Applying to College as a Transfer Student

Webinar Transcription

2024-02-11 – Applying to College as a Transfer Student

Hi, everyone. Happy Super Bowl Sunday. We are here. We’re excited that you are here. My name is Anesha Grant. I am a senior advisor, CollegeAdvisor, and I will be your moderator for tonight’s webinar. Today’s webinar is, “Applying to College as a Transfer Student. Before we get started, I just want to orient everyone with the webinar timing.

We will have a presentation with tips and advice, and then we will open up the floor to respond to your questions in a live Q& A. On the sidebar, you can go ahead and download our slides under the handouts tab, and you can start submitting questions whenever you’re ready under the Q& A tab. Now let’s meet our presenter, Chelsea.

Chelsea, how are you doing? I’m doing well. Hello, everyone. I echo happy Super Bowl Sunday. My name is Chelsea Holley and I serve as an admissions officer here at CollegeAdvisor. I’ve worked at a number of selective institutions, including four year state flagships, private institutions, liberal arts institutions, women’s colleges, and HBCUs.

I’m really excited to talk to you about applying to college as a transfer student. We don’t have a poll tonight, so I will hand it straight over to you, Chelsea, and I’ll be back a little bit later for our Q& A. All right. Thank you.

So first we are going to start off and discuss the most common reasons a student would decide to transfer colleges. Um, 1 of those reasons might be a change in major. Um, so potentially the initial college that a student attended, um, did not have their major. Um, and they chose to transfer. something that they thought might be a good fit and it turned out not to be a good fit.

Um, or they may have had a change of heart and now they are seeking out a completely different major that their current institution does not have. Um, and these are in no order. I think they are equally common. Um, the second piece is Is a social mismatch. Um, sometimes students get on college campuses and for whatever reason, they’re just not happy.

Um, it may be that the college was a lot larger than they thought it would be or smaller than they thought it would be, or maybe they didn’t do a proper campus tour before committing. Whatever the reason is, um, socially, they’re just not adapting well to that particular college. The third piece is a geographical change.

So, um, potentially a student decided to go far away from home. Um, they get to college and they realize this is not what they want to do. And they want to get a little closer to home. Um, that is incredibly common. And we also have students that do the reverse. They made the decision to stay in their state.

Um, and at some point they decide that they want to go further away. Geographical changes also happen due to weather. Um, it seems like a small thing, but if you are from a warm place in the South, like I am, it would be really difficult for me to adjust to somewhere that was cold most of the time. Um, and so simple things like, are you feeling comfortable in the environment?

Of the college that you’re at. The fourth one is a pre planned transfer. Um, and this is actually becoming more and more common. Um, pre planned transfer means, um, maybe you did not get into the school that you wanted to get into as a high school senior. Um, and you’ve decided to go elsewhere first and take the transfer route.

Um, you also may have gotten accepted to the school of your choice, but maybe finances were a barrier. So you decided to do a year or 2 at community college and then choose to transfer in and then 3rd, some institutions have pathways. that they offer students. So you may not have been admitted as a first year student, but they’ve offered you a transfer pathway.

Um, and so it gives you an opportunity to go elsewhere for a year and then plan to transfer into the institution pretty seamlessly. And then the last piece is financial reasons, um, committing to a college that, uh, is not a financial fit and really trying to find something that is a little bit more affordable, um, is incredibly common, particularly at private institutions.

So how do you know if you should transfer? Um, so there are good reasons to transfer and not so good reasons to transfer. Um, I think the first piece is to actually give the school that you are enrolled at Um, and a chance typically takes a full year. So a fall semester and a spring semester to see if it’s right for you, particularly if you are a college freshman, and you’re thinking about transferring freshman year is hard to adapt no matter how good of a fit the colleges.

So it’s really important that you’ve taken some time to really think about the reasons that. You might want to transfer. We talked about these in the previous slide. Um, and essentially it comes down to your college not being the right fit. Um, and it’s more than, um, just thinking you would be happier at another institution.

Um, being a, being a college that’s not a right fit. Fit and it being a significant reason to transfer will fall into 1 of these 4 categories again finances. So it is not an affordable institution for you to stay at for 4 years social. Maybe you are having some mental health challenges as part of not being happy on that campus.

Um, academic reasons. Maybe it is too rigorous. Maybe it is not rigorous enough. Um, or again, you’re looking for that major change and then last outcomes. Um, a lot of students really think about how a college is going to set them up for their career. Um, and maybe you’re at an institution that you feel is not going to put you in the best situation after you graduate.

