Tips on Transferring from a 2-Year to a 4-Year College

Many students use a community college or another two-year college as a stepping stone to a four-year institution and a bachelor's degree. If you want to take this path, here's what you should do:

• Meet with your college adviser when selecting classes every semester. Students looking to transfer after 2 years of college must choose their courses strategically. Not every credit you earn at your 2-year college will transfer to your 4-year university. By asking an adviser if classes will transfer before you select them, you can save time and money.
• Sign up for a transfer program at a 2-year college. These programs include the same kinds of courses that you'd take in your first 2 years at a 4-year college. The program aims to help you succeed at making the transition.

Ask Questions About the 4-Year vs. Community College Experience

Because each college has its requirements, the most important thing you can do to make the transfer process run smoothly is to plan early.

Get help from these resources:

• Your high school counselor
• The admissions or counseling offices of the 2-year colleges you're thinking of attending
• Transfer advisers at the admissions offices of the 4-year colleges you're considering

The last resource is one of the most important. Transfer advisers at four-year colleges are there to support the transition. They can assist you in many ways, such as answering pivotal questions and helping you determine which courses are most relevant to your plans.

When you take advantage of these resources, ask these questions:

• Does the 2-year college have a special transfer relationship─often called an articulation agreement─with any 4-year colleges?
• Will the credits I earn be accepted at the 4-year colleges I'm considering?
• What grades do I need to earn in my classes to get credit at the 4-year schools?
• What's the minimum GPA I need to maintain to get into the 4-year institutions?

Transferring Colleges: How Does It Work?

The first step is to go through the application process. After spending time at your two-year college, you must apply to the four-year institution as a transfer student. This admissions process works differently for transfers than for new students.

What happens after you apply for a transfer? Your four-year college will look at the courses you took and the grades you earned at your two-year college and decide how much credit to give you. Each class is worth a certain number of credits, often three, and students need to earn enough credits, usually 120, to graduate.

Here are more transfer facts:

• If enough of your courses transfer, you can start at the 4-year college as a junior.
• If you don't get credit for some of your courses, you may need to retake them at the 4-year college. This scenario often occurs when classes considered core courses at the 2-year college only count as electives at the 4-year university.
• When you graduate from the 4-year college, only that college’s name will appear on your bachelor’s degree.

You can learn more about transferring to a four-year college, such as information about individual college requirements and application deadlines, by checking out College Search.