Is it more difficult to get into college as a transfer student?

Question

right now i sort of made the mistake of going to a not very prestigious school basically to save money in my first year of college. but now i am seriously in high gear about this. i wish to transfer into a good state university. can anyone give me further advice about this?

Answer 1

as long as you show that you have good grades and have fulfilled the requirements to transfer then you are set to go. i don't know about you but  here in california community colleges transfer great students. some even went to ivy league schools. they have a good repuatation for the most part and students most likely are able to hang with students in the university. some are even better. if you believe you have been prepared well by your professors then there should be no problem. :) good luck!  

Answer 2

It is not in general harder to transfer than to enter as a freshman. In some cases it is actually easier, because you have proven that you can do college level work and attain high grades.

Colleges are actually more interested in this simple achievement than you might think. It demonstrates the most basic college level skill; that you can get up, get yourself to classes, get your work in on time, in short, manage yourself. High school does not demonstrate this because the background assumption is that your mom is waking you up and pushing you out the door, and your teachers are managing everything else.

Now one fact to keep in mind is that colleges think in terms of "classes" or "cohorts". You know, the "Class of 2011" etc. They organize their admission decisions based on forming a "good" class -- well balanced, diversified in terms of goals and majors, and most important, full -- so they can get tuition dollars to pay their bills.

Transfer students are then fit in around the edges, to replace students who have dropped out or transferred.

The exception is transfers from local community colleges where the university has a transfer agreement. The university understands that a certain percentage (which they can statistically estimate) of students from the surrounding community colleges will be coming into their junior "class".  

It may be worth your while to talk to the admissions office at the state university you wish to attend. Ask whether they have a transfer agreement with your CC. If they do, ask whether it makes sense to stay in the CC for another year so you can transfer your entire block of required courses without a hitch. It may pay you to stay at the CC one more year, knowing that a place in the university you want is more or less reserved for you in the junior year. This conversation will also lead to several related topics and make you smarter on the whole issue.

Good luck.