By
Kevin Clerici
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Students who start in spring typically face more odds, says university official
Michael Meckler lasted one week in August at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and realized it wasn't for him. So pardon his excitement that winter break is finally over.
Same goes for Derek Smith, a Flagstaff native, who spent two years at Northern Arizona University before recognizing that he needed to move away from home. And Julie Marvin, who scans the chain-link and tractor-infested UA campus and envisions endless journeys. Marvin spent a year at tiny Hendrix College in rural Conway, Ark.
These stories differ but the students share a bond - they are the university's newest members, part of the 1,000 students who this morning begin their Arizona academic careers.
By comparison, 7,500 students enrolled in August, the second-largest group in school history. There were 7,900 in the fall of 1989.
"I just had to get out," said Jennifer Simanton, a wide-eyed freshman who had few pleasant words about her four months at Indiana University.
While many returning students continue to shake their millennium hangovers, spring admits have been cruising.
They spent Monday and Tuesday in orientation taking placement tests and criss-crossing the construction labyrinth. The excitement and nervous energy is overflowing.
Their Cat Cards are still wet. They have to move in. Yesterday, they finalized their schedules.
Yet, immediately the odds are against them. Transfer credits are not guaranteed, and students who begin in the spring statistically have lower retention rates than those who enter in the fall, said Rick Kroc, director of assessment and enrollment research at the University of Arizona.
"My suspicion is that they may not be as prepared, on average," Kroc said. "Their commitment may not be as strong (as those who enter in the fall). The highest retention rates tend to be attached to students who make their decision early, who come here motivated early on."
Unfulfilled admission requirements, missing the fall application deadline, illness and not being able to afford rising costs postpone fall entrants every year, Kroc said.
Spring students are not in cycle with the bulk of students, he said. Undergraduate courses tend to be sequential - students typically take English 101 in the fall and English 102 in the spring - so fewer class choices exist.
"Some students just aren't ready, and they know it, to start school in the fall," said Maria Barrow, program development specialist in the UA Office of Orientation who oversees incoming freshmen.
"This is (a) stressful time. Things are happening so rapidly. Some didn't find out that they were accepted until mid-December, but we do our best to get them acclimated," she added.
The orientation staff stresses study habits and time management - college "survival skills," said Barrow.
Spring students receive the same introduction to campus services and resources. They have a chance to meet with an adviser one on one. Registration blocks guarantee each student 12 units.
"They may not be at ideal times or dates, but every student will receive 12 units that count toward their academic path," said Tina Haag, program development specialist in the Office of Orientation.
Transfer students are defined as those who arrive with at least 24 units from another institution. The deadline for spring admission is Nov. 1, and students can find out as late as Christmas if they are accepted.
Yet, like the others, Andrew Mittelmann, a sophomore who spent three semesters at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said his timing is worth the risk.
"(The Orientation staff) have showed me the services available for students. They said I can get out of here in four years. They care more for students here," he said.
For Helen Belesiotis, a junior transfer from Oakton Community College in Chicago, the smaller orientation size has been an advantage.
"It's easier starting now," she said. "You don't have to hassle with the mad rush for the elevators when moving in. Orientation is more personalized. It's kind of relaxing."
