While most college students stick with one college or university for the entirety of four years, many undergraduates, for a variety of reasons, choose to leave the school they initially enrolled in for a better-suited option on another campus. The University of Maryland is no stranger to these transfer students.
As the flagship university of this state, the University of Maryland receives numerous transfer applications each year from hopefuls seeking a different educational experience. In fall 2015, more than 2,000 transfer students enrolled in this university.
In January, Gov. Larry Hogan requested a budget of $6.8 million to increase college completion and help achieve the state’s goal of raising the percentage of
college-educated adults in the state of Maryland. While the autonomous institutions in this state were given the freedom to make their own proposals, this university has elected to use much of the additional funding to aid its
transfer students.
Details of this university’s enhancement projects include improving the school’s pre-transfer advising services, helping transfer students in STEM fields gain access to fellowships and summer classes and increasing overall financial aid for transfer students.
Transfer students add to the vitality of our college campus by bringing diversity and knowledge of a comparative experiences to our school. Yet, attending a different university after spending one or two years at another creates many challenges for the student, which is why this editorial board believes that the this university’s promise to spend its funds to aid the transition and integration of transfer students will be money well spent.
A 2010 report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling showed that a third of college students enrolled in a two- or four-year program will transfer to another institution at some point. Transition alone can be rough. Transition that comes with all the trappings of the college application process can seem monumental, and even insurmountable. In some cases, students that dedicated two years of their lives — and bank accounts — to credits, can lose progress and money when credits and scholarships don’t transfer. They risk graduating later than expected, along with reintegrating into an unfamiliar culture and environment. And yet, the transfer process is an important tool for students seeking a different educational experience or diverse opportunity.
The University System of Maryland granted “more than 71 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded in Maryland,” according to a USM press release. With a vast majority of students transferring to Maryland coming from within the state, it makes sense that the system and school dedicate the financial infrastructure to students that seek the resources of Maryland’s academic powerhouse.