Um, maybe you are looking for a college that will look good on a law school application or a medical school application. And so those career outcomes may be a reason that you would transfer as well.

So what are the very first steps to transferring? So the first piece is begin your college search again. Depending on when you decide to transfer, you may not be that far removed from the college search process. However, it looks a little different for a transfer student. Um, you want to really research, uh, the transfer student admissions and whatever the degree completion plan is for a transfer student.

Um, so that should all be a part of this new college search. You want to meet with your current advisor, um, particularly if you are changing due to academic reasons. Um, it’s really important to talk to your advisor and make sure, one, that Um, the issues that you’re having at your current institution cannot be resolved.

Um, and then two, they can also, uh, provide some advice on some schools that would be a better fit in that major or academic discipline. You also want to meet with the advisor or admissions counselor at the school on your college list. So, um, if there’s one particular school, or if there’s a list of schools, you want to reach out to staff members at those schools to ask a few questions.

Um, 1 of those questions might be what, what courses are going to transfer to your institution? How long is it going to take me to complete my degree? Are transfer students eligible for merit scholarships? Transfer students guaranteed housing on campus. These are all things you want to know before you decide to transfer next.

You definitely want to tour the campus. So, if you’re in a situation where you’re wanting to transfer, you’ve already had 1 experience in college that for whatever reason. You’re deciding I want something different. You want to make sure that the school that you transfer to, um, is not another school. That is a bad fit.

You want to make sure this is the school that you’re going to stay at and ultimately graduate from so touring the campus, talking to current students, talking to faculty. Again, talking to your advisor or admissions counselor there is a great way to determine that. Explore credit transferability and map out your matriculation plan.

This part is incredibly important because oftentimes students might be very interesting, interested in transferring, but once they look at The course credits that the new institution will take, and they look at their degree plan. Um, they may be spending more time at this new institution than they are interested in.

I think oftentimes students think, well, I’ve completed 2 years of my major at this college. I only have 2 more years to go at another institution. And that just is not the case. So you want to make sure that there’s good credit transferability between those two institutions and that the years to degree completion is something that you feel like makes sense, something that is affordable, um, and that is really going to suit you better than the institution you’re currently at.

So how does the transfer application process compare to applying as a freshman? Um, a lot of these elements are very similar. Um, there are some things that are a bit different. So, um, listed on this, um, list of application steps, you have your college academic record as well as your high school academic record.

So if you have taken any college courses, um, even if it is just one semester, even if it is part time, you are considered a transfer student and you are required to submit that transcript to the college that you are applying to. All colleges are going to want your college academic record. And depending on your classification and how many college courses you’ve completed, schools may also want your high school academic record.

Typically, this is students who have completed fewer than 30 credit hours. A college might also request that high school transcript. Similar to the high school transcript, if you are applying to a college that requires standardized test scores, um, and you do not have a certain number of college credits, you may be required to submit standardized test scores.

This is incredibly important, um, now, because there are so many schools that are test optional, but there are also schools that still require standardized tests. So if your original institution that you enrolled in is test optional and you are transferring to an institution that requires test scores, it is incredibly important to understand if this is going to be a part of your application as a transfer student, because this is one other step that you’ll have to take in In order to put your application together, essays and letters of recommendation, most transfer applications do require an essay, just like the 1st year essays.

Um, so you want to be prepared to submit an essay and then 2nd letters of recommendation. You may have to submit. Submit one, maybe two recommendations. Oftentimes as a transfer applicant, they want these recommendations to come from your current school. So we aren’t interested in seeing high school recommendations if you have already attended college.

You want to make sure that you are building relationships with your professors, even if you plan to transfer, so that you’ll have someone to write these recommendation letters on your behalf. Selectivity can also be quite different as a transfer student. Typically, institutions fall into two buckets as far as it relates to selectivity.

The first group is that it is. Easier, um, or there’s a higher acceptance rate for transfer students than for first year students. And so sometimes it can be a way to get into an institution that is really competitive as a transfer student. Um, and it may be easier than the first year, uh, process. The other side of that coin is institutions who take very few transfer students into their class each year, and ultimately it ends up being more competitive to enter as a transfer student than it would be as a first year student.

Um, and so you just want to think about how selectivity might impact you, and you can absolutely ask an admissions counselor, what is your transfer acceptance rate? How does this compare to your first year acceptance rate? And then last applying for a specific major. So colleges have different ways of, um, reviewing the major that you’re interested in as part of your admissions application.

As a transfer student, this is even more important. Because specific departments and majors must have room to take in new students, especially if transfer students are going to be starting right at the major course level. And so as a transfer student, it may be more difficult to get into certain majors than others because those majors are already having high numbers of enrollment.

