As a community college transfer student, how can I position myself to get into the best liberal arts college possible?

May 24, 2011 9:54 AM

What advice can you offer a community-college student who wants to maximize her chances of transferring into a top social-sciences program at a four-year school?

I’m a GED recipient and honors student at a community college, and I will earn my associate's degree next spring. I would like to transfer to some four-year college that is commutable from Boston (including RI/NH) in fall 2012.

Anecdotes from anybody who has successfully made this kind of transfer would be really appreciated, but I'd also like to hear more general advice for somebody in my position. Positives: I have a great GPA, I scored very high on my GED, and I have several professors who will provide great recommendations. Negatives: My community-college transcript also has several withdrawals, and my high school transcripts are just a mess.

I am in the process of selecting target schools, but it's hard to know what chances I have of getting into a given program as a transfer student. I have all kinds of specific questions—like whether I should retake the SAT for a higher score, or whether AP/SAT subject tests would help—but really my basic question is this: I want to apply to schools this fall, and open as many doors as possible. How can I best position myself?

Thanks in advance!

posted by hypotheticole to Education (9 answers total)

Have you talked to an academic advisor at your community college? The cc I went to had transfer agreements with the state universities. If you took certain classes/credits to fulfill the requirements for your AA, the university you attended would waive all "general education requirements" (the classes outside of your major, basically the first two years of the four year degree). The advisor can also review your transcript and help you decide whether to retake the SAT, etc. You should also be able to talk to someone in the admissions department in your targeted schools - give them a call, they will probably talk to you over the phone, or maybe let you schedule an appointment when you're visiting the campus so you can bring your transcript and discuss it in detail. They will tell you what they're looking for - it's not a secret. I believe it's easier to get into a university as a two year transfer student than as a freshman because a lot of students drop out in the first two years, so there's more spaces available.

By the way, if your experience is anything like mine, expect the coursework at university to be a LOT harder and more demanding than it is at community college. My cc classes were easier than high school (though I did take mostly advanced courses in high school), and the difference between the workload at cc and university kind of threw me.
posted by Safiya at 10:07 AM on May 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

I want to apply to schools this fall, and open as many doors as possible. How can I best position myself?

What's the end goal? You'll need to consider the financial angle of things too, which may mean a state school or a lower ranked private school with more scholarship money for your cohort that's not quite as academically prestigious opens more doors by not saddling you with a lot of debt.
posted by Jahaza at 10:16 AM on May 24, 2011

This isn't quite "commutable" from Boston, but since you are a lady, if you are old enough (I think 26 is the minimum age for both, but it might be 24), I would highly highly highly encourage you to consider the Frances Perkins program at Mt. Holyoke or the Ada Comstock Scholars program at Smith College. They are both targeted to non-traditional students and will be used to seeing GEDs and community college transcripts.

More broadly, you might have a better/easier shot at getting into the honors program at a larger state university that has an articulation agreement with your CC than you do getting into a SLAC. DON'T look down on that option. I focused on the SLAC thing instead of the honors college at a flagship thing when I did my community college transfer. I ended up at a flagship as a regular jill type student, and I was soooooo jealous of the honors kids. I talked my way into one honors class as a senior and it was vastly, vastly different from anything else I took.
posted by Snarl Furillo at 10:18 AM on May 24, 2011 [2 favorites]

I'm a professor at a 2-year college. The best thing you can do is contact the admissions offices at the schools on your list and ask them all of these questions. Each school likely has a slightly different take on the various elements you mentioned.

Furthermore, in your admissions packet find a place to comment on your journey from former high school mess to sterling and wildly more mature college student.

Finally, try very hard to avoid any more W's in the coming year. This will reinforce you narrative that you've gotten your act together and are now ready for advanced work.
posted by oddman at 10:34 AM on May 24, 2011 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Have you talked to an academic advisor at your community college? The cc I went to had transfer agreements with the state universities. If you took certain classes/credits to fulfill the requirements for your AA, the university you attended would waive all "general education requirements" (the classes outside of your major, basically the first two years of the four year degree).

Yes, I have. She's been very helpful, and has helped me set up what you're describing. I have guaranteed admission into all MA state schools (and Suffolk University) because I have a high GPA. I'm leaning toward a private university, but I don't know what my chances are at getting into a top school, you know? It's harder still because a lot of private colleges are very specific about what kinds of credits they will accept from transfer students.

What's the end goal?

The end goal is to graduate from a really good school which will set me up to get into some sort of graduate program. I'm not sure what I want to do yet for majors or careers, but I'm pretty certain that I'd like to do something in the social sciences division (history, psychology, political science, social work, etc). In addition to the Masters/PhD route, I'm considering law school or even business school.

From what I've heard, the name on your graduate degree is far more important than the name on your undergraduate degree, right? So I guess that my end goal is to get into a liberal arts program at a good college which will set me up to get into a good graduate program.

... if you are old enough (I think 26 is the minimum age for both, but it might be 24) ...

That's an interesting idea, but I'm actually only eighteen. Do you know about any particularly good programs at Mt. Holyoke or Smith? I've heard good things about both schools, but I haven't looked into either of them in-depth yet.

This is all really helpful so far. Thanks so much!
posted by hypotheticole at 11:00 AM on May 24, 2011

I think going to a solid state school and taking difficult classes plus getting to know your professors will put you in a great place to get into a top grad school.

I highly recommend borrowing as little as possible if you are going to go into a social sciences career. I have my master's in psychology and I can't imagine the world of trouble I would be in now if I had gone to the expensive private school I almost attended for grad school.
posted by parakeetdog at 11:26 AM on May 24, 2011

Generally speaking, Liberal Arts schools are more open minded about students who have taken a non-traditional path. So you got that going for you. What do you have besides grades to emphasize? Any decent school can load up on kids with a 3.0 and decent SAT scores. What they often want is the interesting kid, somebody who was doing something interesting or unusual with their teen years, or somebody that has overcame a particularly difficult challenge.

In a phrase, be interesting.
posted by COD at 11:44 AM on May 24, 2011

Once you have your target schools, and after you've spoken to admissions staff there, start talking to your professors about your plans and see if they have any advice or connections where you want to go. They all went to school somewhere, and I imagine most of them have friends like them who teach at some of the schools you went to. Networking will strengthen the recommendations of the professors who know you, at least among those of their peers who know them and value their opinions accordingly. If you are friendly with your current professors, remain that way, and continue to keep in touch in the future.

Also, in your applications, make sure you carefully review everything more than a few times before you send it, including anything you write explaining your previous academic mess and the changes in your life that lead to your current success. In any profession, your ability to write without annoying errors of punctuation and grammar will help you stand out.
posted by Hylas at 1:22 PM on May 24, 2011

Don't necessarily write off a state school--I did my undergrad at an obscure state school (in English, no less), went to work in my field for 8 years or so, and am now going to an ivy for my masters next year. I know your timeline is different, but I just wanted to put that out there. ...And I'm nowhere near an exception--I met a lot of other state-school folks at the admitted students events.

Also, grad school is extra-expensive for us non-math/science folks. Funded masters degrees in humanities are very hard to come by, so I'd save as much money as possible.
posted by smirkette at 6:42 PM on May 24, 2011