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Annelise Capossela for NPR
Annelise Capossela for NPR
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Unique. Complicated. Overwhelming. These are just a few of the ways people have described the college transfer process.
Bridget Jones, Senior Associate Director of Transfer Admissions at Oregon State University, describes it differently: “Complex … but not in a frightening way.” Jones helps students through the transfer process because while it isn’t scary, it can definitely be confusing.
Research shows that 80% of community college students intend to switch, but less than a third actually do.
Despite these hurdles, moving to four-year college is a popular path and can be a great way to save money or move from a school that doesn’t fit well. It can also offer you a different or new location and open doors to career opportunities.
“The good news is that transfers thrive when they are transferred,” said Heather Adams, senior program manager of the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program.
So how do you make the transfer process as smooth as possible? Here’s what experts recommend.
It’s never too early to start
First off, who can help you start this process? If you are at a community college, contact your school’s transfer center. It will often be staffed with transfer advisors who can help you figure out what to do. You can also contact the transfer office of the university to which you would like to transfer directly. Honestly, it might be a good idea to do both.
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“You need to start planning on day 1,” says Marisa Serrano, a transfer resource coordinator for the Austin Community College (ACC) district. Her job is to help students with the transfer process, and she says that students often come to her office on a tight schedule during the semester leading up to the transfer attempt. “A lot of things could have happened that we could have helped them with during the process if we had known they would switch.”
She says your first semester at community college isn’t too early to consider a move. Your transfer journey can even begin in high school.
Joseph Hauck already attended courses at ACC during his school days. At this point, he began devising his plan for graduation. “I always knew I was pretty much going to move from ACC,” says Hauck, who was a freshman at ACC before moving to the University of Texas at Austin. “I knew there wouldn’t be a four-year degree for me at ACC.” The year he took courses at community college, he worked with a transfer advisor to plan his courses so that the jump to university was seamless.
Pay attention to deadlines! Jones says the first question students should ask themselves is what is the deadline for switching? If you missed it, don’t worry – many schools accept students at multiple times during the year. Oregon State University offers admissions four times a year.
Think about what you want to study and make sure your credits are valid
Many people don’t know exactly what to study when they start college, but choosing a major is essential to the transfer process. First of all, you want to make sure that you look around for schools that offer the subjects that you are interested in.
Once you’ve figured out what you might want to study, consider what credits are required to complete the degree. For example, if you are thinking of studying engineering in a four year college, you will need lots of math credits. However, if you want to study psychology, you may need fewer math classes.
“Nobody wants to be calculating if they don’t have to,” says Serrano. It is best, she says, not just to take lessons to take lessons. You want to know that the courses you take at community college will serve your degree.
There is a difference between transfer-only credits and credits that apply to your major. To find out, many schools offer transfer guides – documents that show which credits apply to your study program, which leads us to our next takeaway.
Find a suitable school
Mia Mendoza knows a thing or two about transfers. She moved twice – once from City College of San Francisco to San Francisco State University and again from San Francisco State to California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). She says she originally moved to San Francisco state because it was close and familiar. “I knew friends who went there so they could help me with anything if I needed them.” In retrospect, she wished she had done more research on student life, resources for transfer students, and the campus feel.
Mendoza, who is also a peer mentor at CSUSB, says when thinking about institutions to transfer to, look for schools that offer support for transfer students. “One thing I would strongly recommend is to see if they have a transfer center. If they do, I would say that is a good sign.”
The second time Mendoza moved, she did a lot more research and made sure the campus, academic, and student opportunities all suited her well.
When considering how many schools to apply to, Jones recommends “the tried and tested three. Jones says students should look for three to five schools that “have programs that work for their end goal” that fit their lifestyle and help them thrive in the classroom.
If you want to find out if a school is right for you, you can ask yourself: do you want large or small classrooms? Do you prefer urban or rural environments or something in between? What career opportunities do they have for you? And, of course, do they offer the course that you are interested in?
Simeone Miller, a transfer peer mentor at CSUSB who moved from Chaffey College, a community college in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Recommends reaching out directly to the chair holders of the schools to which you are applying. “Take a look at the program you are applying for. See if it suits your interests.” Miller, who was interested in studying political science, says the CSUSB’s program “attracted the most attention.”
Stay organized
Credits, official transcripts, essays – the transfer process has many moving parts to keep track of. For Mendoza, the key to success during the transfer process was staying organized. “When I switched, I had Google Sheet documents that listed all of the courses I had and all of the grades I had.”
Serrano suggests saving your curriculum. “Take a photo, save it to the drive, or keep a hard copy,” she says. Your curricula can help you move from state or private universities. If you’re trying to apply a class for a course at a four-year institution, it can be helpful to have the curriculum as evidence of what you’ve done for that class.
You will also need to obtain official transcripts from all schools where you have attended classes, usually through an office called the Registrar – which is a college’s official recorder. Miller recommends clarifying how the transcripts are sent because schools do it differently: “Do I send it? Or are you doing it on my behalf?”
If you are planning to move out of a state to move, you will also need to establish a residence in order to qualify to teach in the state. Hannah Beck, who moved to Oregon State University from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says you should keep an eye on important documents like bank statements and mail with your new address. You may also need government-issued documents such as a voter’s ID dated at least 12 months before your first day of class. Be sure to check your state’s guidelines for establishing a residence.
Please help
For people working in transfer admissions at four-year schools, like Jones, or as transfer advisors at community colleges like Serrano, all of their work is focused on helping you with this process. So take advantage of this.
Clarissa Perez, a transfer peer mentor at CSUSB, says you should contact the university you want to attend and ask questions. “Find these email addresses and ask literally any questions you have as a transfer student.” Most college websites have a directory that you can use to look up contact information for transfer staff members.
Perez says just because you know the basics of post-secondary education doesn’t mean you don’t need assistance moving to another institution. “The expectation is that we already know how to study – we’ve already done community college, we know what it takes, and we know the whole process. But that’s not true because the university system is a completely different monster. ”
If you don’t have any questions, she still recommends getting in touch. “Just find an email address and say, ‘Hey, I’m a transfer student thinking of coming here. Is there anything you can tell me?” Because if you never shake hands, you won’t get anything. ”
This story was digitally adapted by Clare Marie Schneider, who also produced the audio part of this story with technical assistance from Neal Rauch.
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https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1054306602/how-to-transfer-colleges
