<p>I've decided to condense the past 5-6 months into a post regarding what I have learned and how to make the giant step into a 4-year college as a non-traditional transfer student.</p>
<p>**** If you are planning on going to a 4-year because you "missed the college experience and want to live what you missed" then don't bother. Go buy a Corvette... it's cheaper. ****</p>
<p>First, this post is assuming you have already begun going to a community college or junior college. More than likely, you already know your major. If you don't, you need to sit back and so some serious thinking. There are career</a> surveys to assist you if you are having trouble, however this isn't like a highschool kid who can go a couple years before figuring it out. One very helpful site is the US</a> DOJ Occupational outlook Handbook This website is very, very helpful!</p>
<p>You likely have obligations, and responsibilities. Sure, you can change your major, however it will delay things even more. Our biggest enemy is time. We all feel the crunch of time working against us year after year, we're no longer young with a long life ahead of us... but that doesn't mean we can't make things enjoyable!</p>
<p>First, let's talk about community college. Take as many core courses as possible. Try to graduate with College Algebra, English Comp I (II is very good though), some Sociology classes (like Human Diversity), and social studies. Those make up the majority of core classes that the universities look for. Make sure you can get a 2.0 or above.. 3.0+ is optimal.</p>
<p>Now, let's say you're planning on entering in the fall of 2007. When should you get ready? About 5 months ago. Instead, wait until the 2008 year. Trust me on this, you will see why later on in this post.</p>
<p>Around August of the year prior to entering, just as when Seniors are planning their college, you should begin your search. First, look up colleges where your desired major is offered. [Google[/url</a>] is your friend. Learn it. Use it. Love it.</p>
<p>I will use my information as an example. I wanted to take Meteorology as a major, and my backup is Forestry. Both are careers I answered yes to the question, "would you wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work?"</p>
<p>Forestry is easy. My safety is one of the top forestry schools, with a 97% hire rate after graduation. The main advantage is that it's in-state. This is important for reasons I'll get into in a little bit.</p>
<p>Meteorology was more difficult. It wasn't offered at my safety so I did a search and found a [url=<a href="http://www.ametsoc.org/amsucar_curricula/curriculaState.cfm%5Dwebsite%5B/url">http://www.ametsoc.org/amsucar_curricula/curriculaState.cfm]website[/url</a>] that shows what universities offer degrees, and what types. From there I did even more extensive searching. I looked at prospective schools and looked closely at their specific departments for Meteorology/Atmospheric science.</p>
<p>I kept a record of bookmarks for my research. I added each school that I had a slight interest in. This would be the first step, and eventually will have narrowed it down... but we need to do one thing at a time.</p>
<p>I now had a list of about 16 schools. I spent hours researching the schools. As an adult, I looked at the following as priorities:</p>
<p>1) cost
2) reputation, strength of major
3) cost, again
4) course outline, reqs
5) practicality
6) final fit</p>
<p>Cost is a huge issue, and I will tell you why.</p>
<p>First, you're looking at the following for base tuition costs:</p>
<p>Private: ~$30,000
Public, Out of State: ~$14,000
Public, In State: ~$7,000</p>
<p>These are just tuition rates. If you include fees, housing, meals, and expenses plan on adding $8,000 to $10,000 to the tuition, per year!</p>
<p>These numbers may vary considerably depending on the school, however the point is that you are looking to spend a lot if you do not go to an in-state public school. Why? Because the school is given a subsidy from the state based on tax dollars.</p>
<p>There are special programs, called Domestic Exchange Programs. These programs offer in-state or reduced tuition rates for out-of-state students within the program range. This is on a per-major basis, and the information on the university's website is often hard to find. Prepare to do a lot of digging.</p>
<p>Here are the programs (In addition to the programs listed below, the following states have their own two-state exchange programs: Wisconsin and Minnesota; California and Nevada; and Indiana and Illinois.)</p>
<p>National Student Exchange (NSE)
The National Student Exchange is a not-for-profit consortium of U.S. colleges and universities. Operating like study abroad, NSE provides students with access to courses and other resources at over 135 colleges and universities in 47 states and 3 U.S. territories. The program includes tuition reciprocity.
