NIU is home to more than 5,000 new students every year. With over 2,000 of these students coming from various community colleges and universities, NIU continues to be one of the top schools in the country for transfer students.

Last fall, NIU ranked No. 20 nationally on a list conducted by US News and World Report. NIU enrolled 2,535 new transfer students, the highest of any of the Illinois colleges.

The numbers should be much of the same this fall, said Bob Burk, director of admissions at NIU. Burk said that more than 2,200 students at NIU this year are new transfers.

There are two main components that are attributed to nearly 10 percent of students being transfers, Burk said.

The first is the strong academic programs that attract many students to NIU. The second is NIU’s location in relation to the Chicago suburbs.

“The majority of community colleges in Illinois are clustered around this area,” said Burk.

Doug Bies, a junior marketing major, recently transferred from Harper College in Palatine to NIU.

“I thought NIU’s education and teaching would really help me benefit in my future,” Bies said.

Students like Bies who transfer for NIU’s academics have fared well, Burk said.

“They’re really a good group,” Burk said. “About 70 percent of transfer students who come in with an associate’s degree will graduate from NIU.”

NIU requires at least a 2.0 grade point average for all transfer students hoping to attend NIU. More information on transfer requirements can be found on NIU’s transfer center Web site at www.reg.niu.edu/regrec/ccr.