So also asking the question, how will my intended major affect my admissions decision? Can

I transfer and still graduate in four years? This is really, really important. Um, and the answer is possibly. It is absolutely doable. However, it all depends on the school. that you are transferring to and the school that you have transferred from. Um, and so doing your research in this regard is incredibly important.

It is more likely that you will transfer to an institution and graduate in four years if the two institutions are in the same state and they are both public institutions. Typically, that means many of the core classes will be shared similar core classes and even the degree requirements may be similar.

It is less likely that you will graduate in 4 years. If you are transferring into it to an institution out of state and it is. Far less likely if you are, that you will graduate in four years, if you transfer from a public institution to a private institution. And so you want to make sure that this piece is also driving your conversation.

I talk to students sometimes and they’ll say, well, it’s fine if I take six years total. Well, it may be fine for the student, um, but you have to also think about what makes the most sense. If you are a student that plans to go to graduate school, law school, medical school, taking a six year undergraduate program may not be the best use of your time when you could finish your undergraduate degree in four years and be on to graduate school or professional school.

So you also want to think about what you want to do After your bachelor’s degree.

So how do you actually know if your credits will transfer? Um, so each institution should have a transfer advisor or transfer admissions counselor. You can reach out and talk about credit transferability. The 2nd piece is many institutions actually have resources on their website that tell you exactly what courses will transfer.

These are often called credit equivalency tables or transfer evaluation databases, and it allows you to choose your state. Choose your college, and it will tell you everything that that institution takes from that college and what it will transfer over to what requirements it will satisfy at the new institution.

So, definitely check out the transfer website 1st for any schools you’re interested in. Again, thinking about public versus private institutions, public institutions generally are going to have more transferability. Private institutions generally will have less transferability of your credits. Um, same thing with in state versus out of state.

Generally, it could be more helpful to stay in state and transfer, particularly if it’s a public institution and out of state institutions are more likely to take fewer credits as a transfer student.

Can you apply to colleges that you were previously rejected from? Absolutely. This is a really great question. So some institutions, um, do not allow you to apply during the same cycle. In fact, most institutions do not allow you to be rejected from early action and apply again for regular decision. But there is nothing stopping you from applying in a new cycle.

And so in theory, you could have applied as a first year student for fall 2023 and submit a new application as a transfer student for fall 2024. Some institutions even have special pathways specifically for students who were not offered admission as a first year student. They may have denied you and offered a special pathway opportunity or have given you conditional admission.

And that condition is that you go to another institution for a year, take a certain number of classes, take specific classes, and then they are guaranteeing you a pathway back to the institution as a transfer student. Um, so looking up these pathway programs are also really viable ways to get the most credits transferred, um, and spend the less time, the least time to degree completion.

Can you still receive financial aid as a transfer student? Um, absolutely. So if you were eligible for federal financial aid as a first year student, you are able to apply for federal financial aid as a transfer student. Um, one caveat is that you must. You must be in good academic standing from your previous institutions to your new institution, so you could not fall below that satisfactory GPA, lose financial aid and lose financial aid at one school, and then get it back at another institution.

You will run into problems that way with financial aid, but if you are in good standing. You absolutely are still eligible until you hit whatever your maximum is for financial aid. Scholarships may be limited though. Um, and so merit scholarships are often, uh, awarded to incoming first year students first and returning students.

Second, it can be difficult for, uh, transfer students to get some of the merit scholarships that are available to first year students. Um, so you want to explore departmental scholarships, so scholarships specific to your major, and then also exploring external awards. So going online and looking at some of those scholarships, search engines and looking for awards that are specific for transfer students.

How do you make sure that you are choosing the right school? Again, this is all about fit. What you don’t want to do is transfer more than twice. That is almost a guarantee that you will be graduating in more than four years, that you will be spending much more money on your bachelor’s degree. And so when you transfer once, we want to make sure that the new school is a great fit.

You want to think about it from a social aspect. From an academic aspect, financial, and then, of course, that time to degree completion.

We will now open the session up for questions. Thanks so much, Chelsea. Yes. So we are going to move over to the Q& A portion of our webinar. Thank you so much for providing that great information for any folks who are having any issues with submitting questions to the Q& A. Just know that you might have to log out and log back in via the link you received in your email and not through our webinar landing page.

All right. So the way that it will work is that you will submit your questions. I’ll read them aloud and give Chelsea an opportunity to answer them and then paste them into the public chat. All right. So that others can hear them. All right, let’s get started. Our first question was.

