Plan Ahead for Tricky Transfers

12:00 AM CDT on Tuesday, June 16, 2009
McClatchy Newspapers

Community colleges can be a great bargain and a good start toward a four-year degree. But a common stumbling block is the sometimes tricky transfer to a four-year college or university.

Done wrong, a transfer can waste money and cause undue hassle, experts said."Two years and two years can be a smart choice if you do your homework and make an informed choice," said Susan Weir, an assistant vice provost at the University of South Carolina and author of the book Transitions: A Guide for the Transfer Student. "It can be counterproductive if you just take classes without any guidance or plan in place."

With a down economy, shrunken college savings funds and parental jobs in peril, more high school students are continuing their education at a community college en route to a four-year degree. According to a poll of 120 institutions by the American Association of Community Colleges, schools report enrollment increases ranging from 4 percent to 26 percent over last year, with the average at 10 percent.

Some argue that it matters less where you start college and more where you finish. The diploma will read the same as it does for students who spent all four years on campus and paid much heftier tuition.

The savings can be huge. Sticker prices, before aid and scholarships, for tuition and fees for an in-state student at a public four-year school average $6,585 this year, compared with $2,402 for two-year community colleges, according to the College Board. Private four-year schools are in the stratosphere at $25,143.

Among the biggest issues of attending community college is planning a transfer, especially making sure you're not wasting time or money on community college courses that you will have to retake, and pay for again, at a four-year school.

Weir and Don Silver, author of the book Community College Transfer Guide, offer some guidance on the transition:

Choose a major and a destination four-year school as early as possible. It will make planning your transfer far more effective and result in taking fewer unnecessary classes at a community college.

"The student who wants to end up at a particular four-year school and in a particular major ... that student can really profit from this if they do their homework and play their cards right," said Susan Weir of the University of South Carolina.

If you're undecided on a four-year school, take courses whose credits will transfer to several potential colleges. And during the first year, use the career center, talk with academic advisers and join job-shadowing programs to help you decide on a major.

"You don't want to be undecided going into your second year of college because at that point you risk taking classes that don't apply to your degree," Weir said. "And then you're really wasting money."

Transferring would be easy if courses were standardized – credit for an algebra course at any community college would count at any four-year college. And community colleges sometimes have tight relationships with public colleges within the same state that eases the transition. But all too often, planning a transfer can be difficult.

"It's surprising to me it's such a complex process," said Don Silver, author of a transfer guidebook. "Students get discouraged because they think, 'How am I supposed to know this stuff?' "

As a transfer student, you can't get too much advice from counselors or double-check too often on whether you're taking the right classes so credits will transfer and you gain admission to the destination school, Silver said.

Confirm every semester that you're meeting requirements not only for admission to the four-year school, but also the requirements of the major you've chosen.