Steps to an easy transfer

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Brittni Young/Web Editor
A student may feel lost at sea when it comes time to transfer, having no sense of direction of where to go or what to expect. “My biggest concerns about transferring is the possibility of credits not transferring over to another university,” Del Mar student Mixtli Lozano said.
Mixtli is a studio art major at Del Mar college who plans to transfer to Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the near future. “I know for a fact that some art classes I have taken do not transfer to A&M Corpus Christi, so I have to prepare myself for that in the future,” Lozano said.

This does not discourage Lozano from continuing to take art classes at Del Mar. The classes she has taken have been beneficial providing her with knowledge and experience that will help prepare her for classes at the university and her future as a graphic designer. She said it would be a struggle for students who have not taken classes and gathered experience when they enter into more challenging courses at a university.

Students transferring to universities can find the process to be a roller coaster or a road of ease. Whatever the experience may be for the student, countless questions run through their minds. Will my credits transfer? Where should I transfer? What do I do now? The decision for transferring can become a difficulty if a student does not have a clear idea of what they are doing. Many universities have transfer advisors on staff to help with the process of taking the steps to transfer.

Universities will not be able to determine the transferable credits without a student’s transcript on file. Texas A&M Corpus Christi Record Specialist Robert Ramirez advises students to prepare early by sending their transcripts as soon as possible. “Most transcripts are mailed and the mailing system takes quite a bit of time so starting on the ball sooner will only help your case,” said Ramirez.

Del Mar Enrollment Specialist Lisa Centennial said students should not only send an official transcript to their university but also send at least two to their selves as a backup in case there is an event where something happens to their transcript in the mailing process.
Ramirez said, “Core classes if taken relatively recently should not be a problem to transfer. However other courses may be difficult in depending on how specific or how far back course was actually taken.”

According to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, public colleges and universities in Texas are part of the General Education Core Curriculum that applies to all degrees. This agreement has been set up to make the transferring of credits to another institution less of a hassle. The agreement insures that if a core class is taken at one college it will automatically transfer to the chosen institution, even if the second institution does not offer the specific course as a core class. THECB said for example if Astronomy is a core natural science at institution A and is not at institution B, it must still be accepted at instutition B.

Transferring to a university with credits may play an advantage to graduating sooner. “If a student was close to finishing up at another university and everything they took over they’re transferred then it would not take them as long,” Ramirez said.
Centennial said that she advises students to use everything Del Mar has to offer before transferring to a four-year university. She strongly suggests students also obtain their associates degree before transferring. “Wait to obtain your associates degree so your core classes are complete and when you transfer to a university you can jump straight into your major.”

According to Centennial there are several benefits to obtaining an associate’s at Del Mar before transferring. These benefits include saving money by taking classes that are offered at other universities for half the cost with smaller class sizes.
Choosing where to transfer depends on the student and the major there are looking obtain. Staying locally may be beneficial to students who have family residing here saving on costs for housing and other necessities. Transferring out of your home may be costly, but Centennial finds this to be beneficial in the end. She said transferring out of town is beneficial to receiving a better degree income if you are looking for a four-year degree and also to obtaining more experience.

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