Tau Sigma Honor Society

Tau Sigma is a national honor society specifically for transfer students.  It recognizes academic excellence attained by transfer students in their first semester at their transfer institution. At the U of U, eligibility is determined by first semester grades and attendance at Transfer Tuesday events. Transfer Tuesdays are programs on a variety of topics relevant to transfer students. Check out the Tau Sigma website for more information:

http://orientation.utah.edu/transfer/tau-sigma.php

Transfer Student Spotlight

Nicolas N. Brown

Nicolas is another amazing transfer student from Salt Lake Community College! He has an Associates degree in General Studies and Automotive/Industrial Technologies.  He is majoring at the U in Mechanical Engineering with a specialty in Ergonomics and Safety. He hopes to work as a health and safety engineer.

Nicolas has been very involved in extra-curricular activities in his U of U major.  He is the Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Student Advisory Committee and works as an undergraduate research assistant in the department.

Nicolas is also deeply committed to helping his community. He hopes to become a public speaker for youth who have less than ideal life situations.  He wants to share his story of overcoming challenges in his life to inspire others. He also hopes to become a mentor to guide youth with life challenges as he was guided and mentored himself.

Nicolas chose the U for a variety of reasons including the reasonable cost; location close to home; and the ease of transferring credit from SLCC. He has been impressed by the number of family-friendly activities the U offers to students like himself who have young children.

Some of the challenges Nicolas faced when he first transferred to the U were adjusting to larger class sizes and a more aggressive homework schedule.  It was also difficult interacting with study groups comprised mostly of students who had been attending the U since the start of their college career. Nicolas was able to overcome these challenges by allowing more time for homework and carefully organizing his time. He also formed his own study group which included other transfer students who could share in the challenges of adapting to a new school.

Nicolas’ success in overcoming past challenges to go on to succeed in one of the most challenging majors at the U. is truly noteworthy.  The fact that he is also committed to helping others succeed makes him doubly amazing! The University of Utah is lucky to have such an accomplished transfer student at our school.

Hit the Ground Running!

Employers and graduate schools want to see an impressive resume of experiences in addition to good grades in challenging classes.  As a transfer student, you will have less time at the U of U to get involved in activities that will build that resume. To have the best chance of accomplishing your life goals you are going to need to hit the ground running after your acceptance to the U!

Start early, before you begin taking classes at the U, to identify resources and activities that will help you gain experience and develop skills that will help you in your future life.  Follow the links below to research just a few of the opportunities waiting for you at the University of Utah:

Career Services - http://careers.utah.edu/

Associated Students of the University of Utah - ASUU (student groups and organizations) - http://asuu.utah.edu/find-a-group

Bennion Community Service Center - http://bennioncenter.org/

Learning Abroad - http://learningabroad.utah.edu/

Office of Undergraduate Research - http://our.utah.edu/

Student jobs and internships - http://careers.utah.edu/students/jobs/off-campus.php

Graduate School Information - http://careers.utah.edu/students/graduate-school/index.php

The Pre-Professional Advising Office (professional school information -Pre Med, Pre Health, Pre Law etc.) - http://advising.utah.edu/preprofessional/

Student Leadership Development -http://deanofstudents.utah.edu/leadership/

Intramural Sports and Clubs - http://campusrec.utah.edu/programs/intramural-sports/

My U Signature Experience (MUSE) - http://muse.utah.edu/

Meet with Your Major Advisor Early and Often!

Even if you love school, you probably don’t want to spend a lot of extra time (and money!) completing your Bachelors Degree. One of the best ways to stay on track to graduate is to meet early and often with the advisor for your University of Utah major. 

Smart transfer students begin contacting their major advisor at the U long before they actually transfer.  Everything you take before and after your transfer can be impacted by major requirements and should be taken only after consulting with the expert on these requirements: your U of U major advisor.

Go to: http://advising.utah.edu/mandatory-advising/second-year-advisors.php. to find out how to contact the advisor for your major at the U.  

Your major advisor can be one of the most important resources for success that you will have during your time at the U of U. It’s never too early to meet and get to know them.

U Decide: YouTube Videos Can Help with Major and Career Exploration

Everybody knows that watching YouTube videos can be lots of fun, but did you ever think that it might also help you decide on your college major and future career? Advisors in the Major Exploration Center at the University of Utah think that it can.  They feel that YouTube has some valuable things to offer students as they work through these important life decisions.

Major Exploration Center advisors have put together an amazing playlist of videos on topics relevant to these decision-making processes. Check out the playlist at:

http://advising.utah.edu/majors/

Transfer Student Spotlight

Lily Wu

Lily is a transfer student from Salt Lake Community College double majoring at the U of U in Asian and International Studies with a minor in Japanese.

While at SLCC Lily was heavily involved in the Peer Action Leadership group.  As part of this group she helped with many SLCC events, doing over 200 hours of community service! Some of the notable events that she helped with were the Sweethearts Dance at the Taylorsville Senior Center and the 1000 Cranes for Japan activity in memory of the Tohoku disaster in Japan.  Lily was the primary leader for this event.

While at the U of U, Lily has participated in a Learning Abroad program at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan.  She has also been involved in activities with the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs and she currently works in Career Services.

Lily’s long term goals are to work in the Foreign Service or some other sort of government work.  She recently accepted an offer through the Japanese Embassy in Denver to work with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET) where she will have the opportunity to teach English in Japan.  She eventually hopes to end up living in Ireland or the United Kingdom.

Lily chose to transfer to the U because of the great resources it offered such as the Learning Abroad Center, Career Services, and the Asia Center. She also liked the fact that the campus was easily accessible by public transit and that as a student she could ride for free.

She felt a bit lost at the U at first.  The campus seemed large compared to SLCC, and it took her a while to get used to all the new terminology and policies she encountered here. She eventually got used to all the changes and enjoyed the new challenges and opportunities the U offered her.

We are glad Lily chose to transfer to the U of U!  It will be great to have her representing our school as she travels the world!

Don’t Forget the Enrollment Deposit!

Did you get admitted to the U?  Congratulations! Don’t forget to pay your enrollment deposit!  Every student admitted to the U. is required to pay a $150.00 enrollment deposit to confirm their intent to attend. This deposit goes toward their first semester’s tuition.

Until you pay this deposit you will not be able to sign up for an orientation; register for classes; or have your transfer work posted on your U of U record, so get this taken care of as soon as possible!

Before paying the deposit you must set up your U of U online account (called your CIS account) using the UNID sent to you in your acceptance letter. Go to the U’s home page www.utah.edu and click on the “CIS” link to get started. Once this is done, you can pay the deposit online.

Students with extenuating financial circumstances may qualify for an exemption from the enrollment deposit (called an “extension”). Find out more about situations in which a student can request an extension at: 

http://admissions.utah.edu/deposit/

Delays in paying your enrollment deposit will slow down your ability to get started at the U of U, so take care of this important first step immediately after your acceptance.