You, you were very thorough. So there are some questions that were answered along the way. Oh, I guess. Okay. How do colleges assist transfer students in academic and career planning when they get once they are admitted into the school? Yeah, great question. So transfer students have all the same resources available to traditional first year students once they get admitted.

Some institutions also have special organizations for transfer students. They may have a mentor mentee relationship where, as a transfer student, you can be paired with someone that can help you kind of learn the ropes of that institution. And so there are some special services for transfer students, but you can also reach out to The career planning department and, um, all of the other support services that will help you with internships, coops, and then ultimately jobs after graduation.

Okay, this you spoke about the types of recommendation letters that students should be asking. Folks in college. But one question was, are there specific qualities or experiences that they should be asking professors to highlight in their in their letters of recommendation? Yeah, so I think 1 standard practice would be giving your professor either a resume or a brag sheet that gives them some more insight into who you are and what you do outside of their class.

The second piece is making sure they have a clear understanding of the schools that you’re wishing to transfer to, um, that they are writing the recommendation for. Because remember, each school has its own identity, its own values, its own kind of ideal student. And so what may be highlight worthy for one institution may not be highlight worthy for another.

So really educating your professor on the institution that you’re hoping to transfer to, the major that you’re hoping to transfer to, in hopes that they can speak to your potential in that context. Um, thank you. Uh, this person is asking a little bit more about like, I guess it’s a personal question, but I’ll ask it.

What attributes do successful transfer students commonly possess? So is there a character or certain qualities that you feel enable transfer students to succeed? Yeah, so I think in the application and admissions process, um, the admissions committee is looking for a transfer student that has showed a good academic record despite whatever challenges they may be facing at their home institution.

Um, because again, they do not want to admit students that they do not feel like are going to be able to succeed on their campus. So they want to see. Some standard academic record that you have completed at your first institution. Um, I also think having a clear understanding of why you want to transfer is helpful during the admissions process and when you get on that campus.

So that if there were kind of mistakes in your initial college journey, you do not repeat those mistakes once you get on this new campus. Um, I’ll say once you’re admitted and at your new college, um, being able to put yourself out there, joining organizations, um, meeting friends is really, really important.

Um, also feeling comfortable. And the fact that you may have not had the same journey as others, um, in your class, in your residence hall, um, and really knowing that, um, you’re still absolutely worthy to be at that institution, um, and maybe even seeking out other transfer students who might have had similar experiences as you.

Our next question is, do I, more practical question, do I need to send a specific ACT or AP test score transcript? to the school I’m transferring to, or is it just enough to upload those onto the common app? It depends on the institution. Um, there are some institutions that as a transfer student, they are completely disinterested in anything that you did in high school.

Um, and this depends on how many courses you’ve taken, how many credits you’ve taken at your original institution. Um, so it’s highly possible that they’re not interested in, you know, Your call your high school grades at all. Um, if they are interested, then you will submit an official SAT or ACT score and official AP score.

So, um, you do want to submit those if that’s something that’s required or that you think will enhance your application.

All right. Awesome. The question is trying to do too many things. Uh, okay. Um, Oh, someone asked, are there a mentor program? Are there mentorship programs or academic advising services offered separately for TRIP? Yeah, absolutely. So, um, there are a few national transfer organizations. Um, and most of the institutions that I’ve worked at, there was at least one registered student organization that was specifically for transfer students and or nontraditional students.

Um, so yes, those services do exist. Um, someone asked if you have a success story for a student who you’ve ever seen transfer in and thrived at their new institution. Yeah, I mean, I think there’s so many success stories. Um, I think what makes a student most successful again is the willingness to kind of put yourself out there.

It can be intimidating to transfer to an institution where, you know, that, um, all of the first year students, um, have already had an experience together now in their sophomores. And then all of the current first year students, um, potentially are a year younger than you, right? And so you’re coming in, you’re new to the institution, um, And it can be a little bit awkward.

So I think students that embrace that, um, and still decide to make the experience their experience. And they’re just as enthusiastic in doing all the things that they would do as a first year student. Um, those are the students that are most successful.

Apologies for the lag. Um, I guess, um, this is a Can you talk to the UC process or no for the University of California? I don’t know a ton about the UC transfer process. Yeah. They have a very complicated system. I thought you were, you were talking about them when you were saying like the four years they not work.

Um, they make you go through a lot of hoops, but, um, I, I know a little bit, but I can’t speak to it as thoughtfully. Okay. Um, is there anything that a transfer student can do to make the application more compelling and competitive? Um, if you know, A semester ahead, two semester, two semesters ahead that you want to transfer really buckling down on the academic piece.

