Just five days before she moved to campus in January, freshman Claire Moore finally decided to transfer to Oral Roberts University during spring 2024. Packing up her apartment in Dallas and transferring her credits were no easy tasks, but she would not be alone in this journey.
This semester, ORU broke records with the enrollment of 5,147 students, the first time spring enrollment has ever surpassed 5,000, according to a press release from the university.
The university has seen 15 consecutive years of growth in enrollment, with last fall’s incoming class exceeding 1,000 residential students, including the largest group of on-campus freshmen in ORU’s history.
Moore, however, was one of many transfer students who started at ORU this semester and helped propel spring enrollment to record numbers. Majoring in translation and interpretation, her plan was always to transfer to ORU after completing her Bible schooling at Christ for the Nations.
The timeline, however, moved up due to a scholarship opportunity.
“Originally, I wasn’t supposed to have the scholarship for this semester, but then I found out I did,” said Moore. “I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I should really pray about this.’ I found that I wouldn’t have as big of a scholarship if I came later. So I just decided to give it a try.”
Transferring can be a struggle for students, especially during the middle of an academic year. Different universities have different requirements for courses, making it complicated to transfer credits.
“Most of them [credits] did transfer, which was really nice,” Moore said. “So I’m going to try to keep my Biblical Studies minor, so it kind of balances everything out.”
While Moore was a brand-new student at ORU this semester, most of her classmates were already adjusted and comfortable.
“I feel like freshmen are catered to a lot in the fall,” said Moore. “Even transfer students as well, like there’s a little bit more attention to make sure that you’re adapting well and adjusting.”
Transferring can be a hard transition regardless of the academic semester. That was the case for international business major Jorge Torres, who transferred from Johnson Community College in Overland Park, Kansas, to ORU in fall 2022.
“Making friends was a hard one,” Torres said, “especially because I noticed here, people grow with each other, especially like, ‘oh, yeah, like they were on my wing freshman year.’”
“I had a huge trouble transferring my credits,” Torres said. “I was supposed to come here with about 70-ish credit hours,” he said. “They only gave me 54.”
Everything smoothed out for Torres by his senior year, however, especially after he moved to a different residential hall.
“It’s definitely housing that sets you up for success,” he said. “I’ve met a bunch of great guys and have created a bunch of great relationships and friendships.”
Similarly, Moore found support from her roommate.
“She made it very easy for me to transition” and “walked me through a lot of stuff,” Moore said.
Transferring in the spring semester was more difficult than coming in the fall, but she would not do it differently, Moore said.
“It’s hard for sure, maybe even a little anxiety-inducing. But it is OK,” she said. “It is probably right where God wants you to be, so go for it.”
