This post was updated Oct. 1 at 11:08 p.m.

UCLA’s Transfer Student Center hosted an event aimed at welcoming new transfer students to UCLA on Tuesday.

Transferpalooza was hosted at the outdoor spaces of the Ackerman Student Union and Kerckhoff Hall from 4 to 6 p.m. and included free merchandise handouts, live music and board games, according to the UCLA Transfers Instagram. The event was planned and hosted in collaboration with ASUCLA and the Student Committee for the Arts.

Antonio Ramirez, a third-year transfer mechanical engineering student, said he thought Transferpalooza was effective because it was a chance for him to meet new people.

Julio Lau, a third-year transfer pre-business economics student, said he enjoyed receiving the event’s giveaways, including free ice cream. Ramirez also said programming and events for transfer students have helped him hit the ground running after transferring to UCLA.

“Transferring has been pretty smooth because … a few different programs reached out to me right away in the summer,” he said. “I was able to get involved with those so I got familiar with the campus, met a lot of people.”

Michael Ortiz, a third-year transfer political science student, said that as soon as he got into UCLA he wanted to transfer because of the school’s academic reputation. He added that after getting to know his roommates since moving in, he is excited about meeting more people on campus through clubs and his upper division classes.

“My experiences here at the campus have been great so far – I really like the environment, I love the people here,” Ortiz said. “Everyone’s kind of like a big family.”

Marc Froimovich, a third-year transfer psychology student, said the Transfer Experience Living Learning Community at De Neve Holly has also helped him make friends and meet other transfer students.

Some students at the event also cited challenges with being a transfer student at UCLA.

Froimovich said the incorrect belief some people held about community colleges having less academic rigor was difficult to come to terms with, adding that fighting negative perceptions about transfer students inspires him to be competitive and make the most of his time in college.

“Transfer students were those who didn’t have an easy path into a good school, the school they wanted,” he said. “We all made it here because we are workaholics – we’re willing to put in the work.”

Lau said arriving at UCLA was also overwhelming because there are larger class sizes and navigating the campus is intimidating. Corona Manning, a third-year transfer music industry student, also said that although she was excited about arriving at UCLA, the university’s bureaucracy can feel somewhat restrictive.

“(It’s) kind of overwhelming because I didn’t go the traditional route with school where it’s like – when I got out of high school, I didn’t even think I was going to go to college,” Manning said.

Manning added that she felt many of the administrative tasks involved in enrolling at UCLA have been even more difficult than the application process itself.

Ortiz also said a major challenge transfer students face is learning about academic life at UCLA, including navigating the quarter system.

“My community college was a semester system,” he said. “I know the quarter system here is about 10 weeks, so I feel like that’s going to be a challenge.”

Froimovich said despite the challenges, transferring to UCLA is a dream come true. He added that he is excited about engaging with clubs, working to give back to the campus community and doing academic research.

“Transferring has brought me a greater appreciation of my potential,” Froimovich said. “The only real limitation here is my time.”