Students who transfer from a community college to a four year university sometimes face problems adjusting to the new lifestyle.

For many transfer students, NIU will be their first home away from home. For some, making the change in the middle of their college careers will be difficult.

Associate Admissions Director Bob Burk said, “The biggest problem transfer students face is socially rather than academically.

“They may come to NIU with a GPA of 3.0 and at the end of their first semester they may have gone down to a 2.75.”

However, Burk said once a student is able to make the adjustment to living on campus, their grades usually pick up again.

“Most transfer students lived at home with their parents while attending community colleges, so now living on their own is another thing they will have to get used to,” he said.

Burk said after students have settled in their new environment, it’s a matter of taking one day at a time.

“Good students are always able to get through the period of adjustment; it isn’t really anything they can’t handle, good students are good students,” he said.

In the fall of 1992, NIU received 1,905 transfer students, 57 percent of those students transferred from suburban community colleges including the DeKalb and Rockford county colleges. This year the number of transfers is predicted to be about the same.

“We (admissions) are looking at about the same transfer enrollment as last year,” Burk said.

The large NIU campus can be intimidating to the student from a smaller community college campus. And although this is an exciting change for most transfer students, many can encounter various problems.

But this doesn’t mean with a little effort students cannot make their new campus more accessible to them.

Campus telephone information (753-1000) is probably the most efficient avenue when trying to find what you’re looking for. Students also will find NIU and DeKalb phone books offer a considerable amount of information.

DeKalb area banks offer a great convenience to students wishing to do their banking locally. Many banks have special student-orientated savings and checking accounts and cash station systems with 24-hour availability to suit students needs.