After the closing of Lincoln College hundreds of students were left lost and confused. Students who came to Millikin were scared of the conditions they were met with. 

Lincoln students who came to Millikin were met with uncertain times of graduation, unsure living situations, and a feeling of loneliness.

“I used to live in Blackburn Hall last semester where I had noisy neighbors, the loud train right next to my window, and the constant wait to understand when I would be moved into the Woods,” David Leatherwood said.

Millikin hasn’t been exactly warm to some Lincoln students, leaving some with the uncertainty of who they can trust on campus as many of their friends from Lincoln go to different schools. This sense of disconnect from the community for Lincoln students is hard as all of them had to transfer in as sophomores, juniors, or seniors.

For some Lincoln students, it was a difficult first semester; having to adapt to the new school environment, the new people, new professors, and possibly a new major. Many of the majors at Lincoln weren’t an exact match for some of the majors here at Millikin.

Lincoln College closing left students feeling a sort of disconnect and a feeling lost as they were forced to navigate the transfer process, leaving some scared and unsure of where they would end up. Those who ended up at Millikin had gone through the hardships of figuring out a new place.

“It’s been difficult for me to get involved due to being overwhelmed by the change of pace of classes and the strictness level of some teachers here,” Josephine Mclennan said. 

Lincoln College students were prepared to attend Lincoln last semester, they had sorted their living situation, their classes, and were prepared to spend their time with their friends. The sudden change of course for the students destroyed their plans and potentially derailed their academic timelines. 

Students such as Mclennan were put back a semester due to some credits not transferring, “As many of my Lincoln classmates have all been put back at least a semester. It, and still, is confusing navigating the process of being here at Millikin,” Mclennan said. 

Lincoln students were promised compromise here at Millikin when it came to the prices of classes, housing, and other small fees. Lincoln students received grant money to match the tuition they paid at Lincoln but some students don’t feel like the money they received was enough.

“We were promised small living and other fees be dropped, majority credits accepted, or would find a equivalent class to put in place of those credits, but I still had to pay hundreds of dollars of small fees, as well as a few of my credits not taken or found as an equivalent,” Mclennan said.

Many Lincoln students still find themselves unsure what grade level they are at, if they’re on track to graduate at the same time they were planned to finish before the transfer, or what they can do to fix the problems they’re facing with the holes in their transcript.

With the closing of some majors here on campus, some Lincoln students are unsure if they’re going to deal with the same situation they faced at Lincoln. Many are scared and unsure of their future in higher education.

Some of the issues the students are having with the process of transferring is knowing who to communicate with. “I can think of a handful of times where advisors have reached out and asked to sub things for classes as if they were Lincoln students,” Alex Berry of Millikin’s Registrar said.

Advisors and the registrar have been working together to find a solution to the student’s issues but there is still a disconnect between the two ends as the former Lincoln students are still facing issues.

“I think if students have concerns, they need to talk to someone about them, I was a student once too, it’s very easy to be in your feelings about things and not talk to the people who can actually do something about it,” Berry said.

For Lincoln students there is a concern for them just because of their past trauma and knowing that they need to adapt. “To be told one day that you won’t have a job in two months, or to be told you won’t finish your degree in two months, so there is a level of trauma there,” Berry said.