Twelve College Transfer Tips

If you are a college student with plans to transfer, here are twelve tips from the Higher Education Consultants Association Conference session on understanding the transfer process.

Do:

1.  Stay for at least a year at a college, before transferring.
2. Save the syllabus, not just the course description, from each class you take. This will improve the chance that the college you are transferring to will accept your credits.
3. Get involved at your current school and develop a relationship with your professors.
4. Establish a relationship with the transfer advisor. 
5. Work with your academic advisor to evaluate your level of performance relative to your current college and the college you want to transfer to.
6. Get a sense about transfer student life, by talking with other students who transferred to the colleges you are considering.
7. Become familiar with the requirements (e.g., minimum and maximum number of credits, as well as test requirements) for transfer student applicants at the colleges you are considering. They vary considerably from college to college. Make sure that you meet more than the minimum standards, because entrance may be selective. 
8. Check out http://www.njtransfer.org/, if you are transferring from a NJ community college.

Know that: 

1. Some colleges may reserve a certain number of seats for students transferring from other particular colleges.
2. Some schools don’t have merit aid for transfer students.
3. Less money, less housing and fewer seats are generally available for a mid-year transfer, than for a fall transfer.

Don’t:

1. Write, “I’m transferring because my current college stinks,” in your application essay about why you want to transfer to College X.

What are your transfer experiences? What do you wish someone told you about transferring? What tips would you add to this list?