College Admission Help

College Admission Help: Searching for The Next Dream School

While high school seniors are dashing to the mailbox to pull out admission decisions, another
college-bound group is dashing to the mailbox to send in college applications. Even as we speak, transfer applicants are doing the same transcript/essay/letter of recommendation dance high school seniors completed in December, hoping that their second set of college dreams will come true when they hear from admission offices in May.

Since more high school seniors are looking into starting their careers at a college close to home before they head out to School #2, now would be the time to cut and clip this advice on transferring colleges:

- Look far and wide. The search for a transfer college is different than the search for a first college. Online colleges, night and weekend colleges, and colleges with “campuses” in office buildings are designed to help students finish the education they started somewhere else. In addition, many colleges won’t even look at your high school transcript once you have a year of college under your belt—so good college grades could open up more college choices as well. Of course, their football games aren’t nearly as interesting as the gridiron gigs at the colleges you looked at as a high school senior, but after a year or so of college, these other options may make more sense for your goals.

- Look in the mirror. More than just your college options may have changed when you look to transfer schools. Most students change majors three times once they start college, so the list of best schools you have now may not apply when your love for Archaeology changes to a love for Architecture—or when your interest in pledging a sorority at 18 is overshadowed by an interest in job security at 20. Build your next list on the things that matter to you then, not now—new dreams will require new choices.

-Know what you’re giving up. Transfer students have different options, but that doesn’t mean they have every option. Many highly competitive colleges don’t admit many transfer students, and some don’t admit any at all. This may change if the economy continues to drag (“Hey, what’s one more junior?”), but now would be the time to see if Utopia University takes transfers, and if so, how many. If getting in as a transfer student seems unlikely, consider deferral for a year.

-Be frugal with your credits. Not every class at College A transfers to College B, and some that do will only transfer as elective classes, not required ones. Keeping an eye on what will transfer is a full-time job, a job that’s held by the counselors and advisers at College A. Meet with them every semester to scope out the schedule that will keep your transfer options focused and open—and remember, what matters is how many credits your new school wants to you complete once you’re there, not how many credits they’ll accept from where you’ve been.

-Be fugal with your wallet. Many colleges offer scholarships just for transfer students or members of Phi Theta Kappa, the community college honor society. Why? In most cases, there’s a better chance you’ll finish your degree than the students who entered that college as freshmen. Ask about special grants for transfer students—now is the time to shop around.

The two-college solution is used by more people than you realize, and economic times suggest this group will grow. Keep an eye on your goals and your options, and don’t be afraid to look around—observation is the key to a great education.





College Admission Help: Searching for The Next Dream School