How to Transfer Colleges A Guide for Success

If youre thinking of transferring to a new college, you arent alone. A 2015 study from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center revealed that 37.2 percent of college students transfer to a different college within six years of first starting school.   If youre thinking of transferring, make sure you are informed about how the process works. With some careful planning, you can avoid many of the hidden costs of transferring and ensure that your attempt to transfer is successful. Done improperly, you may end up with a rejection from your target school, or your transfer may lead to a longer and more expensive path to graduation. Have a Good Reason for Transferring Colleges Before you decide to change schools, make sure you have a good reason for transferring.  Struggles with bad roommates or difficult professors are likely to improve over time, and its important to give yourself adequate time to adjust to college life before considering a transfer. If youre trying to transfer to a selective four-year college, the admissions folks will be looking to see that you have a compelling  reason for your transfer. They will admit only those students whose transfer applications articulate a clear and meaningful rationale for the transfer. Choose Classes at Your Current College Carefully One of the greatest frustrations when transferring to a new college can arise when you try to transfer credits from your current college to your new college. Remedial classes often wont transfer, and highly specialized classes may transfer as elective credits that dont count towards  graduation requirements. If your credits fail to transfer, youll may be looking at a longer time to graduation, which can be one of the most significant hidden costs of transferring. Even if your target school costs much less than your current college, you wont realize those savings if you end up paying for an extra year of tuition and fees. You may be able to avoid this problem by taking general education classes such as Introduction to Psychology or American Literature, which are offered at nearly all colleges and generally transfer without problems. Also, look to see if your target school has an articulation agreement with your current college. Many colleges have pre-approved classes for transfer credit. Within public university systems, youll often find that articulation agreements are in place for students who transfer from community colleges to four-year state universities. Keep Up Your Grades atYour Current College Even after you decide to transfer, keep your grades up.  Colleges want to admit transfer students who have demonstrated their ability to succeed in college. Just as your academic record in high school was the most important part of your regular college application, your college academic record is going to be the most important part of your transfer application. The admissions folks will be looking to see that you have a proven record of  handling college-level work. Also, think about your transfer credits and the time it will take you to graduate. Colleges generally wont transfer grades that are lower than a C. The fewer credits you are able to transfer, the longer it will take you to graduate. If it takes you five or six years to graduate instead of four, you could be looking at tens of thousands of dollars of additional costs as well as a year or two in which you arent earning income. Position Yourself to Get Good Letters of Recommendation Its important that you dont burn bridges at your current college. Many transfer applications require at least one letter of recommendation from a faculty member at your current school, so make sure you have a good relationship with one or two professors so that you can get  positive recommendations. Youll be in an awkward position if you need to ask for a letter from a professor whose class youve regularly skipped or who doesnt know who you are. Step outside of your own shoes and think about what a recommender will say about you. Your transfer application will be much stronger with a recommendation letter that begins All of us at ABC College will be sorry to see John leave us rather than Although I dont know John well... Finally, be thoughtful and give your recommenders plenty of time to write their letters. Its inconsiderate and unreasonable to ask for a letter that is due in 24 hours, and you may very well get a refusal from your professor. Plan ahead, and make sure the people recommending you have at least a couple of weeks to write their letters. Keep Track of Transfer Application Deadlines If youre planning to begin classes at your new college in the fall, transfer application deadlines will often be in March or April. Typically, the more selective the school, the earlier the deadline will be (for example, Harvard Universitys transfer application deadline is March 1st and Cornell Universitys is March 15th). Transfer students in the University of California system need to apply at the same time as the regular applicant pool in November. At many less selective schools, transfer applications can be submitted in late spring or even the summer for fall admission. Deadlines will often be flexible depending on the colleges current needs and enrollments. Penn State, for example, has an April 15th priority deadline, but after that date the university has a rolling admission policy. In general, you will  have the best chances of a successful transfer if you plan ahead and submit your application before the published deadline. This is particularly true for highly selective colleges and universities. That said, youll still have many transfer options should you decide to transfer at the end of the academic year, and its not that unusual for students to transfer just a couple of weeks before classes begin. Youll want to contact the admissions office at your target school to find out if they are still accepting transfer applications. Make Sure Your Transfer Application Essay Is Specific and Polished Dont underestimate the importance of your transfer application essay. The Common Application for transfer students asks for a statement that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve.  Colleges that dont use the Common Application will typically ask a similar question: Why do you want to transfer to our school? As you write your transfer essay, youll want to have clear, school-specific reasons for your transfer. What exactly does your target school offer that makes it attractive to you? Does it have a specific academic program that speaks to your interests and career goals? Does the school have an approach to learning that you think is a good match for you? As a test to see if your essay succeeds on this front, try replacing your target schools name with a different schools name everywhere in your essay. If your the still makes sense when you substitute in a different colleges name for your target school, your essay is too vague and generic. The admissions officers dont just want to know why you want to transfer to a different school. They want to know why you want to transfer to their  school. Finally, keep in mind that a good transfer essay  does more than present clear and specific reasons for transferring. It also needs to be polished and engaging. Proofread and edit carefully to improve the essays style  and ensure that your prose is free of awkward language and grammatical errors. Visit Campus and Make an Informed Decision Before you accept an offer of transfer admission, make sure you are making a wise decision. Visit the campus of your target school. Sit in on classes. Talk with professors in the major you hope to pursue. And ideally, arrange an overnight visit to get a good sense of the campus environment. In short,  make sure that your target school truly is a good match for your personal and professional goals. Ultimately, you should feel confident and clear-headed in your decision to transfer.