Second round of transfers begins

By Diane Ramirez     11/5/09 6:00pm

With the transfer process moving at full speed, McMurtry College and Duncan College are one step closer to obtaining an upperclassman population. As of last Friday, which was the transfer deadline for the first round of invited students, both new colleges received a total of 130 new members. McMurtry received 68 acceptances and Duncan received 62.

Two hundred thirteen students received invitations, and 65 total students accepted. The rest of the students are transferring as guests of the students invited to transfer.

Each of the nine other colleges was limited to 35 transfers, and all colleges stayed within the limit. Lovett College boasted 25 transfers, the highest number among the nine original colleges, Lovett President Erin Finn said.

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Associate Dean of Undergraduates Matt Taylor said that while these numbers were lower than his office's earlier surveys had predicted, he wasn't surprised.

"It's definitely an imperfect process," Taylor said.

Fifty-eight percent of the survey's original respondents said they would consider transferring, and the number of invitations sent reflected these results, he said. Invitations were extended to randomly selected students in October, and the number of guests each student was allowed to bring was also randomly chosen, he said.

The exceptions to this randomized process was with the Orientation Week advisers and other affiliates of the new colleges, who could ask for an invitation. However, if they requested invitations, they were allowed just one guest.

The random selection process, coupled with the percent of eligible students who failed to respond to the survey, led to a slightly lower turnout than expected, Taylor said.

However, since the Office of the Dean of Undergraduates hopes to add a total of 120-150 upperclassmen to each of the two new colleges, approximately 240 invites were sent out Wednesday evening in the second round of invitations. The number of invitations sent to each college depended on how many were accepted. Hanszen College received the most invitations in the second round because it had the least number of acceptances in the first round, though Taylor would not specify the number. He said his office is trying to protect against problems that occurred in the case of populating Martel College in 2001 and 2002, a situation in which a small number of colleges made up the majority of transfers.

Taylor said students who received the second round of invitations will have until next Friday to respond, a shorter deadline than given in the first round. While those invited to the first round had about two weeks to respond, the second will have 10 days. Taylor said his office shortened the deadline so the new colleges could plan for next year sooner.

Both McMurtry and Duncan have been working to prepare for this change by hosting wooing events in order to attract more students.

Duncan held D-Day, an event planned by Duncan freshmen on Saturday, Oct. 24, which included tours of Duncan rooms for groups of 10-12 students. Duncan Ambassador Martha Cox said she estimates as many as 60 students attended the event. Cox, a Lovett junior, said Duncan will be planning more social events next semester for students who decide to transfer.

McMurtry's wooing event, Shindig, was held Friday, Oct. 23 and included room tours, a red carpet, a chocolate fountain and live music. Prospective transfer students dressed up and enjoyed the atmosphere on the fifth floor of McMurtry, Ambassador Georgia Lagoudas said. Shindig, which was primarily organized by McMurtry freshmen with the help of ambassadors, had an equally large turnout, Lagoudas, a Lovett sophomore, said.

Though she decided to decline her invitation, Wiess College junior Fernanda Loza said she enjoyed McMurtry's wooing party.

"I thought it was wonderful," she said. "It was a good way to convince people [to transfer]."

Loza said she declined to join the college because she will be abroad for a semester next year and will not have the time to get involved with the new college.

Other students, however, eagerly accepted the invitation and are looking forward to being part of the new colleges. Martel College sophomore Emily Pyle said she found the community at McMurtry to be much richer and full of leadership opportunities, as well as demonstrative of the need to transcend college pride and embrace university spirit.

"I was so pro-Martel, and I even bled Martel colors," she said. "But this is about understanding that Rice is more than just one college. I think being part of something new and invigorating is really cool."

Taylor said he understands it can be hard to get students to think outside of their college.

"We're trying to convince students to see McMurtry and Duncan as part of the Rice community," Taylor said. "Everyone must contribute in order to make the system more vibrant."

He said the two new colleges are already off to a great start.

"They feel like colleges," he said. "And they will make it go no matter who arrives.

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