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- APPLYING FOR TRANSFER
-
- Once you've worked your way through the decision-making process, you're
- ready to apply to colleges. If you are transferring to a community
- college, you may not have to submit all of the items on the list below,
- but if you're moving on to a baccalaureate-granting institution, expect
- to provide some or all of the following:
-
- - a completed application form
- - an application fee
- - transcripts from all previous colleges
- - admissions test scores
- - letters of recommendation
- - an essay or statement
- - a letter indicating good standing at your current college
- - an interview
- - an application for on-campus housing (if housing is desired).
-
- You've probably been through this demanding process already and it isn't
- any easier when you transfer. Even though you're dealing with the
- pressures of college tests, labs, papers, and other demands, find the
- time to complete your applications carefully and thoughtfully.
-
-
- WHAT COLLEGES WANT
-
- There is as much diversity in selection criteria for transfers as there
- is for freshmen. Some colleges accept any student who meets a minimum
- grade-point average; others weigh many factors--grades, intended major,
- whether you can enter as a junior, whether you're prepared to begin work
- in your intended major, space in the class you want. According to one
- director of admissions at a state college that accepts several hundred
- transfer students each semester, colleges are chiefly interested in:
-
- - Why the student wants to transfer to that institution
- - What courses they've taken, and which ones are in progress
- - What their past college experience has been
- - Reasons for any breaks in college attendance.
-
- The "Transfer admissions" section in each description sets forth the
- college's requirements and selection criteria. Some state that previous
- course work is the most important factor in transfer admissions.
- Colleges may look at the difficulty of the courses you've taken, your
- grades, or how well your courses have prepared you for your intended
- major. Specialized colleges often emphasize factors other than courses:
- the portfolio of art students, or the audition of music students, or a
- pastor's recommendation for divinity students. Colleges may state a
- minimum grade-point average as well, which might be the most important
- factor in admissions. Minimum requirements are often just that; at
- competitive colleges, or for entry into competitive programs, meeting
- the minimum might not guarantee admission. Talk with the admissions
- office if you want clarification of the requirements.
-
- Some colleges can't fit many transfers in. The "available space" may
- hinge on how many freshmen at that school did not continue on to the
- sophomore, junior, or senior year, or on space in a particular program.
- If you tell the admissions office what class and major you want to
- enter, and what your academic qualifications are, they may be able to
- give you a more precise idea of your chances for acceptance.
-
- If you have completed only a few college credits, you may need to meet
- the freshman admissions requirements. You can find those in the college
- descriptions. Colleges may indicate the circumstances under which you
- will have to apply as a freshman; contact the college for specific
- information about the admissions criteria that apply to you.
-
-
- PREPARING YOUR APPLICATION
-
- Many colleges use the same application form for freshmen, returning
- adult students, and transfers. The form may indicate which questions
- don't apply to your situation and that you therefore don't have to
- answer. At many institutions the form is brief and uncomplicated; at
- others, particularly competitive colleges, you will be asked to provide
- detailed information about your academic record, extracurricular
- activities, work experience, talents, and achievements. Be prepared to
- give the time and thought needed to provide a complete picture of
- yourself for the college to consider.
-
- Be honest on your application. "Let us be the judge of the college
- record" says one dean of admissions. You may be asked to provide
- information about the level of course work completed thus far, and where
- it was completed. If you've already attended several colleges (and
- there's no stigma attached to that), you may not want to submit the
- transcripts from all of them, especially for courses in which you didn't
- do well. However, these courses may transfer, and may enable you to
- spend less time and money than you'd planned completing your bachelor's
- degree. "No matter how bad your record, we've seen it all," say one
- admissions director. "Be honest. When you are close to graduating and
- think the D in Constitutional History that you didn't tell us about
- might satisfy a requirement, it's too late."
-
- Transcripts. You will undoubtedly have to provide transcripts from your
- previous college or colleges, and perhaps from your high school as well.
- If you received financial aid, you will need to submit both an academic
- transcript and a financial aid transcript to your transfer college. To
- be official, these transcripts must go directly from the registrar and
- financial aid office at one institution to the appropriate office at the
- colleges you're applying to. Find out how long it will take for the
- transcripts to arrive, and then make adequate arrangements. There is
- usually a small handling fee for the academic transcript. (A final
- academic transcript, including the grades from your last quarter or
- semester, will also be required by the school your transfer to.)
-
- Test scores. Some colleges will want a copy of your admissions test
- socres. The most commonly used tests are the College Board's Scholastic
- Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Program Assessment
- (ACT). If you have not taken the required test, arrange to take it at
- least six weeks before the application deadline. If you have already
- taken the SAT or ACT, allow at least four weeks for the score reports to
- reach the colleges you're applying to. (If you took the tests years ago,
- don't worry--the scores will still be on file.) If you took one test,
- and a college requires the other, call the admissions office and ask
- whether they will accept your score report--most will.
-
- Recommendations. If recommendations are required, assume that they will
- be taken seriously by the admissions committee. If the college doesn't
- stipulate who should write the letters (many colleges want faculty
- recommendations), choose people who know you well. Besides faculty,
- employers or people you've worked with on community projects are good
- choices. Be judicious: If you plan to study journalism, a recommendation
- from someone who can say something about your writing style or your
- interesting interpretations of current events will carry more weight
- than a recommendation from your cross-country coach.
