Transferring schools is an uncertain and emotionally tumultuous task. UT offers potential transfer students little insight and information about the application prior to applying, making the process even more difficult. In order to support future students, UT must meet the needs of their applicants instead of leaving them in a state of ambiguity.
UT has limited spots for the large quantity of students interested in applying. Statistical information, including how many people have applied, acceptance rates, enrollment, and percentage yield would offer a significant amount of support. Additionally, yield rates let transfer students find out how many students remain at UT after they accept their admission.
These statistics can help external transfer students make informed decisions about which programs to apply for and determine how competitive of an applicant they are. Additionally, having an answer as to whether the Coordinated Admissions Program students and freshman applicants are a part of the same applicant pool can determine how competitive the admission cycle will be.
Bella Castillo, a fifth-year architecture and sustainability student at UT, says that her transfer experience was confusing.
“I just felt like I was getting, first of all, not enough information and, two, conflicting information,” Castillo said. “I had one adviser telling me that, yes, you can absolutely apply to do an external transfer to the School of Architecture. And right before applications were due, I had someone tell me, absolutely not.”
The transfer admissions office should post information about the statistics for specific majors, so students can make an informed decision about which programs they should apply to. For example, the UT architecture program is more selective when accepting transfer students. Some applicants are unaware of their slim chances and spend the $75 application fee as well as time and effort working on an application. Knowing the statistics for their program would help ease the anxiety of transfer students and better prepare them for any outcome.
Many students, such as local community college students or students coming from four year universities, concentrate their efforts on a single option. If the admissions process was more transparent, students might diversify the schools they apply to, expanding their opportunities. Students who want to come to UT deserve more specific knowledge of what their next few undergraduate years will look like.
The transfer admissions office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Those applying to any of UT’s graduate schools have a reference that they can look to when applying as UT’s admission statistics are readily available on its website. UT’s undergraduate external transfer admissions program should follow suit.
“All the research that I had to do to figure out questions about the application and credits and everything (was stressful),” public relations sophomore Carly DeGirolomo said. “I pretty much did my own research and I found a bunch of websites that weren’t affiliated with UT.”
Relying on outside, non-affiliated websites such as Reddit and Texadmissions makes the process more challenging when you are trying to look for reliable information. These websites show statistics that aren’t directly sourced from the University. To prevent students from having to rely on conflicting data, UT should proactively publish this data.
Observable statistics and reliable data makes the process more digestible for potential students, getting rid of unnecessary stress. The University’s admissions team should post external transfer statistics, encouraging transparency and easing the transfer student admissions process.
Shenoy is an economics sophomore from Houston, Texas.
