The Futures Northwest team had an amazing opportunity to interview multiple transfer students - Edson Beltran, Rina Bolden, and Errin Hendrickson.
Have you wondered what it is like being a transfer student or have any questions about transferring to a four-year university? In this post, we have conversations with each student to share their personal stories and experiences that might feature information that is insightful to our readers.
Here is a summary of what everyone had to say about finances, engagement, and building connections.
Financial Matters:
Tuition for higher education is expensive and can be intimidating for many prospective students who are hoping to get a degree at a four-year university.
There are multiple options to alleviate the financial burden of higher education as well as avoiding taking out student loans. One of these options is going to community college and transferring to a four-year university.
Edson Beltran, a former student at Skagit Community College, is now a senior in the Human Services program at Western Washington University.
Beltran mentions that attending a community college “helps take away the pressure of working” due to having a lower tuition cost. He notes the significance of financial stability and how it can allow a student to perform well academically.
Rina Bolden, a transfer student from Whatcom Community College is also a human services student at WWU. Bolden mentions that going to a community college helps save thousands of dollars.
Errin Hendrickson, a transfer student from Everett Community College and Shoreline Community College is now attending Washington State University. Her tuition at community college was covered by financial aid, but she had to take out loans and out-of-pocket to pay for WSU because it didn’t fully cover the tuition and services.
Attending a community college for two years and transferring to a four-year university is a growing trend for college students because it saves money. Additionally, there are numerous resources such as financial aid and scholarships that are available for both community college and universities!
For support on Financial Aid and Scholarships, please check out our resource section here: http://www.futuresnw.org/scholarships-fafsawafsa
Engagement:
Engagement is important for students and their college experience; students might want to make new friends, be part of a community, or feel motivated while attending school.
Beltran felt more engaged in classes at WWU compared to Skagit Community College because in his experience, he would just go to class and head home after class was over. “As soon as the class was over, everybody just left like everyone did their own thing, and I was just there for class and would go home… I felt like I was learning something, but I wasn’t engaged.”
Bolden and Hendrick mention that shifting from community college to university was a daunting experience.
Bolden said, “To be perfectly honest I was terrified because it’s this huge campus and as old as I am, overcoming my fears of such a big campus and all these new people and all the instructors have very advanced degrees. It was very intimidating for me.”
Hendrickson initially struggled with college engagement; she had to figure out her own way of getting involved because transfer students aren’t viewed as “new” compared to freshman college students.
Engagement at a college can be overcome. Some recommendations we have are researching the programs in your college, joining clubs and action projects, and attending college events outside of your education requirements.
Building Connections:
Building connections on campus is another important component for transfer students and their college experience.
Beltran felt more welcomed at community college because the campus is smaller. The professors were more flexible students which created a relaxing environment.
After transferring to a university, he felt like it was significantly difficult to fit in. Beltran said it was “hard to know everybody compared to being a freshman.” He felt like an outsider at first, but gradually became more engaged with his classes and peers at WWU.
Beltran later adds the importance of having a diverse campus and the impact of having his first professor of color at Western.“I never saw like another professor that looked like me, so it was just like that one time that I saw him it was just like wow I can do that!”
Hendrickson also mentions it is easier to connect with people at a community college because it is smaller and it could be difficult to figure out where to fit in a university because there is a larger population.
Like Beltran, Hendrickson eventually felt more connected with the university when she spent more time there.
“My first year when I transferred here I felt very distant from the school and like not connected to very many people, but once you stick with it and you have the same people in your classes, and you get jobs on campus, stuff like that. You really do connect with people. I definitely feel a huge connection with my campus at the university way more than I did at community college….”
Each college student had different, unique experiences after transferring to a four-year university because the environment drastically changed from community college. By sharing their perspectives, it might highlight some of the pros and cons of being a college transfer student.
Thank you all for sharing your stories and experiences.