-
- You are asking people to take time to write a thoughtful, positive
- assessment of you; make the task as easy as possible for them. Ask if
- they are willing to write a positive recommendation. Tell them what your
- specific goals and interests are, and why you think you'd be happy at
- the college to which they are sending the letter. Remind them of some
- specific accomplishments that they might want to highlight in the
- letter. Give them ample time to write the letter, and let them know what
- the deadline is. Provide them with an addressed, stamped, business
- envelope so that they can simply enclose their recommendation and drop
- it in the mail.
-
- Essay. You may be asked to write an essay or to provide several personal
- statements. Colleges may assign topics or may simply want to know your
- reasons for transfer, your thoughts about your previous academic
- experiences, or what you think you can bring to their campus. Your
- "voice" should be different from your high school voice: you should
- sound like someone who's gained maturity through the college experience.
- This is not the place to disparage your current college. Rather, talk
- about the new possibilities for growth you feel you'd have at the
- college you're applying to.
-
- Good standing. Many colleges, especially four-year institutions, require
- that students be in good standing at their current college. Students who
- were put on academic suspension or probation, or who had disciplinary
- problems, are not good risks for other colleges. Some colleges require a
- letter from the dean stating that you were a student at the institution
- and you are leaving in good standing. This is not a formal
- recommendation, but rather a brief letter stating that you did attend
- the college, and you are leaving without serious blots on your record.
- Some colleges will accept students who are on probation elsewhere.
-
- Interview. Fewer and fewer colleges require interviews, especially for
- transfer students. If you have a lot of questions about the college, it
- may be beneficial for you to arrange an interview; the information you
- obtain might help you make a decision. Be prepared to talk about your
- college work and your recent extracurricular activities--your high
- school accomplishments are less significant now. Keep a list of
- questions you want to ask during the interview.
-
- If you do arrange an interview, try to spend time walking around the
- campus--that's probably the best way to size up the students, the
- facilities, the grounds, the atmosphere. You might be able to go on a
- student-let tour; if not, explore on your own to see if the campus seems
- like a good fit.
-
- Housing. If you want to live on campus, fill out the forms that will get
- you into the housing pool. Some colleges do not have as much housing
- available for upperclassmen as they do for first-year students; if you
- don't get housing, work through the housing office to find options in
- the college community that suit your taste and budget.
-
- If you think you will need financial aid, apply for that at the same
- time that you apply for admission. The section titled "How to arrange
- your finances" will give you information.
-
-
- MIDYEAR TRANSFER
-
- Transfer knows no season--many institutions accept new students at the
- beginning of the winter, spring, even summer terms, in addition to the
- fall. The application deadlines given in this book are for fall 1992; if
- you are interested in entering a school during a different semester or
- quarter, call the admissions office for deadline information. But set
- your transfer in motion a year in advance of your intended entrance in
- any case.
-
- Find out if there are any impediments to entering at a time other than
- the fall. Sometimes programs (such as nursing) take transfers only
- during the fall semester. If you think you'll need financial aid--a job
- on campus, a grant, or a loan--find out if there will be money available
- midyear. Some colleges disburse all their funds during the fall. See
- what housing will be available. Midyear transfers sometimes don't
- receive official evaluations of their transcripts until they've already
- made the transfer, because their final transcript didn't arrive until
- right before (sometimes after) they did! Despite the fact that midyear
- transfer can seem hectic--for students and colleges--many colleges are
- accustomed to accepting significant numbers of transfers each semester.
-
-
- WAITING FOR ACCEPTANCE LETTERS
-
- If you are admitted to several colleges, you have to decide which to
- attend. You may already know your order of preferences; if you don't,
- you may have to go through the decision-making process again. If you
- hear from some colleges before others, and are required to make a
- payment to reserve space in the class or in housing, try to get a
- prelimimary (though unofficial) decision from the other colleges you are
- applying to. You may need to make the payment to keep a college as an
- option.
-
- If you are not accepted, give yourself a day to feel dejected, and then
- rethink your current situation. You're already in a college, one that
- you initially thought would suit you. Is it really impossible to achieve
- your goals at that college? It could be that your chances of
- transferring will improve after you've completed more course work
- (especially if you've completed fewer than two full years of college) or
- after you've refined your goals. Talk with your family or personal
- counselors or friends about what your next steps should be.
-
-
- QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
-
- Q: I didn't get into my first choice college when I was in high school--
- do I really have a chance now?
- A: There are any number of reasons for a college that initially rejected
- you to accept you now. You may not have been accepted before simply
- because the college had too many equally qualified applicants, and you
- were unlucky. The college may have been uncertain of your interest,
- or your high school record may not have indicated that you had the
- ability to do the level of work required. Now, your college record,
- your intended major, or available space in the class you want to
- transfer into make you a very desirable student.
-
- Q: My college is on the quarter system. Am I going to lose credits if I
- transfer to one on the semester system?
- A: With careful planning, you can minimize loss when transferring from
- one system to another. In general, three quarters equal two semesters.
- If you transfer, for example, after 3 or 6 quarters, you have a better
- chance of getting a fair share of credit than if you transfer after 4,
- 5, or 7 quarters, which don't fit as neatly into the semester system.
-
- Q: The college I currently attend is unaccredited. Will that hurt my
- chances of admission to an accredited college?
- A: Many colleges make provisional admission arrangements for students
- transferring from unaccredited institutions. For example, they may
- admit you but require you to meet a certain grade-point average your
- first semester before granting credit for your previous course work.
- Ask each college what its policy is.
-
-