That’s super important. Especially if you’re interested in transferring to a more selective institution, you want to be able to have evidence. That you can complete the work at this new institution. Um, and so you may have done great in high school. You may have not done so great in high school, but you have another chance your first year of college to really do an amazing job.

Um, and so I think focusing on that can really set you up for success, especially in a selective process.

It’s waiting for this motorcycle to pass. Okay. Is it? Is it okay to not transfer? Even if accepted? Why shouldn’t someone transfer schools? Yeah, that’s a good question. Um, so you can go through the entire transfer process and decide, you know what? Never mind. I changed my mind. Um, there’s so many reasons not to transfer.

Um, I think the number one reason is You’re spending too much time on a bachelor’s degree. Um, I would say the beginning of too much time is probably six years. Um, and it depends on the person. Um, it depends on your degree program, what your plans are after undergrad. Um, but I think time, Because time means money.

Um, that is really something that you want to consider and can be a reason that you kind of stay put where you are. Um, also, if there’s something that with time, you feel like could work itself out at your current institution. Um, I know I mentioned, um. Social factors in this presentation. Well, there’s so many social factors that can be discouraging and make you feel like, you know, I just want to leave this place.

I’m not having a good time anymore, but some of those things, if you waited out a few months, a semester. might work themselves out and you don’t want something small to rob you of a school that otherwise you really would have loved and enjoyed. Is there, are there any common pitfalls that transfer applicants should be aware of?

I think underestimating the essay letter recommendation and any other supplemental materials, I think transfer students are more likely to think it’s all about the college GPA or as long as they have a certain GPA, they’re a shoe in for the transfer process. And that is just not how it works. So, really focusing on those other elements.

And asking the appropriate questions of the institution you’re interested in, um, that allows you to make sure that you’re putting, um, their mission and their values, um, in context with who you are, um, and showing that you’re a good fit for that school. Um, what are some common themes or topics for transfer application essays?

Um, so some institutions will flat out ask you why you’re interested in transferring. Um, and so it is helpful to have a, um, a reason that you can articulate, um, and that makes sense for someone that is reading your application. Um, you also may have a more standard prompt similar to the first year personal essay on the common app or the coalition app.

Um, and so being able to think of, um, some more general essay topics that allow you to introduce who you are to the admissions committee. Um, there is no red flag that says you can’t reuse an essay from your first year college admissions process. Um, but if you are considering that. I encourage you to think of how much you might have changed or grown or learn new things since you’ve graduated high school.

Um, and the answer is probably that you’ve changed quite a bit. Um, and so it is worth it to really make sure that your essay reflects who you currently are and not who you were a year ago or two years ago. Are they expecting a higher level of writing in a transfer application? Absolutely. Um, so at the first year admissions level, um, we’re looking for good writing, but we’re looking really for a good story and One level writing, right?

Like you write like a high school senior. It’s grammatically correct, but it’s formatted well, but you sound like a high school senior. Um, when you’re submitting a transfer app, the context is now that you’ve been in college for one year or you’ve been in college for two years. Um, and so yes, we want to see some evidence of the things that you’ve learned in college.

Um, that might be the way that you craft an argument. Um, that may be, you being more interested. And self-aware. Um, but yes, a transfer essay will look different and read different than a first year admissions essay. I have a a silly question that’s a me question, but I’m just wondering, have you ever seen a student regret transferring and try to go back, um, or, or undo their transfer in some way?

So, I don’t know about the go back, but I will say. There’s a surprising number of students that transfer more than one. So that means that they end up at three or more schools, which I get that you’re looking for the good fit. Um, but that’s a lot of time. That’s a lot of money. That’s a lot of adjusting.

Um, and so I think that’s, What you want to avoid is going down a transfer rabbit hole where it’s like, I don’t like this. I don’t like this major time to go to a new college. Um, because most of the students that I’ve seen do that take far more than four years degree. Um, it’s like the 10 year bachelor’s is kind of, um, if you’re transferring more than once.

Yeah, I just thinking about credit transfer and again, being in California, also having been in New York, it is very messy to transfer credits. Um, So to that point, I guess, what is there anything a student can do to ensure a smooth credit transfer process? Should they like, how much do they need to be studying the registrar’s page or how many credits transfer, et cetera?

Like what can they do to make sure they can take as many as possible from school to school? Yeah. I mean, I think they need to do quite a bit of research. Um, so as I mentioned, some institutions will have like a wonderful self service transfer table on their website. Some institutions will have nothing on their website.

