What are the pros & cons of transferring? If one is doing fine at a college, why go through social and academic disruptions? What are common reasons for so many students wanting to transfer?
There are a lot of reasons. …
You find your passion and your school doesn’t have a strong department. One friend started studying Russian at her LAC, loved it, but the school didn’t offer it beyond a certain level. She transferred to U. Chicago. Now has a PhD.
The dominant culture is very strong and it kills your soul to be there. I know one terrific young woman now who is probably a good transfer candidate for this reason.
You want to be closer to home because of family or health reasons.
What ard some disadvantages or cons?
I always thought it’d be hard because so much of freshman year is set up to help you meet people and you miss that. Credits may not transfer, requirements may be different. Your college grades matter but so do your high school ones. Financial aid and merit may be less available for transfers.
But everyone I know who has made the effort to transfer has been happy with the decision, mostly because they really felt they were in the wrong place. Maybe it’s like getting divorced. If it’s that wrong, getting it right will be a big improvement!
This. My D was doing spectacular academically, but did not fit in. She transferred to a school where she did. They included the transfer students in the multi-day orientation, with specific events just for them. Three of her closest friends from then (they graduated 14 years ago) were also transfers. And three weren’t. She had found her peeps, and the experience was a spectacular success for her.
That being said, transferring is hard and stressful, and I would not recommend it for someone who’s reasonably happy where they are, unless there is a specific academic lack. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but sometimes it’s the only choice.
Are you asking this question about your own kid(s) transferring? If so, what reasons have they given you about transferring?
Pros- better opportunities in one’s field, more focus now that Freshman year is behind you.
Cons- got to establish oneself all over again.
For some kids the decision to transfer is a no brainer- original school just isn’t right. For others- it’s “Grass is Always Greener” syndrome.
Con- merit offered to transfers is less than that offered to freshman, so costs may be higher at transfer school
D transferred after her freshman year to attend where her BF was going to be attending (a year behind her). She had some problems with getting all her credits accepted where there wasn’t an exact overlap of course material. She also had to take a full slate of credits every semester after that, in order to fulfill all the gen eds and major requirements at the new school.
She went from full-pay OOS to full-pay instate, so the cost was reduced considerably. She knew other students at the instate school (in addition to BF), so the friends thing wasn’t really a problem. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA and is still with BF.
In general I think it is a terrible idea to start one college with the intent of transferring out. This will stand in the way of your making meaningful friendships, developing relationships with professors, and getting involved on campus. Then if your transfer doesn’t work out as planned you will be really stuck. I’d go to the college you enrolled in with the intent of staying all four years. It is fine to throw in a couple of transfer applications but don’t count on it working out.
Sometimes a transfer makes sense but the decision should not be taken lightly. I transferred many years ago and I’m glad I did but it was not easy. Many friendships are formed freshman year so it took work to break in socially (and I got lucky with great suite-mates when I transferred it). And academically I hit a couple of bumps (ex. my prior college’s intro course did not leave me prepared to take the higher level course at my new college so I had to put in a huge effort to get through the class) and I had to re-take a couple of courses which my new college did not give me credit for.
“I think it is a terrible idea to start one college with the intent of transferring out.”
This. I just turned down a paying client because she wanted to hire me in June, before starting her first year at a four-year university. Nope. I will not talk to prospective transfers from four-year colleges until they have finished a full term of college. I cannot be complicit in creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that the first school will disappoint.
Bravo @Hanna
@thumper1 No. This is for a girl from his school. She enrolled at UTD this year but she doesn’t want to go there and already planning to transfer to UT Austin.
The person in question would need to open her own CC account and ask for opinions.