By Terry Hill, Program Coordinator, First Year Programs
Attention transfer students coming fall of 2008! There's a program designed for you and aimed at helping you get acclimated to the UW environment. Transfer students sometimes come into UW and get overwhelmed by the size and scope of programs available. Some transfer students fail to find all that UW has to offer and never take advantage of the large number of resources and opportunities available here. For many students, the community college campus is a place they come primarily to take their classes. However, when they get to UW they find that there is so much here that they would miss out on if they take that same approach to their education at UW. The UW is a large community with events happening at all times. Students at UW are encouraged to take advantage of undergraduate research, internships, volunteer opportunities, and study abroad. In addition, UW students are attending plays, seminars, concerts, and Division One sporting events. The UW also has two museums on campus! In addition, some transfer students find it difficult to find a community of other students like them that they can explore and experience the campus with. If you are a transfer student coming this fall, you should consider registering for a Transfer and Returning Interest Group (TRIG) so that you can make the connections with people and opportunities that will help you have a successful and rich educational experience at UW.
The TRIG program is intended to provide a supportive structure where students will be challenged to discover ways to become integrated into the new UW environment and see the practical application of many UW resources and services in light of their own past experience and future goals. TRIGs are 2-credit seminars that are led by former transfer students and sponsored by academic departments. For example the following TRIGs will be available this Fall:
Most TRIGs are also linked with a departmental course so that you will have more opportunities to interact with other students in your TRIG seminar. The linked course or courses are often high-demand classes that we reserve specifically for transfer students in this program. This gives you the opportunity to take a class that would likely not be available to other new students because the space would otherwise be taken by students already enrolled at UW. The 2008 TRIGs will be posted in June. You will be eligible to register for a TRIG when you register for your fall classes at Orientation this summer.
Below are samples of comments made about the TRIG program from past participants:
"I loved my TRIG so much! It really helped me feel like I was part of the UW.
"The TRIG program should be a required class for all transfer students. I don't know how I would have learned so much about UW if it hadn't been for my TRIG instructor.
"I like that the TRIG is lead by former transfer students in my major. I really felt like they could relate to me and my experience. They made me feel like I could take advantage of UW, without feeling stupid.
"TRIGs are really great. I learned more than I thought I could and made some amazing friends along the way. This says a lot coming from an older student with a full-time job and family!
The TRIG Program is excited to have you join us at UW this fall! Come be a part of our community! For questions about the program feel free to email us at trigs@u.washington.edu or call us at (206)543-4905.
