More Transfer Tips

Dear Students,

We kicked off our workshops this week and they went well. We are excited about beginning this new application cycle and assisting you during this process.

I am constantly thinking of new tips to give prospective community college transfer students. Here are a few that came to mind this week:

1. Have a professional e-mail address

Admission's committees will be able to see your e-mail address, please have it be an e-mail that you are proud of and doesn't give a bad impression of you. However minute an e-mail address might seem to you it is important to know they do strike chords with people. Avoid overly complicated e-mails. For example: loo0veit@email.com. This is very complicated because it includes the number 0 and the letter o in an area where they seem to be very hard to read. Also please stay away from e-mails that refer to you as "boy" or "girl": girlinmontebello@email.com OR boyinschool@email.com. Don't use city names or some other type of identifiable name that takes attention away from you as a student. Safe bets always include your initials with numbers, your first name, your last name or some variation. If this means that you have to create an entirely new e-mail account then that is not necessarily bad news. It will keep you organized and up to date if you have an e-mail solely dedicated to college applications.

2. Start early

I understand the lure of procrastination, but the best advice I can give you is to start your application early. Most schools like USC and the UCs do not offer rolling admissions so it will not make a difference if you turn it in a month early or the day of. However, the piece of mind that comes with knowing that your application is complete and submitted is worth it. Even if you wait until the day before to submit your application please work on it early. Pay attention to every detail and dedicate yourself fully to it.

3. Visit your Transfer Center

Make sure that the Transfer Center on your campus knows who you are. If you get connected with the staff there they will inform you about opportunities you might have otherwise not known about. Also, hanging out at the Transfer Center will help you get introduced to fellow students you may have shared interests with you. Regularly visiting the Transfer Center will keep you on track and definitely help you with the transfer process.

4. Research the school you want to transfer to

So many students make the mistake of not fully researching the schools they want to attend.
Visit the campus! I know this may not be feasible because a campus might be far or out of state, but when possible visit the campus! If you are going to commute to campus figure out how long it is going to take you to get there. Get a feel for campus life and the student body. Look at the classrooms and attend a lecture. These experiences will give you a one up when you are writing your personal statement or meeting with admission's reps. Show that you know the school beyond their surface. Also, don't underestimate the power of Internet research, it is the next best thing!

These are just a few more tips. More to come in the future.


The SCholars Program Office