New Fall Semester Soon

Welcome to new NOVA transfer students! We are a great place to start completing your general education courses including English, Math, History, Science with Lab, and others. If you need refresher courses first, do not be discouraged. This is a common situation across the nation. Just dig in and begin your fall semester work as soon as classes start!

End of Semester Wrap Up

If this is your last semester at NOVA hopefully you know where you are transferring to by now. Remember to request one more copy of your NOVA transcript with your fall grades posted in late December to forward to your new university. Without your fall grades and/or official posting of graduation from NOVA, this can often influence getting a General Education waiver at the new university. You do not want to repeat or add general education courses to your junior year coursework!

Congratulations on finishing another semester with NOVA. If you are staying at NOVA, please see your Student Service Center if you have any questions still about registration for next semester at NOVA. We want to be sure you have correct information about the transfer courses and degree that you are seeking.

Fall Transfer Students, 2010

Hello everyone, this is a very exciting time for you! Is this is your second full-time year at NOVA? If you have been attending part time, have you now accumulated close to 45 credits? This could be the year that you decide where to transfer after you complete your A.A. or A.S. Associate Degree with us.

Hopefully you researched and identified four-year institutions that met your academic goals last year. If this is not clear by now, please look at our NOVA website for Transfer Information as a starting point. Each campus also has transfer information available in the Student Service Center. Every university and four-year college has transfer information on its web site, usually within the Admissions link.

Now more than ever, you need to narrow your choice of your future institution. Your fall, 2010 classes at NOVA should be selected with your future institution's general education requirements in mind.

Welcome to Fall, 2010!

Still Checking?

Are you still checking your plans for this fall? There are always last minute things to do. One student who is transferring to the College of William and Mary (W & M) this fall is taking ITE 115 at NOVA this summer. It will make his fall semester better at W & M to have that out of the way of course.

If you are sure of your classes for the fall at your new school, you can look into buying your books. You may be able to buy them on line. If you are going to Mason, their book store probably has the fall books already.

Remember if you are taking a class this summer to forward your NOVA transcript one more time to your future institution when your new grade is posted.

Meanwhile enjoy a little time to relax, I hope!

Summer Possibilities

Most of the acceptance letters from universities have been mailed now. If you are on a Wait List related to your current semester grades, be sure to mail or fax your new transcript copy later this week. Your spring semester grades will be posted this week! Congratulations, everyone.

Next Follow Up Steps

If you have been accepted and know where you are transferring to, it is not time to rest quite yet. Now you have some follow up steps. Be sure to send an official copy of your transcript again after your spring grades are posted. Don't forget to submit an application for a dorm room or begin making other living arrangements if a dorm option is not available. It is not too early to consider these areas and even make another trip to your future school to become more familiar.

Congratulations to reaching this stage of the transfer process. If you are a first year transfer student, keep up the good work, and look forward to this goal next spring!

Plan B

Has your Plan B not worked out? Maybe Plan A is not even sure yet either. It is not to late for Back-Up Plan C, but the time is getting close. If you have used this Spring Break week to visit colleges again, you may be re-evaluating your choices. If some choices have dropped out, think again about more options for next fall. There may be more courses to take at NOVA that would strengthen your application for spring, 2011 if you want to re-apply to your top choices of 4-year schools. It might be fruitful to take a semester at George Mason University as an Extended Studies student (visiting student) while you decide other options for spring, 2011 if needed.

There are always more Plan Bs and Cs. Do not get discouraged. Meet with your Transfer Counselor and/or Faculty Advisor to discuss your options. Remember that sometimes a detour is a super opportunity and can result in something better than the original plan.

College Visits

It is not too late to visit schools that you are considering. Some students apply to schools, yet have never seen the institution in person. If necessary, take a day off from work to visit during the week. (I am not recommending to cut classes to visit though.) Even if you leave the Northern Virginia area at Noon and arrive to a prospective school by late afternoon, an Admissions representative could still meet with you for a half hour. A tour guide could possibly show you around the campus. It is good to see the building where most of your classes in your major are taught. Seeing the Student Union, the cafeteria, and dorm areas are important, even if you think you will be living off campus.

If you cannot make the visit on a week day, seeing a campus on a weekend can still be worthwhile. Some of the academic buildings might be open to walk through also. Seeing the town/city and even the neighborhood that the campus is in may be important to you. Often college students return to Northern Virginia from their original college because they did not "like it." Go visit!

Waiting for letters?

Have you applied to four year institutions for fall, 2010? Does it seem like you should be hearing about your acceptance already? Four year schools are telling me that they are still finishing up work with students for this current spring semester. They are glad that our students are applying for fall, 2010 this early though. They plan to begin looking at your application materials in early February. They will send out acceptances notices as soon as possible after that.

Just be sure that you have sent all past transcripts, letters from the Dean of Students (if requested), and faculty recommendations (if requested). Read the fine print for each college to be sure about their requirements to apply. They may want more than just the application and your NOVA transcript.

2010 To-Do List

Welcome to 2010, Transfer students! This is a great time to meet with your faculty advisor again to make sure you are on the right track to transfer. If you are planning to transfer by fall, 2010, you should be applying and forwarding your official NOVA transcript, plus any other official transcripts from past universities to your future institutions. This will give you time to follow up with other requested documents such as letters of recommendation, AP scores, CLEP scores, etc. Even if prior courses or scores are documented on your NOVA transcript, new institutions require original new transcripts and reports from each past institution or testing company. Don't wait any longer now to initiate these requests.

Have you only applied to one four-year college or university for next fall? Think about applying to one or two more over the winter break so that you will have options during the spring. Set aside time in the next two weeks to visit the admission websites of two more colleges.

