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Are there some schools that are more open to taking in transfer students? If so, what are they? I was specifically looking at pretty high caliber schools but..any opinions on the subject would be appreciated

By Demingy (Demingy) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 11:15 am: Edit

Without more information about what you're looking for (major, geographic area, etc), I don't have a list right now. Are there any schools that you are specifically looking at? I'd suggest that you post your "list" and also leave it open for suggestions of similar ones that you could transfer to.

As a transfer student (still finishing my AS, so not transfering yet), I understand where you are coming from. I've done quite a bit of research though, and it seems like most (if not all) of even the more competitive schools accept transfer students. Just remember that there will be fewer spots open for transfers, but if you contact the schools and talk with someone in admissions you can find out what your chances are and depending on how much time you have before transfer you could also get suggestions on things you can do to help your cause.

Good luck.

By Migitm31 (Migitm31) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 12:02 pm: Edit

I'm looking to go into economics or something of that nature. Current schools that I am looking at include UVa, Northwestern, and I'll need a few safety schools. The reason I'm looking to transfer is that my high school record is pretty weak, scores and extracurriculars are fine (they wont HURT me anywhere), but my grades are really pretty poor. I plan on going to school for a year doing well, and then looking to tranfer out. Geographically I'm pretty open to whatever. I have come to understand that transfer acceptances are harder to come by than directly out of high school, but I was wondering if there are certain schools that just accept an unusally or are on the higher end of transfer acceptances.

By Demingy (Demingy) on Thursday, April 01, 2004 - 02:29 pm: Edit

I hope that some of the "experts" will come help out, but I'll tell you what I've been doing (I'm sorry that I can't be of more help....)

Have you either checked the websites or talked with admissions (you'll probably be better off talking to admissions) for the colleges that you are currently looking at to find out what their transfer policy is? I would suggest that you contact the admissions office (it may be best to do this when admin has slowed down, but I could be wrong on this) and explain your situation to them and ask them what they would suggest as your best chances.

I've read in several places that the best way to proceed if you plan on transferring is to talk with the school you want to transfer to as early in your comm. college attendance as possible (I should think you could even do it before you start cc) so you can get an idea of which courses would transfer and which ones wouldn't. This could also give you an idea about whether you would have better chances transferring after just taking courses for one year or if it would be better to graduate from the cc with an associates and transfer. Schools differ on this, so that is why I suggest contacting that school.

One thing to remember is that many states (I know of Colorado, California, and Michigan specifically) have some sort of transfer agreement between the community colleges and the state universities. This could improve your chances for transferring and it could help you find some safety schools (and perhaps matches).

I would also suggest talking with an advisor at the two-year school that you end up going to and see what they can tell you. From my experience, the advisors at my school aren't incredibly helpful, but they do have specific information about schools in-state and I've heard that they are VERY helpful for the more traditional students (those that are attending full-time and straight out of high school) because this is where a good share of their training comes from. BUT, again I would suggest talking to someone at the university/college that you plan to ultimately get your degree because they will be able to give you specifics for that school.

Finally (sorry, I know this is long), don't feel too discouraged about going in as a transfer student. Again, from my research, I've found that there are quite a few schools that look favorably on transfer students who have been successful in college (in other words, make sure you work hard to distinguish yourself while you are in college to improve your chances). Even though the "norm" is that there are limited spaces for transfer students, this isn't as bad as it sounds. Sometimes "limited" (especially at the large universities) can mean "only" several thousand when they are comparing this to the 25,000 spots that they have available for entering freshman.

Again, sorry I couldn't be more help. I really do wish you luck.