Transfer students make up 40 percent of Eastern’s student population, according to its website.

While the transfer process itself was not difficult when it came to Prowl and orientation, it became clear that while transfers make up close to half of the student population, they quickly fell out of the loop.

Many transfer students come in with a year or more of college already under their belt.

They have already been through the college rodeo for some time.

Prowl was something I had been looking forward to since I finished registering for classes.

I was looking forward to meeting other transfer students, getting to know the layout of the school and other things.

However, when it actually came to Prowl weekend, it did not feel like I was being welcomed in; rather, it felt like a college visit day.

Prowl felt like the college was still trying to convince students, many of whom had moved in a few days prior and registered for classes months ago, that they should attend Eastern.

I felt like I was being sold a product I had already bought.

Jumpstart was nice. It engaged with the community and gave incoming students an idea of some places they could get involved in.

Convocation was a bit long, but it seemed like a nice way to kick off the year and welcome students in: a simple ceremony introducing the deans and important people around campus and speeches for the expectations and hopes for the upcoming year.

The rest of it, though, at times often felt loud and over the top.

Following move-in day, new students had little time to themselves to get ready for classes the next week or finish setting up their living spaces.

This does not even factor in that some students had homework due the first day of class, had to figure out on their own how to work the D2L system and had to find time to finish the work alongside the mandatory Prowl activities.

Getting up early the weekend before classes to put on a T-shirt, sit in a stadium and learn cheers and fight songs is not something that appeals to someone who has already been through two years of college and is here for an education, not for the novelty of a sports team or war chant.

As an incoming junior, it was difficult to connect with many of the other incoming students simply because of the age and maturity gap between transfer students and freshmen.

Lumping the whole group together under the freshmen demographic alienates students who don’t need constant over the shoulder guidance.

Zoë Donovan is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at 581–2812 or at zedonovan@eiu.edu.