UC Berkeley Press Release
|
The undergrad lowdown
New on campus: The freshman and transfer-student
experience
BERKELEY — This five-part series presents a portrait of the UC Berkeley undergraduate student body, based on recent surveys conducted by the university. In this final installment we look at freshmen and transfer students, comparing their respective backgrounds and experiences on campus, both academic and social.
 Five-part series: A 360-degree view of a student body • Roots
& Identity: Family background, keeping in touch with home,
campus personas • The
ABCs of UCUES: How the survey is conducted |
New freshmen - what's on their minds?
UC Berkeley's academic reputation and the stiff competition for admission are sources of agida for many new freshmen in the weeks prior to their move to campus. Asked to name the one thing that most concerned them about starting at Berkeley, from a list of 20 common worries - from getting along with roommates to finding affordable housing and financing their education - the top worries were "being able to excel at Berkeley the way I excelled in high school" (chosen by 28%) and "being able to maintain a high enough GPA" (14%).
Among new freshmen, the most popular intended major is business administration - a practical choice, considering that 31% expect that they and/or their parents will need to repay $20,000 in educational loans by the time they graduate from Berkeley. "Business administration is apparently the most popular major in the nation," notes David Radwin of the Office of Student Research (OSR). "Only two other UC campuses offer it, however, so there are probably some students who choose Berkeley especially to major in business."
Freshman facts • 18% of new freshmen report that their parents are divorced or living apart • Polled in summer 2007, 98% percent of incoming freshmen planned to bring a cell phone to campus, 96% a laptop computer, 88% an iPod or another portable digital music player |
Molecular and cell biology is the second most popular intended major; third ranked is Middle Eastern Studies (which never before made the top five), tied with engineering and engineering science. Electrical engineering and computer sciences came in fourth, political science fifth.
Among transfer students, English is the most popular intended major, followed, in order, by economics, molecular and cell biology, business administration, and mass communications. All these stats on intended major come with the caveat that many students change their minds by their junior year, when they're required to declare a major.
Transfer students in focus
 'At
Cal there’s a lot of pressure, because it's
one of the finer research universities in the country,
and that can be intimidating. You come here thinking
everyone’s
a genius but you. And then you realize it’s
just normal school, and people are people.'— Caitlin
Garvey, transfer student majoring in comparative
literature |
'You
get here, and suddenly you start getting marked
down for things that no one has marked you down
for. It’s very shocking,
it’s very jarring. You get angry at first....
And then you stop and realize well, that’s
the point of coming here, now you will get better.' — Lisa
Morgan, transfer student majoring in English |
Transfer students differ somewhat from their freshman-admit counterparts in terms of family background: 31% of transfers come from low-income households (where parents' combined annual income is less than $35,000, compared to 23% of incoming freshmen. And where about a quarter of freshman admits were born outside the U.S., nearly two-fifths of transfers are foreign born. (Likewise, while for 55% of new freshmen both parents were born in the United States, that's true for only 44% of transfer students.) Enrollment figures for fall 2007 show that 19% of new transfer students are underrepresented minorities (American Indian, African American, and Chicano/Latino), vs. 16% of new freshmen.
 'I feel like I've done it on my own, with the help of those I've met along the way. I'm in a position now where I can look back on my path and say "How can I help others?" Whether returning to college after being out of high school for 10+ years, or having children between high school and going back to college, a lot of [non-traditional] students feel that way.' — Krizy
Alilin, senior, work-study staffer at Transfer, Re-entry, and Student Parent Center |
How do transfers compare to their peers in terms of how they use their time - on work, study, family life, campus activities - and to what degree they're satisfied with their social and academic experience at Berkeley? For one, be it because of a slightly higher average age (21), family or work obligations, or other factors, transfer students are less likely than freshman admits to participate in student clubs or organizations (49% for transfers vs. 71% for freshmen).
Whether or not they participate in student organizations, most new students (69% of new transfers and 76% of new freshmen) say they're satisfied with their overall social experience at Berkeley. Asked whether, knowing what they now know, they would still enroll at Berkeley, transfers students, by a very slight margin, are more likely to answer in the affirmative (88% of transfers, vs. 87% for their fellow undergrads). The large majority of both groups (87% of freshman admits and 83% of transfer students) feel they "belong" at Berkeley.
Berkeley transfer students study about 10% more hours than freshman admits - about 17 hours per week compared to 15 for freshman admits - although freshman admits spend about one more hour per week in class than transfer students. Those who enter as freshman are significantly more likely to participate in research with faculty than transfer students (40% vs. 25%).
 'We often hear from transfer students that participating in student organizations is last on their list. If they're going to be spending time, it's usually on something related to their major or something they need at home. It's going to be more related to survival.' — Eva
Rivas, director, |
Close to half of new students of both categories work to help support themselves, and they're increasingly likely to do so as they advance through the ranks. Transfer students often give themselves a break from work their first semester on campus - but then start working again in earnest, as they feel the financial pinch.
"Sometimes the financial aid doesn't help as much as they thought it would," notes Eva Rivas, director of the campus's Transfer, Re-entry, and Student Parent Center. "They have to do something on the side."
When transfer students do work, they spend, on average, two more hours at their jobs each week than do freshman admits. Transfers also spend more time commuting to school and work - five hours per week, compared to three for non-transfer students.
According to Debbie Ellis of the Office of Student Research, graduation rates have been improving steadily for transfers, as they have for freshman admits. "More and more transfers are graduating in two years," she says, with the two-year graduation rate now at an all-time high in stats dating back to the early 1980s.
Additional information: