Meet the Transfer Interns: Kristin Franco

Hello, I’m Kristin!

I am currently a senior Economics major at the university and transferred Fall of my sophomore year from a four-year STEM institution. I am a Transfer Admissions Intern, and I am excited to share more about my experience!

I transferred to William & Mary because of the community that is found both inside and outside the classroom. Everyone is extremely welcoming and inclusive to transfer students, which was evident from orientation. Our orientation does a great job of understanding that transfer students have some college experience but not at William & Mary and puts transfer students together. Coming to William & Mary as an out-of-state student, I only knew one person who went here, so I was very nervous about transferring. All my worries disappeared during orientation, where I became close with my orientation aides and fellow transfers. Transfer students were embraced throughout the week, and I have continued to feel this way since my first day. During my first class here, I remember all the students went around and introduced themselves, and I mentioned that I was a recent transfer. As I was leaving the class, I had several peers walk up to me and ask about my transfer experience. They were so fascinated and genuinely wanted to hear about my life and how I came to transfer – something I had not experienced before. While this may seem like a small moment, it meant a lot to me and shows how supportive the community is. I was nervous about meeting people, but everyone here was so friendly that I found some of my best friends during my first week here.

I was also drawn to William & Mary because of the COLL curriculum. At my previous university, there were mostly STEM classes. At first, I found this exciting, but then I began to miss having a more diverse course load and taking the arts. I knew that I wanted to explore more within my academics, but I also did not want to take intro-level courses in every subject as a general requirement. I liked the curriculum here because you have agency and can fulfill your requirements with courses that sound interesting but ensure you are exploring different domains. While fulfilling this curriculum, I took courses that I never thought I would be able to take, such as a dinosaur class and a meditation class!

I know transferring can be a confusing time, so please reach out if you ever have any questions or want to chat!

— Kristin Franco, ’22