Advising Center guides the way to transfer successfully

Written by | AARON HAMILTON |

Students say transferring away from Amarillo College can be a new and exciting challenge. Many also find the transfer process overwhelming. Many things need to be done before transferring, and many students do not know where to start.

Holly Hicks, an AC adviser, said the process starts with a visit with an adviser. Ernesto Olmos specializes in advising transfer students. If a student is undecided about a major, Advising Services staff members are willing to help. Olmos encourages prospective transfer students to start by contacting the university they plan to attend after AC so they can figure out what classes to take.

Several universities send representatives to AC throughout the year, and students are advised to visit with them to learn about transferring. The two main colleges that come to campus are West Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University. Claire Lyons, a criminal justice major, transferred to WTAMU. Her main concern was whether the credits she had taken at AC would be accepted. According to Lyons, the best way to avoid stressing over transferring credits is to look at the credit transfer equivalences. Most universities have that information on their websites.

When transferring between schools in Texas, if all core classes have been completed, the university is required to accept the core as a whole. If a student transfers out of state, there is a higher chance that classes will not transfer and some may need to be retaken. When students first contact a university, they should have transcript information ready. AC can send transcripts to any college that contains information on all the AC classes a student has taken.

After starting the transfer process, the next thing a student should do is attend a transfer orientation at the university they are looking into. Much like AC, most universities have advising and transfer services that are able to answer questions that a student may have. Many universities recommend visiting with advisers in the student’s specific major. The AC Advising Center is in the student services suite 130. It is open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. To help with registration, it will be open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 14.