Caroline DeHaven, PCC Policy Intern, interviewed Sana Khan, University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) alum and UIC Transfer Assistance Center (TAC) employee, to learn more about the personal experiences associated with transferring between universities within Illinois’ higher education system.
For many transfer students, the hardest part of college isn’t getting in, it’s figuring out how they fit in when they arrive.
When choosing a new institution, students often begin with practical questions: Will my credits transfer? Can I afford this? How long will it take to graduate? But once reality sets in, those questions become more personal: Where do I find my people? How will I feel like I belong?
In Illinois, 1 in 10 incoming college students transfer from another institution (IBHE). While the pathways into college have diversified, the idea of a “traditional student” has become increasingly outdated and institutions have not kept pace. Orientation programs, advising models, and student life are still largely built around a “traditional” first-time freshman experience.
In The Partnership for College Completion’s (PCC) recent report on transferring, several students named belonging as an important factor in their overall completion success. While students’ experiences varied depending on their receiving institution, a positive experience with transfer orientation included connection to on-campus resources and support services.
For transfer students, inadequate resources and support can make the transition feel less like a seamless continuation, and more like starting over. PCC’s transfer research underscores this reality: barriers to belonging can shape whether students persist through school, remain engaged, and ultimately graduate.
At the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Sana Khan knows this experience firsthand. Before working at the Transfer Assistance Center (TAC), she navigated the transfer process on her own, without clear guidance or support.
“I didn’t know where to go. I didn’t know my advisor. I had to figure it out on my own,” she said.
As she adjusted to UIC, Khan found that sense of connection through a combination of academic and social experiences. Faculty support played an important role in helping her feel grounded. As she described it, “Teachers are actually committed to their students… I felt like they actually cared, in terms of understanding the material and moving with me at my pace.”
At the same time, she learned about different programs through a student involvement fair and came to lean on campus resources such as tutoring services, cultural programs like LARES (Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services), and student organizations. These spaces provided not just academic support, but opportunities to build relationships and explore her interests.
As she described it, attending the student involvement fair played a key role in shaping her experience: “I was part of the Muslim Student Association and a co-ed fraternity, which helped me understand how meetings run and how events are organized and ultimately helped me figure out what I enjoy and want to pursue in a career.” Khan’s experience is reflective of the challenges and successes that PCC has identified among transfer students throughout Illinois’ higher education system.
Being part of life on campus is not always as easy for transfer students as it is for first-time university students, but can make a huge difference in their overall experience.
Now, in her role at TAC, Khan works to make that path easier for others. She supports students with both the logistical and personal aspects of transferring, often drawing directly from her own experience. “I tell students what worked for me – how I found community, how I got involved,” she said. Her message is simple but its own challenge: belonging doesn’t just happen.
Students have to actively build it while balancing everything else in their lives. Some transfer students commute. Others navigate family obligations or return to school after time away. This is something Khan is constantly thinking about.
Transfer-specific programs alone are not enough to foster true belonging and access to a full college experience. Institutions must design support systems that address both logistical barriers and the emotional realities students face. This raises a broader question: if transfer students and other nontraditional learners make up a growing share of today’s college population, how are so many still expected to navigate systems that were never designed with them in mind?
As institutions look to improve college completion, the answer may lie not only in making transfer pathways more efficient, but ensuring students have a sense of belonging.
That means:
- Designing full integrations and transitions, not just admissions processes
- Creating structured, accessible opportunities for connection
- Recognizing that a sense of belonging is essential to student success
As colleges work to serve a broader and more diverse student population, improving transfer outcomes will require more than streamlined credit systems. It will require rethinking how institutions create space for connection, flexibility, and where they can not just belong, but thrive. As Khan underscores it, “we try to meet students where they are.”