Transferring to Another College: Nuts and Bolts

Buy this book »

The Nuts And Bolts Of The Transfer Process

If you've gone through the analysis and you are certain that transferring is the right option for you, your next step should be to contact the admissions offices of your target schools, establish a relationship with one of the admissions officers at each of those schools, and determine what will be required of you as a transfer applicant.

Although every school's transfer process is a little bit different, you will almost certainly be asked to submit a certified transcript from your current college or university, a statement from your current college or university registrar's office establishing that you are a current student in good standing, and at least one essay justifying your interest in transferring out of your present school and into your target school.

You are also likely to be asked to come to campus for an interview or to interview by telephone. If this is the case, be ready to discuss how you erred in choosing to attend your current school, what is motivating your interest in transferring, and what actions you took at your current school to try to resolve your dissatisfaction. Establishing that you made efforts to make things work out at your current school will show your maturity and may help convince the admissions committee at your target school that you have thought your decision through carefully and warrant one of the precious few transfer slots that come available each year.

Ensuring That Your Financial Aid Transfers With You

A complete discussion of how to handle financial aid transfers is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that you will have to file a new FAFSA and CSS Profile form (if applicable) for your new school, because if the cost of your new school is either higher or lower than your old school, the size of your aid package is likely to change. Keep in close touch with a financial aid officer at your new school, as this person will be in the best position to help you navigate the transfer and reconfiguration of your federal aid package. Also be sure to inform all federal, state, and local scholarship sources of your change of schools to ensure that any renewable annual awards end up in the right place.

"After my sophomore year at West Point, I transferred to UMass-Amherst," Aaron noted. "I transferred because prior to college, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. Through lacrosse, I was offered the opportunity to attend West Point after completing one year of their preparatory school. It was a great opportunity athletically, educationally, and economically (you get paid military salary to attend), so I decided to give it a shot. After three years in the program, I decided I was tired of not having any personal freedom and I was unhappy with being away from my friends and family for such long periods of time. The experience just wasn't right for me.

"I left in the spring and took the following fall semester to work and decide what I really wanted to do. I decided to attend UMass the next spring semester. I had it relatively easy because I was recruited to go to UMass for lacrosse, so they did most of the nuts and bolts work of getting me in. You definitely want to find out which of your class credits are going to be accepted by your new school and which classes you'll have to retake, as this can be a major issue."