The best word that describes a transfer student is “courageous.”
By Leah Fassbender, Post Traditional Admissions Counselor, Concordia University Wisconsin
Each transfer student experience is unique. A transfer student comes from a prior college that they may have loved and been heavily involved in. Next, they enter as a fully online student with less personal engagement and more responsibility such as delegating classroom discussion responses, posts and projects that are due each week. As a transfer student myself, I found it to be essential to follow these few tips that helped me to stay on track, be efficient and also feel fulfilled like I once did when I was an in-person, technical college student
Set Yourself up for Success
When I start a new class, I enter into my online course and start with the syllabus. It is essential to read through the syllabus as your professor will give a description of the class and set a timeline of assignments. They will include their contact information either by phone, email or in-person.
Get Organized
Once I have read through the class syllabus, I then go through each of the modules and create a document that has each assignment and due date. You can either create a document to cross off or insert into a planner. This will help you to stay organized and to not miss an assignment. At the start of each week, I take a look at what assignments I will need to complete for the week.
Be Engaged
One of the things I missed the most from in-person classes was my engagement with others. I felt that it was something I was going to lose when transferring to a fully online student. It helps to feel engaged by being interactive with your online classmates and professor. Get involved in your discussion boards and learn from your classmates. You can always reach out to a fellow classmate to meet and have a study session near you.
Being a transfer student is one of the most rewarding feelings. You get to widen your educational horizons and get to know others from all over the country or state. When you cross that stage, you will know you put your all into each discussion, assignment, and project while you managed work, family and your social life. That takes courage, determination, and discipline!
Want in?
Have questions about transferring to Concordia? Connect with us at admission@cuw.edu