As the winter semester begins at EMU, students and professors tend to assume that everyone knows their way around and understands how things work on campus.
What people often don’t realize is that many students are just beginning their experience as an Eagle.
Eastern boasts a relatively simple and quick transfer process for students who transfer in the winter. But is that transfer process really quick and convenient, or does it leave some new students unprepared for their experience at Eastern?
The whole orientation process for transfer students is only a few hours. Students eat some food, learn a little about some rules of the school and take ID pictures. There is also a tour, which some students opt out of.
The orientation process for regular freshmen is fairly different.
Before school starts, students go through “Fast Track” orientation which is similar to transfer orientation. Then when the week classes start, freshmen participate in “First Four,” which is four whole days of exploring campus and learning about resources and student organizations on campus.
Sophomore Leda Stimac transferred to Eastern last winter semester from the University of South Carolina.
“The hardest part was definitely getting to know people," she said. “I felt pretty lonely for almost the whole semester.”
For students coming in this winter semester, there are some great resources for getting involved and feeling included on campus, even if they're harder to find.
Winter fest, the winter version of fall’s "fajita fest," is on Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom. Here, transfer students can find information about many campus organizations.
In addition to that, the Campus Life offices and websites offer plenty of information about campus happenings and events to meet new people.