Iowa Central Provides Alum Seamless Transfer to NYU

Emilie Jenson, Public Information Office
6/5/2024

 When Koto Imahori first came to the United States as a transfer high school student from Japan, she was unaware of how successfully her educational journey would unfold.

“I was not confident in myself then that I could communicate with Americans as I had never spoken English until that point,” Imahori recalled.

Imahori was a high school junior when she arrived at Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee. She learned English and found her way as she immersed herself in the diversity of her classmates from around the world and competed as a state qualifying member of the school’s track and field team.

After graduating high school with honors, Imahori chose to continue her post-secondary education in the United States, enrolling at Iowa Central where she was drawn to the successful Track and Field team as well as the affordable tuition rates.

“As I continued my education in the United States, I knew I wanted to continue in track but also wanted to save money at the same time,” she said. “International students do not receive government financial aid, so community college was a great choice.”

Imahori quickly found a home at Iowa Central and got involved in the Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society, serving as the chapter’s president during the 2022-2023 academic year.  She received Academic All-Region and All-American honors for her accomplishments on the track and in the classroom as well as being a President’s and Dean’s List honoree during her time as a Triton. Imahori was named the 2023 PTK New Century Pathway Scholar for the State of Iowa, an award given to just one honoree in every state out of thousands of nominees. She was also one of just 15 PTK Hites Scholarship recipients nationwide.

After graduating with her associate’s degree from Iowa Central, Imahori was able to seamlessly transfer to the prestigious New York University to study applied psychology, a program in which the acceptance rate is just 4 percent. NYU accepted 100 percent of Imahori’s Iowa Central credits and she is on track to graduate in the spring of 2025.

Imahori credits her successful transfer to the admissions and advising staff at Iowa Central.

“My advisor in New York said it is very rare for a transfer student from a community college to be able to bring in all of their credits,” she said. “I am very thankful for my time at Iowa Central; that I was able to receive such a great education and New York University accepted their credits. Many transfers here (NYU) must spend three years working on their bachelor’s degree and I was able to come in right away with junior status. Everyone at Iowa Central was so supportive. It can be a challenge for international students to take exams like the SAT for transfer purposes, but everyone from my advisor and instructors, staff and coaches were so helpful to make sure I was successful.”

When she finishes her bachelor’s degree, Imahori plans to seek an advanced degree in psychology to become a sports psychologist.