Bette Worley
Executive Director
National Student Exchange
4656 W. Jefferson, Suite 140
Fort Wayne, IN 46804
Tel: 1-219-436-2634
Fax: 1-219-436-5676</p>
<p>[url=<a href="http://www.sreb.org/programs/acm/acmindex.asp%5DAcademic">http://www.sreb.org/programs/acm/acmindex.asp]Academic</a> Common Market](<a href="http://www.google.com%5DGoogle%5B/url">www.google.com)
Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia</p>
<p>Midwestern</a> Higher Education Compact (MHEC)
Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota</p>
<p>New</a> England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE)
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont</p>
<p>Western</a> Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming</p>
<p>Other options are available here:
<a href="http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/exchange.phtml#region%5B/url%5D">http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/exchange.phtml#region</a></p>
<p>Now, using this you may have removed some schools from the list, or even added more. Sort the schools so far by interest and cost, just to give you an idea of where you are.</p>
<p>From there, I looked at each school, and focused on the scholarships available for transfer students. There are many school-based scholarships as well as one you might not know about, Phi</a> Theta Kappa.</p>
<p>PTK is an honor society for community college students who hold a 3.5 GPA or higher. It offers transfer scholarships every year. Ask your CC or JC if they have a chapter, and join right away.</p>
<p>In addition, on College Confidential there is a 'Financial Aid' forum which can help. Many others here in 'Transfer Students' also can help. some advice might not be quick, nor 100% helpful because the majority of this forum is based on traditional students.</p>
<p>Right now you might be wondering if it's worth the hassle. By this time I had about 100 hours invested just in research, and you probably have just as much as well. If you're feeling like giving up already, you might as well settle for your 2-year degree and go back to the workforce. It will not get any easier.</p>
<p>After about a month of research, virtual</a> tours and emails to department professors/aides I narrowed my search down to what I considered a reach, 3 matches, and a safety. You may choose more or less depending. I found good programs that looked promising and seemed affordable.</p>
<p>An example of how much research helps:</p>
<p>One member here suggested "X" as a Meteorology school. I decided to look it up, and was excited: The school was local, and while out-of-state the tuition rates seemed great ($8,000). </p>
<p>However, I looked at the course outline, the course packet, and the classes that were required and something seemed amiss. I emailed the department and after 2 weeks of no response I emailed again. An assistant replied to my inquiry (which was asking about the program and if it would be strong enough for graduate studies, but that's not the point) and his response knocked the school off the list. </p>
<p>That's all it takes... for me a school must have, "ok, ok, ok" and the minute something is "no" then it should be off the list. 'Maybe' moves it to the bottom.</p>
<p>Now it was time to apply. I had 3 schools that I sent applications to. Make sure you have everything!</p>
<p>I had to contact my old school district office for my records. They were 10 years old and took a week to get, so plan for this. Also, I had a transcript issue which also caused a delay... so check with your current institution for any outstanding fees as well.</p>
<p>with your packet, send the appropriate documents requested, and I suggest the following if they are not already required:</p>
<p>1) personal and professional letters of reference
2) resume - those years of working full-time help!
3) essay highlighting your life experiences
4) on the job training you have had
5) certifications even if seemingly unrelated</p>
<p>Send in your application, and call to have your transcripts sent. Remember, as an adult we don't have a counselor to do this for us, so get to it!</p>
<p>While waiting on a reply from admissions I continued to do research. It's hard because you don't know the answers. I suggest you sit with your family and plan things as if you got into every school you applied to. Plan out a scenario in which you went to that school, and the pros/cons of each step.</p>
<p>If you are married and have a family, be sure that your spouse and children are ready for this. 100%. There can not be ANY DOUBT whatsoever. </p>
<p>Once you have an acceptance or more, things get even more difficult, because it's decision time.</p>
<p>Example, myself.</p>
<p>I got into all 3 I applied to: A, B, and C.</p>
<p>Now, things are different for each case, and in summary:</p>
<p>A:
Pro - Excellent Meteorology School
Pro - Beautiful campus and town
Pro - Admissions/LAS college/Department Staff has been VERY helpful and responsive.
Con - School is out of state
Con - School has out of state tuition</p>
<p>B:
Pro - local
Pro - in-state tuition, very affordable
Pro - very eager and helpful staff
Con - not #1 major
Con - Party school, which I'm not into</p>
<p>C:
Pro - semi local
Pro - excellent meteorology dept
Pro - smaller campus
Con - Div II school (yea, I'm a sports nut so it's a <em>slight</em> issue)
Con - staff has been at times rude.
Con - just found out they don't offer need-based aid for transfers</p>
<p>The problem of course is they want to put you in orientation asap. Don't let them! There are other dates they don't advertise, and wait until your financial aid award is sent out. Once you pay that fee you don't want to deal with getting a refund. </p>
<p>Once you make a decision, well you'll know what to do. </p>
<p>In Summary:</p>
<p>1) Make sure you want this 100%
2) Be ready to do the legwork yourself.
3) There's a lot of information out there, you just need to dig, and dig deep.
4) Nobody will hold your hand
5) Do not be scared to contact the admissions office</p>