Reminder for those that plan to go 2+2 by starting at a community college...

[G5052]

DS is preparing for his orientation and registration at the 4-year, and I'm preparing for the big bill at the 4-year, LOL. He had scholarships at the CC that made it about $4,000/year with books, and I'm figuring around $30,000/year with a meal plan, commuting costs, much more expensive books, seminar fees, and activity fees. Unfortunately he didn't get a transfer scholarship. He's going to catch a commuter bus but will be there almost all day and most evenings. 

 

He did very, very well at the community college and graduated at the top of his major with a 4.0. He loved his small classes including some in his major taught by folks working full-time in the field. For us, it was all win-win.

 

BUT his choice of a 4-year has a very detailed guaranteed admission agreement. They also required three classes that the local community college doesn't offer. He took those online and at a neighboring community college. This school is in the top-20 for his major. We had to constantly fight the community college because they always insisted that he was set for admission without the three classes and questioned some of the other courses we chose. As an example, the 2-year didn't require a fine arts class, but the 4-year did. So he took drawing, which he's good at and fit with his schedule. And at EVERY advising appointment (I always went along because they were clueless), the counsellor made a comment about how that was wasted credits. He would NOT have made it under the guaranteed admission agreement without that drawing class. One of the transfer counsellors that we worked with at the 4-year commented that less than 20% of the students from that CC who transfer there make it under the guaranteed admission. She attributed that to the poor counsellors at the CC, lack of planning on the part of the students, and/or GPA issues.

 

We did though, and it's exciting to see it come together.

 

DD starts at the CC  this fall and plans to attend the same 4-year for a program that is only offered at a handful of colleges in the U.S., but thankfully her guaranteed admission requirements are going to be easier because her requirements are more general. Right now at least, all of the classes she needs are offered locally. I'll probably still have to go with her to each advising appointment though because she needs a few classes that aren't required at the CC.

 

So if you have a CC student who plans to transfer, help them watch the requirements because the CC counsellors may or may not have that detailed knowledge.

[Pegasus]

Absolutely top notch advice.  One other tip for students who want to start at a CC and transfer to a specific 4-year school afterwards is to contact the 4-year school right at the beginning and see if they have transfer coordinators.  They are much more likely to provide the guidance needed to make the right decisions.  DD met with the university transfer office coordinator a couple times a year, at formal information events as well as one-on-one meetings, beginning her senior year in high school.

 

DD, fortunately, also got good guidance from her CC, but I know that is not always the case.

[Lori D.]

I also encourage your DS to apply again for scholarships next year at his 4-year school -- he may be able to land a leadership scholarship or a departmental scholarship for upper classmen. Also have him check into campus clubs -- sometimes there are perks of trips, networking, or even scholarships through participation in certain well-funded clubs. :)

 

While DS#1 who did CC and then transferred did get a renewable transfer scholarship, he also landed a second, partial scholarship based on volunteer hours as a student leader (so, worked the dorm move-in days, special events on campus throughout the year, and was a dorm bible study leader). Worth looking into!

[mom31257]

I would say be careful transferring in classes that are essential to your degree and maybe just focus on core classes while at a CC. My dd has been tutoring microbiology students at her school, and the professor said that the students he has referred to her are struggling because classes they transferred in from other schools were not really rigorous enough. 

 

 

[gstharr]

I would say be careful transferring in classes that are essential to your degree and maybe just focus on core classes while at a CC. My dd has been tutoring microbiology students at her school, and the professor said that the students he has referred to her are struggling because classes they transferred in from other schools were not really rigorous enough. 

 

Completely agree, and would add the following.  I had no choice but to attend a cc for academic and financial reasons.  But, the cc served me well. Ended up with a B.A.., and professional degree from 2 very  elite universities. To the extent possible seek out classes that require papers, essays, and written tests.  It took Me a full year to adjust to the writing requirements of a highly selective university.  My junior year of so-so grades, while I learned these skills,  wiped me out of honors and other awards. 

[Milknhoney]

Yes, good advice!!

 

I work in a university admissions office, and I have seen it happen many times. Students make assumptions and get their advice from the counselor at CC, and then they are in for big disappointment when they get here, because it didn't work out how they thought. 

 

It is the 4-year institution that decides what credits they will accept for transfer and what they won't. So THEY need to be the ones that tell you what to do. Contact them upfront before ever starting classes at the CC. Depending on how they work, you might be better off as a non-degree student taking only classes that meet your 4-year's requirements, than trying to make an associate's degree fit. Because unless the 4-year has a formal articulation agreement with the CC, then probably an associate's isn't going to transfer straight across. 

 

Also see if the 4-year has a transfer agreement they will make with you. My university does, and students get to stay under the same catalog year so that their classes are guaranteed to transfer.  

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I would say be careful transferring in classes that are essential to your degree and maybe just focus on core classes while at a CC. My dd has been tutoring microbiology students at her school, and the professor said that the students he has referred to her are struggling because classes they transferred in from other schools were not really rigorous enough. 

 

This can be an issue, which may be part of why the OP's kid's school had such specific requirements.  However it sounds like only taking core classes in that situation would not have let the student take advantage of the guaranteed admission transfer program at all.

 

Watching my kids' time as DE students and hearing stories from DS1's first year in college, there are many students who don't give classes the attention they need.  That may mean not seeking help during office hours or from a study center, it may mean not doing readings or homework, it may mean not bothering to attend all of the class sessions.  Many students create the stumbling blocks that trip them up.

[G5052]

Thanks all.

 

Because DS was going into a program that required application even from their own students who had completed their sophomore year, the guaranteed admission was an absolute must. We went to a seminar there after his senior year, and they said that in considering students for that program, they take all of their own students who meet all of the detailed requirements and all of the guaranteed admit students who meet all of the detailed requirements. Then they look at their own students who are close to meeting the requirements and pick some of those. Then LAST they rank students transferring in without the guaranteed admission requirements and the rest of their own students. The statistics they gave for transferring in and being admitted without the guaranteed admission program were sobering. 

 

Friends of DS who applied to another selective program at the same school were both turned down the first time. Neither met the requirements of guaranteed admission.

[DawnM]

Huh, we have never even met with DS's advisor/counselor.  We just go online and sign him up for the next semester.  

 

His major is pretty straightforward though and we know exactly what he needs to take and when.  He has a little selectivity with Gen Eds and we are careful to pick the ones that have a best change of transferring, but we just chose out of a short list.

 

Do you have to meet with the advisor/counselor every semester?  

[G5052]

Do you have to meet with the advisor/counselor every semester?  

 

It's mandatory the first time, but we ended up doing it every time because they kept putting his credits in the wrong places. He had AP's, dual enrollment, and credits transferred in from another school. Sometimes it would be fine, and then they'd move things around again. Thankfully I work for the same system as a professor at another college and know where to go in the student system to get the advising report. After we both made multiple phone calls, we decided that going in person to make the corrections, register him, and then confirm that things were right was the best approach.

 

I actually held my breath when we put his work in for graduation. They recommended seeing an advisor, but I looked at the advising report, and every blank was filled in with the right course. But it was fine.

 

I go tomorrow with DD. This advisor actually transferred from the main campus and is in charge of advising and disability services, so I'm hoping? DD knows that we have to monitor the advising report, but we won't go in after this if it's OK each time before she registers.