more explicit for students looking to transfer.
Henningsen is an advertising and English junior from Austin, TX.
