Written By Grant E. Loveless
Hello Riverbat! Ready To Leave The Nest & Transfer?
Students every day attend community college for a number of reasons, but one of the top reasons is to better prepare themselves to attend and get a bachelor’s degree from a four-year university. If this is your ultimate goal, then you’re probably wondering whether the process of transferring will be difficult or easy and the answer is that it is simple with planning, preparation and patience.
As said above, students attend community college for a number of reasons and most of the time the reason is to use their time as a stepping stone and learning opportunity for the next step up towards a 4-year degree. If you want to take this path, here’s what you should do:
- Do Not ‘Go With The Flow,’ Create A Plan!
- Talk to an academic advisor.
- Find resources, tools and more on ACC Transfer’s website! (Do not forget to schedule an appointment!)
- Decide If You Want To Obtain An Associate’s Degree
- Obtaining your associate’s degree can prove quite useful and fulfilling in the long run helpful for a number of reasons:
- Degrees often transfer more easily than individual courses
- An associate’s degree certifies that you have completed all of your general education requirements (be sure you have a basic understanding of the general education requirements at the school to which you are transferring).
- An associate’s degree provides you with a credential to fall back on should you need to put your bachelor’s work on hold for any reason.
- Obtaining your associate’s degree can prove quite useful and fulfilling in the long run helpful for a number of reasons:
- Do Your Research & Search For A New Home!
- Research the university you want to attend and speak to an admissions advisor. Let them know you’re interested in transferring and see if there’s any information they can provide to help. It could also be helpful to network with professors and see if there are any programs you could participate in to make yourself stand out.
- Define your educational goals. (i.e: What kind of degree do you want to get? What do you want to major in? What kind of career and job do you want after you graduate? … etc.)
- Think about which universities you’d want to transfer to. It’s important to plan for this ahead of transferring because every school has different requirements. You want to make sure that everything you do during your time at community college will help you get accepted to your university.
- Talk to your community college advisor and tell them about your plan to transfer to a university.
- Research the university you want to attend and speak to an admissions advisor. Let them know you’re interested in transferring and see if there’s any information they can provide to help. It could also be helpful to network with professors and see if there are any programs you could participate in to make yourself stand out.
- Communication Is Key!
- Communicate with your community college advisor (and university transfer advisor) regularly to make sure you’re taking the right classes and doing the right things to make your transfer possible.
- Apply for FASFA or TASFA Before Application Deadline!
- Apply for financial aid when you’re in community college and when you plan to go to a university. Your school might have scholarships available specifically for transfer students, so make sure you know about them.
All this information can look stressful or make you anxious about transferring to a university from a community college, BUT you will succeed if you follow these tips and head over to view ACC Transfer’s website! It will be a smooth and easy process if you follow these tips and do well in your classes, good luck and I assure you that you will be great.
Student resources listed on austincc.edu
Advising-Area of study advisors will help you select your classes, stay on track for your degree program, and make decisions about your educational and career goals.
University Transfer & Equivalency Guides– Alist of four-year institutions with links and guides to help students plan their transfer to a four-year degree.
Transfer Services– There are many ways to transfer to a four-year university via ACC. Transfer Services will help you navigate the possibilities. The department can also answer your questions about earning some credits here while you’re enrolled at another institution.