Um, and you won’t know how many credits are going to transfer until after you get accepted, which isn’t super helpful. Um, if a school does not have those resources readily available, you should be reaching out to the registrar. You should be reaching out to the transfer counselor. Um, you can offer to send them a copy of your unofficial transcript and ask them to do just like a, cursory review.

Um, and if you could just tell me if these are, will you take these core classes? Will these count towards my major? Um, that is absolutely something I encourage you to do, because it’s really one of the most important pieces of deciding the transfer. This question, um, is around strategy. So is it, is transferring a good strategy to get into a highly competitive I think it’s coming from I’m going to start here, transfer here, and then that’s how I can make my way into the Ivy League.

But is that, is that a good strategy? Is that an effective strategy? It depends on, on the college. Um, so as I mentioned earlier, some schools are even more competitive to get into as transfer students because they just don’t take a lot of transfer students. So if you are doing a pre planned transfer, one, I would talk to the school that you are starting at and the school that you want to be at and share your plans.

Um, nine times out of 10, you will get some insight on whether it’s a good plan or not so good plan. Um, we have students sometimes that, you know, will decide, I’m going to go to A community college for one year, which is amazing. You’re saving money. Um, but is a community college going to set you up to transfer into whatever selective institution that you’re interested in?

It can, but you want to make sure that you’re not building a community college. An entire plan around something, um, that the institution says, Oh, that’s not really the pathway here to come in as a transfer student. So, I mean, it’s possible, but you want to do your research and I would say the research is talking to that institution.

What’s your transfer acceptance rate? What’s the average GPA of transfer students that you bring in? Um, is there a focus on enrolling transfer students for your institution? Or do you only enroll them when you need a few people to fill seats? Like really understanding what the odds are of you getting in as a transfer student.

I’m going to take a moment and have us do our quick little PSA. Oh, I went the wrong direction for any folks who are in the room and not currently working with us again. The transfer process can be very complicated. The typical college business process can be overwhelming as well. So our team of over 300 format, which is officers and admissions experts.

Are ready to help you and your family navigate the process through one on one advising sessions. You can take the next step in your college admissions journey by signing up for a free 45 to 60 minute strategy session with one of our admission specialists. And by using the QR code on the screen during that strategy session, we’ll talk about your extracurriculars, talk about your potential lists.

and help you create an application strategy in order to ensure that you have the most successful outcomes possible. We will leave that QR code up on the screen and get back to the questions. My next question for you is regarding fee waivers. Are there fee waiver options available for transfer applications?

Good question. Um, at the three institutions that I’ve worked at, um, only one of them, um, accepted a fee waiver for transfer students. Um, it was a public institution. Um, the two privates that I’ve worked at do not accept fee waivers. Um, so you want to. Specifically ask that. So just because an institution takes fee waivers for first year students, that may not be the case for transfers.

Um, so I would definitely inquire about that.

Sorry. I live on a very busy street. So if anyone can hear this music behind me, I apologize. Um, do colleges conduct interviews as part of the transfer application process? And if so, how can you prepare for them? How are they different from a first year interview? Yeah, so, um, I would say interviews in general are a bit less common now, um, just because of the sheer volume of applicants that institutions receive.

Um, but they’re still possible. Um, most interviews are optional, and so you want to only take an interview if you feel like it’s something that is going to help you in this process. Um, and so, The best way to do well in a transfer admissions interview, um, would be to be able to articulate confidently, um, why you want to transfer and what this new institution will, um, bring to you and to your educational experience that your previous institution didn’t.

And it’s not about throwing, um, your current institution under the bus. Um, but it’s really saying like, this is exactly why I want to transfer. And this is why I’m a good fit for your college. Um, I think you mentioned this before, but I’ll ask it again. And apologies if I’m making you repeat yourself. Um, how does housing work for transfer students?

Are they less likely to get housing? Yeah. So I would say generally Yes. Um, most of our institutions in the U. S. Are, um, under housing crunches regardless, right? There’s not enough space for all of the students. Um, and so transfer students do. Often get the short end of the stick on housing. However, your transfer college search can be very similar to your 1st year college search.

You need to come up with a list of things that are critical for you and deal breakers. And so if you really want to live on campus. only look at transferring to schools that guarantee housing for transfer students, or that you’ll have the ability to do that. Um, how do you, do colleges have a specific, I guess, considerations for students who are transferring and maybe non traditional?

