He explained most transfer students have one or two jobs, and others have families. This makes it difficult for them to get involved in the program, where mentors take time to plan and host activities such as “Transfer Tuesdays.” Wang began his mentorship with twenty mentees and found this challenging to manage. He wants to show his mentees he cares about each of them individually. Wang said the beginning was shaky, but the program is improving. “Once you put in a lot of patience and effort, they show their gratitude, and you really feel proud,” he said. Wang now has 10 mentees, which he said is less overwhelming for him, although he said having five or six would be ideal.
Matt Woodman, one of Wang’s mentees and a transfer from Weber State who in chemical engineering, said he has few regrets in being a transfer student at the U. Woodman said he loves the U’s campus much more than Weber State’s, but wishes he would have taken time off to travel before earning an associate degree.
“If you’re in high school, don’t end up paying for an associate,” Woodman said.
Woodman said he feels he now knows who he is and that if he had taken time off instead of earning an associate, he would not have spent money on something he didn’t end up liking.
He said housing is also hard to find when not living on campus, and he feels he missed out on the dorm life. Woodman said he has had a positive experience with his mentor and gotten beneficial advice. He has attended two “Transfer Tuesdays” events including one with guidance for financial aid. The two other events he went to offered free food, which he said was his major reason for going. But he has also enjoyed meeting new people through the program.
“I love that guy,” said Woodman of Wang, who checks up on him every one or two weeks. Students planning to transfer to the U must have 30 or more transferable credits, be high school graduates and have a cumulative GPA of 2.6 or higher.