How Helpful are Community College Transfer Counselors?

Sally_Rubenstone · 07-25-2008, 10:17 AM

If you are a community college student planning to transfer to a four-year institution, have you worked with a transfer advisor at your school?

If so, has it been helpful and in what ways? (e.g., Did your advisor suggest transfer schools for you? Did s/he help you select the best courses to take before transferring? Did s/he provide other sorts of assistance, such as advice on your application and/or personal statement? etc.)

Bourne · 07-25-2008, 02:37 PM

Honestly? I think the best transfer counselors are found at the schools that feed directly into the UC's.

Ours was horrible. Just horrible. She kept telling me not think about schools beyond our state lines because there really was no point...

She didn't really know where Emory was and she thought Upenn and UT-Austin were similar schools -- large state publics.

tenniscostaleez · 07-25-2008, 02:40 PM

I'm transferring to Georgetown University from a community college. I would say that working with my transfer counselor was essential to the whole process.

First off, since I was in the honors program, we had our own transfer advisor. (yeah we were pampered) We basically planned everything out the summer before I started freshman year. She would not only help us decide our majors, but also plan out a 2 year plan of study. She would ask where we wanted to transfer after our time at community college and also suggested other transfer schools. While planning my courses for 2 years, she would make sure that I take courses that were
1. transferable
2. As rigorous as possible
3. classes that were "required" for transfer

Of course, you would have to find out if they were transferable by either emailing or calling the transfer school

At the beginning of my sophomore year, we went over financial aid stuff, application tips, recommendations, and resume building

My counselor was SUPER helpful in that she would ask / email schools for me, help me choose the right classes, critiqued my personal statement and such

Good luck with the process!
PM me if you have more ?s

tenniscostaleez · 07-25-2008, 02:55 PM

btw, Bourne you are a god among transfers

jk_91 · 07-25-2008, 03:00 PM

^ No kidding, first time I've seen a CC student transfer to Stanford. Bourne, do you mind posting up your stats and ECs?

Bourne · 07-25-2008, 05:29 PM

Lol. No way.

Only deities I know are Andale and Ento along with the other moderators that are always available to help. =)

I posted them earlier in the Stanford Transfer thread.

I feel like our CC system in some ways has been marginalized to the point where only a certain type of student can be helped. Transfer coordinators are geared towards getting students into schools in the surrounding area. They look no further. There are very few resources for getting to the next level.

I have no complaint with this of course -- it's merely progressivism in a weird way, but it's still frustrating. What's even worse is that I live in one of the four largest cities in the country and we have a citywide interconnected CC system. You would just think there would be more...

Uuu · 07-26-2008, 12:09 AM

I feel like the advisers at my community college would make me feel like an idiot if I even brought up the possibility of applying to a more "ambitious" school, or even a not-super-selective but out of state, school.

Last quarter, I excitedly went to our advising center brimming with questions, as I had just begun really looking at different programs. I was told that my 3.52 gpa was "excellent!", and that I would have no problem getting into the state university.... end of story. The adviser was completely uninterested in hearing what other schools I was looking at, or talking with me about ways to search for transfer schools which might be better suited to my (very specific) research interests. It was a very discouraging experience.

I remember in high school, the adviser/ guidance counselor was ALL ABOUT getting students into good, or at least unique, schools. We were told to apply to those schools which, today, I feel like I would get mocked (or at least eye-rolled) by my advisers, teachers, and classmates if I mentioned I was considering or applying to them...

I suppose the mediocre advising I've experienced at my community college may be due to the probably larger proportion of students who do not consider academics to be their number-one priority. ...When the kid with the 3.5+ GPA who is considering how their choice of four year college is going to affect their grad-school options walks in... these advisers are perhaps caught off-guard and so they are too quick to declare "good enough!"?

I just wish I had people I could discuss my prospects regarding admission to the more selective schools with (without being made to feel like a pretentious idiot) besides this forum!

At least I found this forum.

ferryboat10 · 07-26-2008, 01:10 AM

Depends on the purpose and resources of your CC. Obviously at a vocational CC, few counselors will have much experience with transfers.

Most CC [full-time] counselors I';ve come across could tell you the policies of state universities at the drop at hat.

1lazysoul · 07-26-2008, 08:16 PM

the cc that i attended has a transfer center and a transfer counselor.
the office was pretty helpful and made sure that students were able to get hold of admission counselors of the school that they want.
the honors program counselor was more helpful than most counselors.

kissingurami · 07-27-2008, 09:48 PM

it all depends, i guess

most likely, the honors program is more directed towards students with a higher academic pursuance therefore they probably have better counselors.

it's up to you to look for the good counselors.

in every field there are people who are very good at their jobs and there are also people very bad at their jobs

at any rate, they should help you out tremendously in exposing you to more transfer programs and schools.

a transfer center sounds like a good start if your school provides that

gl

clam_chowder · 07-29-2008, 09:43 AM

in my comm college is terrible..
she did nothing!,, even for international students.
she just signed my transfer I-20. thats it. she didnt want to know about anything else.
it was even very hard to make an appointment with her.

Olives · 07-29-2008, 06:22 PM

I have the same issue Bourne had, only not to the same extreme. Everytime I talk to mine she commends me on my grades and work ethic, but then tries to sell me on state schools we have agreements with. I mentioned a thousand times that I have absolutely no interest in them. She also regards everything outside of the articulation agreement realm as a "reach", and it freaks me the hell out. Even if the school has a transfer average of a full point lower than mine. If it's not in PA, it's a reach. CC advisers, at least some of the ones at my school, are a lot like used car salesmen. I really only talk to her when I have a problem with my schedule or something of that sort.

Or maybe she's just covering my ass for me. I'd be crushed if I got rejected from everywhere I applied. Who knows.

g3rry176 · 07-29-2008, 09:04 PM

Is it hard to transfer out-of-state from a CC?

Bourne · 07-29-2008, 10:00 PM

OOS to a private school? Or OOS to a public?

themovies · 08-01-2008, 11:52 AM

My counselor actually picked up an IGETC worksheet and started reading it to me. As though my problem is that I'm illiterate. I thought perhaps it was just that counselor, but never had any better luck with others. If there's something they know that's not included in a handout in the counseling office, I haven't been able to get it out of them.