Um, so they’re returning after a gap year or they’re planning to attend part time? Is there something different in those application processes? Yes. So, um, there are often some, specific admissions programs for non traditional students. Um, so gap year students typically fall in a very similar category as a traditional transfer or traditional first year.

Um, but if you’ve been out of high school for more than five years, um, there may be some additional things that the institution is asking of you. In this process, um, for students that are nontraditional, they are less likely to have, um, current recommenders, um, from their college, um, they may have trouble getting some of their documents, depending on how long ago they were in school.

Those are. Things that we know are barriers for nontraditional students, and so there may be supplemental things that you can submit instead, um, for example, um, nontraditional students may be able to submit an employer’s recommendation letter instead of a current professor’s rec letter. Um, this is a complicated question, but like, our college is cognizant of race and ethnicity when it comes to accepting transfer students.

Are they also as diversity and inclusion also? Consideration in the transfer process. Yeah, so I mean, I would say if a college is prior prioritizing diversity and inclusion, it’s going to run through all of their processes. However, with the Supreme Court decision, removing race explicitly from the college admissions application, they’re gaining whatever information they can to understand if you would be a diverse candidate.

Or not. Um, and so I would say it’s the same as as first year students. Um, really looking at things like where you went to high school. Was it an urban environment? Was it rural? Um, are you a first generation student? Um, do you speak another language in the home that you grew up in? So these are all things that, um, will give the committee insight on, um, prioritizing, uh, diverse candidates.

You were talking about the length it takes to graduate. And so or the fact that it could extend beyond the four years. So do colleges look at post transfer graduation rates and compare those to students who entered as first years? Are they different? You know what? I guess our college is thinking about this statistically.

And what are the statistics that might be out there? Yeah, absolutely. Um, so, you know, again, Whether you’re a first year student or a transfer student, the goal is for you to graduate. Um, transfer students do typically have issues with persistence. Um, so I shared, you know, anecdotally students that have went to three institutions.

Um, every time you leave an institution, You deem that institution for retention. You ding them for graduation because you did not finish at that school. Um, and so eventually the goal is that you’re staying somewhere and finish thing. But again, think of that person that’s transferred more than once you’re leaving multiple institutions.

Um, without completing a degree there. So persistence is an issue for transfer students. But I think if you focus on some of the right reasons to transfer and not the wrong reasons to transfer, you can be in a good position. Thank you. Um, I know I’m hopping all over the place with questions. Apologies. Uh, how do colleges evaluate and transfer?

Like so a transfer student who had dual enrollment credits from high school. Are those still being considered in the transfer process along with the existing transfer credits from the first year of college? Does that make sense? Good question. Yeah. So, um, It depends on when the student transfers. Um, so if it is a student who’s transferring sometime during the first year of their freshman year and a college wants to see their high school transcript, they want to see standardized test scores, um, then yes, they will see those dual enrollment credits.

But if a student has been at a college for a year or two years, um, and they have enough College level evidence to submit an application, um, then there may be no interest in any dual enrollment credits. I think with the increase of students taking dual enrollment, we have so many students, even on the first year side that say, I have my associate’s degree.

Does this make me a transfer student and not a first year student? Um, no, you are still a traditional 1st year student, no matter how many credits you obtain. Once you come to college and typically complete at least 30 credit hours, that’s going to make you a transfer student. And what you did in high school becomes less and less important.

The more credit to gain in college.

How do colleges support transfer students who are undecided about the major? And if you are undecided, how does that impact your decision to transfer? Yeah. So again, depends on the college, right? Um, there’s some institutions that, um, are particularly for transfer students really want to know what your interests are because they want to make sure that they have room in the major that you might go into.

Um, so. Even if you don’t know what you want your major to be, having an idea of what your interest will be can be super important. I also think if you know that you’re in the boat of not knowing what your major will be, looking at liberal arts institutions might be a good pathway for you because it’s really going to allow you to explore that first year and a half.

Um, it’s not necessarily something that is looked down upon, but if you don’t know what your major is going to be, know what you’re interested in, because that’s going to be a part of the why, um, you choose to transfer. We had, um, a question from the registration actually about online classes. I don’t know.

Can transfer students are those options for transfers to consider? Are there opportunities for transfer students to enroll in online or hybrid program? Short answer? Yes, absolutely. Um, looking for, um, Hybrid or online programs is definitely an opportunity for transfer students. Um, there’s a number of online programs now that are marketed just as degree completion programs.

So did you stop out after year two? Come to us. We’re going to take most of your credits. Um, and you’ll finish in four years. Um, that is absolutely a thing. How is the transfer process different for student athletes? What considerations apply to student athletes looking to transfer college? So similar to the athletic process for first year students, um, these.

