Tips for trouble-free transfers

By Ryan Cotten, Ranger Reporter:

Transferring from Amarillo College to a university can be an intimidating process, but staff at AC are eager to help. Advisers from AC and West Texas A&M University have several tips to make the transfer process a little less stressful.

The easiest way to start the transfer process is getting started. “I always say the semester before they transfer is when students should start looking at where they want to transfer to. Students should start the transfer process in January or February for the fall semester, but in the spring, since the student has a shorter timeframe, I would recommend starting in August if a student wants to transfer in December,” Ruth de Anda, an academic adviser at AC, said.

Once a student has started looking at schools, it is important to follow through with the university’s requirements.

“I think the biggest thing is just researching what you’re interested in and where. After that you can go through the steps, and together we can navigate through that list,” De Anda said.

Along with the transcripts, test scores and applications, students need to be aware of the most important requirement: deadlines.

“It’s never too early to start, but there are some universities that want you to start at least six months ahead of time,” De Anda said.

Once all the deadlines are met, the work is not over. “Once you get your transcripts and scholarships and are accepted, the most important thing is to keep the university updated on your progress,” De Anda said.

WT is a popular destination for students to transfer to after their time at AC. “When it comes to transferring to WT, we have also established a special program with AC known as Destination WT.

“Students who are considering transferring to WT apply prior to completing 25 hours at AC. They don’t actually transfer until they completed 52 or more hours at AC. This way students work on and complete a lot of those lower level hours and when it comes time to transfer, a lot of the coursework they need for their degree at WT has been completed,” Gwynne Walker, WTAMU transfer assistant and director of admissions, said.

“Start applying to schools at least a year before you want to go, and figure out where you want to go,” Dawson Jones, a finance major, said

Transferring schools can also have its disadvantages. “I think students are scared. I think transferring is scary because it’s a lot of responsibility, but knowing the expectations (of the university) is important,” De Anda said.

“What I see holding people up the most is not knowing where they want to go,” De Anda said.

“Courses will generally transfer over, but some institutions may not take all of their coursework. Also, transfer students may find that they have taken courses that don’t fit into their degree plan. WT and AC work very closely together so students generally don’t find it to be a problem with coursework transferring from one institution to another,” Walker said.

Starting the transfer process can be difficult at first. “The hardest part for me was looking at the list of everything I had to do for Texas Tech. I had to take it one step at a time,” Jones said.

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