The KSU Transfer Center and other university offices are helping the nearly 1,900 new transfer students settle into campus with extended hours and special programs.

“We want to make sure transfer students feel they belong here,” said Barbara Miller, academic adviser coordinator of the Transfer Center.

Transfer students will arrive on campus with all the anxiety that freshman face, but with their own distinct fears.

“Everyone is younger,” said 26-year-old transfer psychology major Laura Miller. “It’s going to be hard to meet people because of it.”

Many of the transfer students have come from smaller schools.

“The campus is so big,” Laura Miller said. “I’m afraid I won’t know where anything is.”

It is not uncommon for transfers to live in dorms, but many of them miss out on the friendships and connections made from living in student housing.

“I didn’t go through the dorms,” said junior English major Cati Carlson. “That makes it kind of rough, especially at a bigger school.”

A number of campus events are planned to make the transition more comfortable.

“Transfer students are invited to Welcome Weekend,” Barbara Miller said. “We’re sending out postcards and inviting them.”

Welcome Weekend is a three-day orientation program that helps students ease into their new life. The event will be held Aug. 26 through Aug. 29.

“We’re inviting transfers to the entire program, but we do have some breakout sessions that are geared specifically toward transfer students,” she said.

The Transfer Student Informational is one of those events. The hour-long session will focus on resources that are available for transfer students and strategies for their transition to Kent. The Informational will be held from from 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. Aug. 27 in the Governance Chambers on the second floor of the Student Center.

The Back to School Blastoff on Aug. 29 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. is expected to help establish student connections.

“Last year, we did tie-dye T-shirts and an ice cream social,” Barbara Miller said. “We haven’t really decided yet, but there will something at blastoff for transfer students.”

The blastoff encourages new students to join organizations and will feature live music and games. The event will be held on the track behind the DeWeese Health Center.

Tau Sigma, the transfer-student honor society, will have its booth at the blastoff.

Along with the social events, the Transfer Center in the Michael Schwartz Center will be available to answer questions transfers may have. “We will be offering extended hours,” Barbara Miller said. “The week before and the week after classes start.”

The new hours will be from 8 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. They will also be open on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 8 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Contact news correspondent Jonathan Lower at [email protected].