A Student Transfer Primer - Page 4

"I Want to Transfer Colleges"
Guess What?  You are not alone.  

Millions of students transfer colleges every year.

Navigating College Transfer, An Introduction Page 1, 2, 3, 4

Traditional college students make up about 16 percent of college students today, according to the folks at Eduventures who research this stuff. That means traditional college students are the minority of students attending most higher education institutions in the aggregate. Yet, we hold many inferences about college attendance oriented toward this traditional population. Sports, social life and residency are large factors socializing students. Traditions and legacies reflected in policies and interactions on campus are spread throughout. Students often fall in love or grow to rebel institutional norms based upon identity and the feeling of inclusion or the lack thereof. Moving from one college to another often reveals the differences in culture, environment and expectations placed upon students outside the classroom.

TIP: What you are looking for in a program of study? What learning settings make you comfortable? Do you like to study with others? Do you like to work on projects by yourself? Are you comfortable with a computer? Do you have difficulty keeping focused on one project? Can you handle multiple projects at a time? How do you handle conceptual ideas expressed in writing without verbal explanation? Take an honest assessment of your skills, aptitudes and comfort. Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses is important before picking a program of study or institution.

The thing is, some institutions cater more to traditional students than they do non-traditional students. For instance, many land grant institutions are often confined by location, requiring full time students to be residents and lacking the capacity to serve adults working full-time and attending part-time. Online learning is slowly changing this characteristic of institutions, since a student's distance is removed as the barrier of access and completion; however, what may be lost in gaining access to online courses is the exposure to faculty and other students face to face.

TIP: Students who excel on their own can pass the landmines versus those that may need more guidance or help who are left out in the middle of the battlefield, often feeling lost. Learn to recognize the difference in the type of institution that fits your learning style and needs. Finding a good match is paramount to your success and happiness.

More than half of all students attending postsecondary education are older than 23, and attending college part-time. Roughly a quarter of students are taking all or part of their courses online. A million (and growing) attend for-profit institutions. Determining the right learning environment for you is a prerequisite to deciding on an institution and program. Don't rush into picking the school until you assess what makes the best learning environment for you.

TIP: Attending college as a traditional student is more about the environment, size of the student population, your association with others, peer groups and feeling part of the institution. Before attending any institution, especially for transfer students, check out the support groups and activities related to your interests. If you are working, check out the flexibility of faculty schedules. Are they accessible? Schools that cater to transfer students understand the pressures of today's students who are working and balancing life's challenges.

That's just the start of it. Beyond the 17 to 18 million students counted by IPEDs (the federal data system that tracks students attending Title IV eligible financial aid institutions), there are another 85 million or so others that are involved in other forms of postsecondary learning -- much of it corporate training. This means you are not alone seeking to elevate your level of education and acquire credentials that will mean something to you as you progress through your life and career.

What do to next?