***
PODCAST UPDATE: First Year Program no longer funds the journalism transfer seminar. The seminars are still available in the fall and winter terms, but are now funded by the journalism school. If you are a new transfer student for winter, spring or summer term, the orientation information below does not apply; instead, you'll attend a Mid-Year Orientation session before you register for your first term at UO.
***
Hello and welcome to “Quick Question,” the jcomm advising podcast. Today’s podcast addresses a common question asked by newly-admitted transfer students. I’ve just been admitted for fall term to the University of Oregon and I will be a journalism major. Now what?
First of all, congratulations! We’re glad you’ve chosen the University of Oregon and we hope to see you here in the fall. Now, let’s talk about what needs to happen next. There are several things you need to put on your to-do list.
The first to-do item is to understand your financial aid options and meet the early deadlines for filing your student financial aid and/or scholarship applications. These deadlines are often the earliest ones you have to meet and the process may not be the same as it was at your previous school.
The second thing to do is to inform the university that you will indeed be attending in the fall. You do this by paying your deposit. Once you’ve done this, you will receive information about orientation, first-year student programs, housing and a whole host of other new student information.
The third thing relates to your declared major. If the University of Oregon accepted you as a “pre-journalism” major, you’re good to go. No need to do anything more with this. When you attend orientation, you will meet with a journalism advisor and we’ll go from there.
Now, if you were accepted under another major and wish to switch to journalism, get in touch with the university’s Office of Admissions to officially change your major. If you don’t get a chance to do this until you’re on campus for orientation, no sweat. When you check in, tell the orientation folks that you’d like to switch and they’ll do their best to change your advising appointment.
I mentioned first year programs earlier. That’s another thing to put on your radar. You’ll get more information about transfer seminars. The journalism school is very active in this program. For the last couple of years, we’ve been the only major that has offered three journalism transfer seminars in the fall. We use the seminar as an on-going orientation to the major and to the university. This one-credit seminar is not required but highly recommended. Former transfer students have credited the seminar for helping them transition quickly and successfully into this new and challenging major.
The next thing on your to-do list is to sign up for orientation. Transfer students have three different sessions to choose from. If you got everything in early, you can take advantage of the transfer orientation in May. This session is ideal because it will allow you to register for fall term along with the other returning students. If you miss that, sign up for the transfer student IntroDUCKtion in July. If you miss that, your last option is Week of Welcome in September. At orientation, you will attend workshops and meetings to introduce you to the vast resources and activities available at the university. You will also meet with an academic advisor and register for your fall term classes. If you are interested in the transfer seminar, you will register for that at orientation as well.
Whether you’re going to live on campus or not, another important thing on your to-do list is work out the housing details. The earlier you do this, the better. There is always a high demand for housing.
Finally, and this is especially true if you’re going to be new to Eugene, do look into student groups and other organizations that can help you start building a community. This will also help you transition to this new phase in your education. Perhaps your religious organization has a local chapter. Or you may want to look into Married and Family Housing, the Non-Traditional Student Association or the Veteran and Family Student Association.
Now, have you noticed that none of these to-do things have anything specific to do with the journalism school? That’s deliberate. The department stays out of the entire application and acceptance process. Here, however, is one thing that you may want to do and it does relate directly to the School of Journalism and Communication. If you haven’t already, you may want to apply for a journalism scholarship. Our deadline is March 1 for the next academic year. We award between 200- and 300-thousand dollars of scholarship money each year and we do give scholarships to incoming transfer students. This scholarship may be in addition to anything else the university may have offered you. The application is available from the journalism school website. It will be the only application you need to submit the journalism school.
Again, congratulations. We look forward to working with you.
“Quick question” is an advising podcast provided by the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. Visit the J-school Student Services office in 101 Allen Hall, on the web at jcomm.uoregon.edu or on Twitter at SOJC Advising.
| ||||
|
|
|
|
