While many college students start and graduate from the same college or university, this isn’t the case for all! Some students have reasons to transfer colleges at certain points in their education. Some factors, like, they may find the college isn’t for them, their finances or changed, or transferring was always a part of their college plan. Keep reading to see how these play a role in a student’s decision to transfer college.
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Reasons to Transfer Colleges
1. The Student Finds the College Isn’t For Them
We’ve all experienced it – something we were excited for didn’t turn out quite the way we expected. It could be a job, a class, a concert, sports, or something else. This can absolutely be the case for the college experience.
Some students get to their college and find it’s nothing like they expected. Or they could get there and discover what they thought they would like, they now dislike. A few will tough it out and just deal with the decision, seeing transferring as not worth it or too much hassle, but some students will take the plunge – especially if the college is 100% not for them.
A few factors that can influence this decision include
- Classes are too hard or not challenging enough
- College should be engaging, but not so challenging that the student is barely passing their classes. Students may have to transfer if the school isn’t what they need academically.
- The social scene isn’t what they expected
- Clubs and extracurricular activities may be advertised on a college website, but social scenes such as parties and the ability to make friends aren’t.
- They find they don’t like the school’s structure
- Students who attended a large college may find they are overwhelmed in the sheer size of their class sizes and are struggling to really find the classes impactful
- On the other hand, students who are attending a smaller school may find the intimate classes stressful and not have enough options socially.
- The location of the school
- Students may have thought they wanted to live in a large city or small town, but once they get there, they discover it’s not for them. Or they could be missing home enough where it’s negatively affecting their schoolwork.
2. The Student is Going from a 2-Year School to a 4-Year
For several reasons, graduating high school seniors can decide to go to a community college for the start of their college education. This can include they didn’t get into their dream school, they wanted to save money on general education requirements, or they weren’t positive about what they wanted out of a college or major.
Community colleges almost only offer associate’s degrees and the bachelor’s programs they do offer are limited. As a result, if a student wants to get their bachelor’s, they will have to transfer to a 4-year.
3. Finances Have Changed
Changes in income, family medical emergencies, and death in the family can all affect an individual’s finances and ability to afford their initial school. While there may be some programs from the college to help students in this situation, some will have to transfer in order to continue their education.
4. The Student Decides They Want to Switch Their Major
In some cases, students will decide they no longer want to study their initial major. This could be because they discovered the coursework or career path isn’t for them, they’re not suited for it, or they found a new line of work that interests them more than they were previously unaware of. While some colleges will offer this new major, not all will and even if they do, the program may not be as good compared to other schools. And there will be certain majors, like engineering, that require the student to declare and apply to the area of study in their initial application.
For students in this boat, they will have to change colleges as well as change majors.
5. It Was Always the Plan
For high school seniors who don’t get into their dream school, it may always be the plan to try again at a later date when they can submit a more robust application. Some schools won’t entertain repeat applications, but there are plenty who do! Students should always review how their dream college handles these types of applications to ensure they’re properly planning for their future.
These are the five most common reasons students decide to transfer colleges. If you’re thinking about transferring, you should always review your options before taking the leap. There are downsides to transferring. Some credits may not transfer 1:1 for example – so you’ll want to weigh the pros and cons.
Is transferring in your future? Our College Match tool can help you identify the best schools for your changing education!
