So you applied to many colleges and narrowed down your choices. You found your perfect school and you already completed your first semester or so. Now you find that the college you thought was “it” is not really as perfect as you thought and you want to transfer. Well if done correctly, you can make transferring colleges a smooth transition, without losing many credits if any at all.

Why are you Transferring?

Before you jump the gun and transfer colleges, you first need to assess your reasoning behind your decision. Do you want to transfer because you are not happy with the academic program at your current school? Or is it because your significant other just transferred? Make sure the reasoning is valid enough to warrant a big move to another school.

Assess Your Transcript

If you are thinking of transferring and you are early in your college career, such as a freshman or sophomore, then transferring your credits should be no issue. However, if you are in your junior year or further, then transferring will be harder and you will be risking the loss of many classes that you have already taken, thus losing your money. You should check with counselors at your intended school(s) to see if they will take any or all of your credits. If you are a community college student, and you are looking to transfer to a four-year school, you may want to check with universities in your area. Most schools have articulation agreements with local community colleges to accept all credits from students transferring into their school from a two-year school.

FINANCIAL AID

If you have received financial aid at your current school, you first need to see if you can get your financial aid award transferred to your new school. Transferring loans should not be an issue, however if you were awarded state grants, scholarships or fellowships, you may not be able to transfer those and you may lose the funds. You should speak with a financial aid counselor at your intended school to see if you would be able to transfer any or all of your award money.

TESTING

Chances are, when you were admitted to your current school, you took some kind of placement test. Well not all schools are alike and most schools may want you to take their individual placement tests.

DORMS

If you are trying to transfer to get into a school for a spring semester, you may want to assess the dorm situation first. Most times, there is a wait list for dorms during the school year. If you transfer and you will need dorm housing, you should make sure that it will be available to you once you start, otherwise you should arrange for alternative housing in case you are wait listed.

Remember, transferring is not a difficult process. If you are prepared and if done right, you can transfer schools, without losing credits and without much interruption on your academic life. Just be sure to assess your reasoning, and properly prepare and you will be fine.

If you have student loans, then you are aware that no lender will let you out of your loans, no matter what your situation. Usually, only death or severe disability will relieve you of your duty to repay your loans. In most cases, you cannot even use bankruptcy as an excuse not to pay. However, there are some options available to students where some or all of their student loans will be wiped away.

Volunteer Work

If you decide to volunteer with agencies such as the Peace Corps, Americorps, or other volunteer organizations, your student loans can be deferred and in some cases forgiven. Some of these agencies will provide stipends that will be applied to your outstanding loan balances. This is usually in addition to your living expenses that they give you as well.

Teachers

In most states, if you decide to teach in a low-income urban area, then you may be eligible for student loan forgiveness. The demand for teachers in these areas are high so these school districts usually offer high salaries as well as some type of loan forgiveness program to lure teachers into teaching. If you want to teach in shortage subject areas, such as math, science, or even special education within these areas, you may also be rewarded with some type of loan forgiveness. Each state and even each district have their own programs so it is best to check with your college advisor or even the school districts in your area.

Military

The Montgomery GI Bill is a popular program that attracts many people into joining the military. This bill covers approximately three-fifths of a student’s college education. You give your time and service to the armed forces and they will help you pay for college.

If you want a more flexible military assignment, you should consider the Army National Guard, where you can receive up to ten thousand dollars towards the repayment of your student loans. By joining the armed forces for college tuition assistance, you not only receive help with the repayment of tuition and loans, but you also get military experience. When your duty is up, you have veteran preference which gives you an edge up in the hiring process; especially in government positions.

Health Care

Some areas have a serious shortage in the health care profession. Some hospitals will pay for your student loans if you agree to work as a nurse or doctor at their facility for a set number of years. If health care is your niche, then you should consider the National Health Services Corps where you help deliver care in areas where medical care is not available. The National Health Services Corps has a program where you can have some or all of your student loans forgiven, by contracting yourself for a number of years to their mission.

Other Opportunities

Check with your college or university for other opportunities that may be available for loan forgiveness. Sometimes by simply working for an organization for a certain number of years or offering your time as a volunteer to other organizations, you may be able to have your hefty student loans cut in half or even forgiven. There are many opportunities available to students who don’t mind working in certain areas or positions for a specified amount of time. It can be worth it in the long run as you will not be burdened with hefty monthly payments for years to come.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 established a new loan forgiveness program for those in public service. Public service includes those in government, military, public safety and law enforcement, public health, public education, public child care, social work, public legal services, public librarians, and employees of charitable organizations. This new program forgives all remaining debt after 10 years of full time employment in public service. To be eligible, the borrower must have made at least 120 payments towards the Direct Loan program in order to obtain this benefit. Only payments made on or after October 1, 2007 count toward the required 120 monthly payments.