Processes are going simultaneously, so, um, you may be reaching out to athletic coaches, the athletic director, um, trying to learn more about trying out or sending footage, um, but at the same time you’re following the admissions process. Um, it does look a bit different if you’re talking about, um, D1 sports.

You may have to start on the athletic side, um, to see if there are even taking students, um, transfer students that year. Um, I guess a way around this easy question, like, can you explain articulation agreements that happen in the transfer process? What do they look like? Absolutely. So an articulation agreement is a, um, contract between two colleges, um, that says we are committing to taking this list of courses from your students.

We will have a seamless, uh, transition for your students if they meet specific requirements. Um, so you may know about, um, institutions may have information about their articulation agreements online. Um, there’s lots of articulation agreements between community colleges and four year institutions. That’s quite popular.

Lots of articulation agreements. between state and state schools. Um, and so, yes, it’s just a contract that’s guaranteeing that, um, a certain number of courses are going to transfer over to the new school. Are there common misconceptions about articulation agreements that students have? be aware of? Um, I would say I don’t know if a lot of students know about articulation agreements to have a misconception about it.

Um, but I will say, you know, as far as like some of the pathway programs, I Go. Um, students see a minimum GPA that they need to reach a certain number of courses that they have nine times out of 10. If you meet the minimum for that, um, the agreement is guaranteeing you admission into that institution. If you do these very specific things.

Um, and so making sure you’re following that to a T, um, is super important because like. Not taking the right calculus class could be, um, the thing that says, okay, I’m sorry. You did not follow the terms of this agreement. Um, we’re not going to be able to admit you as a transfer student. Um, you talked about briefly applying to the same institution.

So is it common for students to reapply after being initially denied? And is there a specific strategy they should approach when applying as a transfer student? Yeah, it’s quite common. Um, I think the strategy depends on how selective the institution is. If it is a selective school, when you apply again, apply with something different, apply with something new.

Upgrade it like you want to come back with something more to show you want to have learned something from the application process the previous year. And so getting crystal clear about what they’re looking for for transfer students, especially if you were denied as a 1st year student, I’ve worked at institutions where students were denied for the fall semester.

And we see a transfer app. For the spring semester, and it’s like you haven’t even completed 20 credit hours at your current institution. Not much has changed from when you received a denial. Um, so really making sure that enough time has gone by. So typically a year, um, for you to have new information to share with the admissions committee.

This is again a me question, but I’m just wondering, have you seen students who were accepted, did not go and then reapply as a transfer student? And how that, how does that, how did they show up, I guess, in the admission process or the transfer? That is actually a super popular. Um, especially with students applying to so many colleges now, um, you know, let’s say they apply to 10, get into five and, you know, you know, Maybe this, these schools are like the top two schools left and they make a choice to go to one and for whatever reason they get there and they’re like, Oh, this isn’t it.

Um, and, and they can’t help but continue to compare. That second choice school that they said no to. Um, and so we see that happen quite a bit. Um, you know, I’m now at this school my freshman year, but I think I made a mistake. I want to go back. Um, and I think that’s a really like realistic point of view.

That’s actually fairly understandable that you would be interested in. Second or third choice school that you were admitted to. I don’t think it reflects poorly on the student at all. Um, I’m wondering about, sorry, the question escaped me that quickly. Apologies. Um,

oh, my gosh, so sorry. Looking for this question. Um, it was honestly, it was honestly one of my questions and I did not write it down. So, um, it’s okay. We can leave it there. Um, we have not gotten any more questions newly in the, um, In the q and a. Do you have, I guess, any parting tips or thoughts for transfer applicants before we wrap up?

Yeah, so I would say, um, do all your research, do a little bit more research than you did as a first year student, um, because there’s far more moving parts in the transfer process. Um, and try not to transfer more than. Okay. All right. So we will leave it there for tonight. Thank you so much, Chelsea. Thanks for you folks for coming out and joining us.

And for those of you who submitted questions, we do appreciate it. We also hope that you will join us for our future webinars. Um, so for those who are creating applications, we definitely would, would Uh, appreciate if you continue to come and get some more research. So on Thursday, February 15th, we have a session on tips for creating a strong resume.

You can join us to discuss the impact of social media and personal branding in the applications process on February 19th. And we’re going to end the month of February with a session on diversity and inclusion in college admissions of February 25th. So for any folks who were stoked by those particular topics, I hope you’ll join us in the future, but until next time, take care and have a wonderful evening.

And thanks again, Chelsea, for tackling all of those questions. See ya.