If you have applied to future four year institutions already, remember to send an updated official copy of your NOVA transcript once your fall, 2009 grades are posted. Make a note on your calendar now to send an updated transcript in January. Good luck on your final exams next week!

NOVA Blogs

Did you know that NOVA has several other blogs besides the Transfer blog? It is good to check these other blogs on topics such as Emergency Planning and How To Pay For College. Find them by clicking on the "Blogs At NOVA" link on the right hand side of our home page.

Successful Transfer Students

Have you read the short success stories on our website from previous NOVA transfer students Bridget Wilson, Geoffrey Kaman, and Jason Wray? Our students transfer to schools all over the U.S. and into all kinds of majors. Learn about the journey for these three students by clicking on our web link "Learn from Successful NOVA transfer students" when you are on our transfer web page at www.nvcc.edu.

Fall 2010 application deadlines

Attending transfer meetings lately with the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and James Madison University, it is clear that Admissions Offices prefer completion of applications in the fall prior to enrollment for the following fall. Even though the universities publish an application deadline for March or later, they "prefer" applications that come in months before. The University of Virginia begins reading fall, 2010 application packets after November 1, 2009.

If you are planning a fall, 2010 transfer, it is not too early to begin applying! If you have questions or need help, please go to your Student Service Center on your campus. We want to help!

Here are 10 tips for transfer students that our Virginia Community College System chancellor, Dr. Glen DuBois, himself a graduate of a community college, recently shared with U.S. News and World Report:

1. Complete your associate's degree. National research shows that community college students who finish their degree program complete the baccalaureate at a much higher rate than those students who transfer with simply a grab bag of credits.
2. Shop around. Examine all of the options available to you as a transfer student. Examine both public and private four-year institutions to decide what will be the best fit for you. The four-year institution that you had your heart set on in high school might not ultimately be the best choice for the subject you want to pursue.
3. Plan ahead. The earlier you begin to prepare for transfer, the better. Visit your top choices, collect transfer materials, and find out if there are any transfer agreements between where you are and where you want to go. The more information that you have, the easier it will be to make a decision.
4. Know what actually transfers. Make sure you are picking courses that are transferable to colleges and universities. There are Web sites, tools, and advisers at both community colleges and universities to help you choose wisely.
4-Star Tip. Many states have "articulation agreements"—negotiated documents that make clear what's needed to transfer from one higher education institution to another. The benefit to you as a student is that the agreement takes the guesswork out of the process by telling you, in black and white, what classes you need to take and what grades you need to make to avoid losing hard-earned credits when you transfer. Many states have Web sites with detailed information about articulation agreements and the process of transferring. Some of the best are:
Virginia: www.VaWizard.org
Arizona: www.aztransfer.com/CCStudent
Texas: www.tccns.org/default.asp
Illinois: www.itransfer.org/
California: www.cpec.ca.gov/OnLineData/TransferPathway.asp
5. Don't be shy. Meet regularly with advisers at the community college. Keep your adviser informed of your transfer plans, and as transfer approaches, set a time to meet with an adviser at your target institution. If you try to navigate this process without the help of advisers, you might not be able to maximize your community college courses.
6. Choose a major. Pick your major early, and seek advice about the best courses to take to meet requirements. By choosing your major early, you can take the prerequisites that you need for that program at the university. Well-planned course taking will help you finish your transfer program more efficiently, saving you time and money in the long run.
7. Get admitted. Make sure that you apply to both the institution as well as the program that you want to attend at that institution. If you get admitted to the university, it often does not mean that you are admitted to the specific program that you want to study, like engineering or nursing. Make sure you complete those application materials, too. The deadlines for the university admissions materials and the program admissions materials might be different. Do your research!
8. Make them show you the money. Fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) if you have not done so already. Call the university admissions office to see if it has scholarships set aside for transfer students—many institutions do. Make sure that you meet all of the deadlines for financial aid. Otherwise, you might miss out on assistance that is available to you.
9. Attend orientation. You might think that you do not need this because you already are a college student. But navigating the university is different. Take advantage of the opportunities that the universities have created for transfer students. These orientations will help ease the transfer process.
10. Stay focused. This one is easy to forget. Whether it's your associate's or bachelor's degree we're talking about, finishing on time is not easy. But it can be done if you are focused and work hard. Keep your goal in mind even when you're working in your hardest class, which you don't much like. It will all pay off.

Spring, 2010 Application Deadlines

Application Deadlines to transfer to a new college in January are quickly approaching. Here are some of our Virginia college Spring semester deadlines:

George Mason University: October 15, priority deadline
Virginia Commonwealth University: November 1 deadline
Virginia Tech: October 1 deadline
University of Virginia: November 1 deadline
James Madison University: Not Available
Old Dominion University: October 1 deadline
Mary Washington University: November 1 deadline

These deadlines can be found on the Admissions website for each school. Do not wait too late to begin sending in your application, NOVA transcript, and all other past college transcripts. Questions? See a counselor on your campus in the Student Service Center. All counselors can help with transfer and application questions.

Many of the Guaranteed Admission Agreements require that you complete an associate degree with the community college to qualify for the agreement. Be sure to use the College Catalog to follow the degree requirements closely and meet with your faculty advisor each semester.

New Fall Events Listed

Have you checked out the Transfer Web page's Events Calendar? http://www.nvcc.edu/current-students/transfer/transfer-events/index.html

We just posted over 80 transfer related events between our six campuses. College Admissions Office visits, information about how to transfer workshops, free van trips to tour college campuses, and all the local college fairs are listed!

Don't miss out on all these great opportunities for the fall 0f 2009. They won't be available again until later in the spring semester, 2010 or in some cases not again until fall, 2010!

Fall Transfer Students

Hello everyone, do you have any questions yet about which transfer classes to take in the spring semester at NOVA? Registration will begin in November for the spring term.