The American college student narrative arc starts in one place: freshman year. Most commonly dictated by communal restrooms and subpar dining hall food, the shared suffering of the freshman experience creates bonds that sometimes last through all four years of college. But sometimes it’s not that simple.
While many UO students spend their freshman year parading to and from Autzen Stadium, getting locked out of LLC or spending all their Duck Bucks at Chipotle, 19% of University of Oregon’s student body are transfer students; they will never share these moments.
Missing out on dorm life
Reese Gold, a junior art student at UO, transferred from Northern Arizona University and knew several people at UO from high school prior to transferring. With experience hanging out at his friend’s dorms, Gold said being a freshman and living in the dorms is an essential resource for meeting people in college.
“I basically lived in my friends’ dorms unofficially my first year at UO because I would just go there from my apartment and hang out all day,” Gold said. “It was so quick to meet people, just from interacting in the hallways or going to get food at the dining halls. If I had gone to UO without transferring I think I would have made close friends in freshman year just based on proximity.”
Gold said he transferred universities in search of a community of like-minded people. While he was successful in finding at UO what he was missing at NAU, things weren’t instantly better upon transferring for others.
Gabbi Micheli, an advertising graduate from UO, said her transfer experience was not immediately smooth sailing. Micheli attended Fresno City College before coming to UO in 2020. Because Micheli started at UO during the pandemic, the combination of being in quarantine and being a transfer student made it difficult to meet people.
“I never thought I would get the experience of having a community and having friends,” Micheli said.
Once in-person classes resumed, Micheli was able to meet more people. She considers herself lucky for the connections she was able to make, but admits that she felt left out of certain things as a transfer student.
“Once I did get to meet a lot of people and students, I felt a little left out in terms of not having a typical dorm experience,” Micheli said.
Although dorm living can be instrumental in finding and creating a community, it is not always the magic solution. For sophomore music student Henry Ivie-Gardener, living in the dorms didn’t necessarily help him to feel less left out as a transfer student. Gardener transferred to UO from Oregon State University in the fall of 2022 and lived in the dorms for the first semester.
“Making new friends can suck sometimes because it is often easier to meet new people when you already have a set group of friends,” Gardener said. “I made some great friends last year at OSU which set the bar really high and gave me really big expectations for what I’m looking for in a friend here.”
Gardener transferred primarily because the music program at UO is better suited for him. He said despite feeling less of a community here he doesn’t regret his decision.
“I would really be sacrificing my education at OSU, and there is no guarantee that I’m sacrificing my social life at UO because I could always meet new people,” Gardener said.
Transfer students and the Duck identity
An aspect of the transfer experience that isn’t always considered is the disconnect with the UO identity. Some transfer students feel hesitant to call themselves a Duck or enthusiastically participate in school events. Because UO wasn’t their first choice, it is hard to feel the sense of loyalty that bolsters school spirit.
“I definitely feel less school spirit in general. I just feel like I came to this school rather than this IS my school,” Gardener said.
Gold recognizes that UO makes school spirit very accessible through event planning and merchandising, but also admits he doesn’t feel entirely connected to the fan culture at UO.
“I don’t think it’s really been a huge part of my life to say I go to University of Oregon; 60% of the time I feel like I’m just going here,” Gold said.
Emma Highfield, a sophomore, transferred to UO in the fall of 2022 from University of Minnesota Twin Cities and said she feels a bit of imposter syndrome when it comes to having school spirit.
“I didn’t really establish myself at UM, and I would just stay at home instead of trying to make connections with people,” Highfield said. “So when I found myself here dressed up to theme at the football games I was like, ‘how did I get here?’”
Social connections prior to transferring
While she sometimes feels out of place, Highfield said UO has given her the sense of community that she couldn’t achieve at her previous school. Highfield grew up in Minneapolis, not far from UM. Because one of her friends from high school attends UO, she came in with several social connections despite moving to Eugene from across the country.
“I’m really grateful that I had social connections coming into UO,” Highfield said. “It was really comforting to already have an established group of people to hang out with. It allowed me to meet people more organically because I wasn’t so worried about looking for friends.”
While she recognizes the perks of having a social circle before coming to UO, Highfield said sometimes she wishes she had come to UO as a freshman to make her own connections.
“A part of me wishes I could have been here as a freshman and do it all myself,” Highfield said. “A lot of the foundation of my friend group was built last year, and I wasn’t a part of that. I was just added in.”
Gold shares the experience of coming to UO with an established friend group already set in stone.
“I think immediately knowing more than five people made it easier,” Gold said. “Within an instant I felt like I had been there for like two years already.”
Unlike Highfield, Gold nearly immediately branched out of his social circle. Growing up in Portland, Gold knew a decent amount of people at UO from highschool. But he said he’s not in contact with any of his original friends now.
“I used my closest original friend group as a proxy for meeting other people,” Gold said. “It wasn’t like I was seeking to cut them off by meeting new people; I just wanted to separate myself from my high school self. I wanted to be an adult.”
Although he didn’t connect with his first choice university, Gold said he is glad he went to NAU before transferring to UO. Being from Oregon, Gold said UO is a pipeline school for many in-state high schools, and it can feel a little too close to home. Gold said if he had attended UO as a freshman, it would feel like highschool all over again.
“I would have resented being here if I hadn’t gone to NAU first,” Gold said. “I would have wondered the entire time if I was missing out on something so much cooler.”
Now Gold appreciates the similarities between UO and his hometown. He said people here are similar to Portland kids in their willingness to be open-minded in social situations, and that is something he values a lot.
Each transfer student has their own unique path and reasons for coming to UO, but what they mostly agreed on is the undeniable sense of community UO fosters.
“Last year I couldn’t make friends, and I am very social. I just couldn’t find a community because the school doesn’t push it the way UO does,” Highfield said about her previous school UM. “This school does a very good job of having resources to meet people, resources for mental health, there’s just much more of a push for these things. Where I came from it was just everyone for themselves.”
Micheli said she felt the warmth of the community while touring UO and noted how friendly and down to earth the students were. She also said, although she was much happier at UO, she finds value in her transfer experience.
“I think you just have to know yourself and be like, ‘I’m me, and this is my unique experience,’” Micheli said. “I wouldn’t have changed anything. Transferring from community college gave me a little bit more time to discover what I really wanted to do, rather than jump into a university and not know.”
