By Alex Dickson
News Editor
Tyler Junior College is only a two-year college, which means many of the students will move on to transfer to bigger universities. The question remains to which universities Apaches are moving on to become a part of while carrying the Apache legacy with them, but also how to go forward through the transfer process.
Deciding to transfer is a personal decision for each student that takes careful consideration, however the transfer process itself has many steps that should be taken before a student has the ability to transfer from TJC.
Deciding a major is the first step on the road to transferring. Jan Adams, Director of Academic Advising, talked about getting things done in a timely manner when she said, “The second semester here you should be narrowing down exactly where you want to go, you need to be looking at their website to find out all of the requirements. The second year here, third semester, you need to make sure that you are going to that university to check it out.” She further elaborates, “picking a major is extremely important.” This great advice, much like the kind you will receive from the advisors at TJC which will help during the entirety of the process.
The second step is to complete coursework to graduate from TJC or become core complete. Adams further explains, “They need to choose a major at TJC, and they need to be working toward completing all of the core requirements, and major requirements. If possible, graduate from TJC, but at least try to be core complete before they transfer so they don’t have to take that universities core cases.”
Being core complete is the minimum that can save many students from paying thousands of dollars to retake courses that they have already taken. The advising staff will explain that graduating from TJC with a degree is usually the best option, but it differs between each student and what the requirements are for their degree plan. Making an appointment with an advisor is important, so that all the requirements are met.
Researching requirements for transferring and possible universities are steps three and four. Students should find out if the university offers the major that they want to pursue, the requirements for their degree plan at that university, as well as, the requirements for transferring with deadlines. These are the basic things to research for a given university. Patriot Pathways and Baylor Bound are some of the partnerships with universities that are offered. These can help a student move on to the partnered university after TJC.
“It takes some research by the student to really look at what the possibilities are, and see what all they would need to do to prepare for transferring to that university, and do that early,” said Adams.
Maintaining a good GPA is the fifth step in the transfer process. While it varies from university to university, having a decent GPA is key to the transferring process.
After a student has done the steps prior, the next step is applying to the university they are going to transfer to. Meeting the deadlines given by the university and having met the requirements are very important. Going to see an advisor to help with the application process is a good idea to keep students organized and on time with all of the requirements that are necessary.
“Make sure you have talked to our transfer advisors and the university’s transfer advisors to make sure you have everything in place so that you’re not totally stressed out with the whole process. You want it to be a good experience,” said Adams. “Each university has different transfer requirements and different processes, some want you to have 12 hours, some want you to have 30 hours. Some will only transfer a certain amount of credits, so you will have to look at those things.”
Finally, the last step is to arrange for the official TJC transcripts to be sent to the university of transfer. The transfer process is long process that does not need to be procrastinated. Providing a lengthy amount to get this done allocates for a less stressful experience.
There will be a University Transfer Fair Nov. 7 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in Apache Rooms 1 and 2. Various university recruiters will be at TJC to visit with students interested in transferring. In addition, there will also be University Transfer Information Sessions: Nov. 8 and Nov. 9, 3:30 p.m.-5:00 p.m. in the Quest Classroom located in Vaughn Library. TJC Lead Academic Advisors for transfer students will discuss university transfer requirements and processes.