If you want to be a well-rounded college student, then you should consider adding some extracurricular activities to your college lifestyle. Excelling in school is more than just going to class and achieving good grades; it is being able to handle class, work, and other activities without overwhelming yourself.

No matter what your interests are, there are activities, clubs and maybe even Greek organizations that you can join. Every campus is filled with a wide variety of things for college students to engage in. Its activities such as these that can get you more involved in your campus, and are great for acquiring leadership experience.

Types of Extracurricular Activities

Whether you are the science geek or the football captain, there is a club for you to join.

• Sports: The most popular types of activities are sports organizations. Most schools have football, baseball, tennis, basketball, and hockey. Some schools have even more to choose from. There are also cheerleading groups for these sports as well.


• Clubs: Each school has different clubs that you can join. They of course vary by school but some popular ones are the poetry club, writing club, current events club, theatre club, and even clubs related to your major such as math club, accounting club, science club, etc. If your school does not offer a specific club that you may be interested in, then you can always follow the steps to start one on your own.


• Organizations: Consider joining different organizations such as the on campus newspaper, or the yearbook staff. Some minorities even have organizations such as the Black Student Union or the Hispanic Club.


• Go Greek: Of course you can pledge to a sorority or fraternity on campus as well. Most schools will have something called a “freshman rush” where students can pledge to join the Greek organization of their choice.

Benefits of Extracurricular Activities

By joining clubs and organizations on campus, you are setting the stage for your future. You are learning how to multitask, which is an important asset in the workplace. It also looks great on your resume if you can show your potential employers that you not only were involved in different activities on campus, but you maintained your grades as well and possibly even worked a part-time job. Just be sure not to overwhelm yourself or stress yourself out with too many obligations.

Be a Leader

Instead of just joining a club or organization on campus, why not start one? You will gain leadership experience by doing something you love to do. You will also make the college look better by adding more variety to their extracurricular programs. Best of all, when you graduate, you will already have the leadership and organizational experience on your resume that a lot of entry-level professionals strive for.

By becoming more active within your college and joining clubs you will not only be learning more things, but you will gain multitasking experience, fill your time with something more constructive than partying and meet new people who share the same interests as you; which is extremely important as a college student.

Although most college classes are held during the day, there are many that are held in the evenings to accommodate non-traditional students. Although night classes may be appealing to some students, these later classes are not ideal for everyone. These later classes are designed so that working students and students with families can work toward degree completion without disrupting their normal routine. However night classes are not for everyone so before you run out to register for that 6pm class, you need to evaluate your options to see if its something that you can handle and if its something that would mesh with your lifestyle.

QUALITY OF INSTRUCTION

You may be wondering if the professors at night are just as good as the daytime professors. Adjunct professors, those that teach at the college or university part-time, teach the evening classes. Adjunct professors usually have a full time job during the day so they understand your need for the later class times. They do have the same credentials as the full time professors so you can be assured that the quality of instruction is the same as if you were to attend the class in the daytime.

LONGER CLASSES

Some night classes are only held once per week, unlike day classes that are usually held two or three times per week. Therefore, be prepared to sit in a class that could be two or three hours long. Since the classes are longer, you should also be sure not to miss any classes because more material is being covered and missing one class can set you back weeks. If you plan to pursue a night class be sure you can commit to the class schedule.

OFF-SITE CLASSES

Depending on the school, some night classes may be held off site; meaning they are not actually held on the college campus. They may be held at local elementary schools, recreation centers or other venues convenient for the professor. You should make sure that you would be able to make it to these alternate locations for class. Make sure you account for traffic, weather and other miscellaneous factors.

PERSONAL OBLIGATIONS

If you are a working student, make your employer aware of your intentions on taking a night class. This way they will be sure to keep your workload light and not make you stay late, which may interfere with your classes. If you have a family, especially if you have children, make sure you have lined up proper childcare while you are in class and maybe even another day per week so you can study.

If taking a night class will interfere with your lifestyle, then maybe consider weekend classes or even distance learning classes. Distance learning classes are becoming more and more popular for the student who used to frequent night classes.

Remember, night classes are no easier or no harder than day classes. They are offered to help make obtaining a degree easier for the non-traditional student. Make sure to evaluate your schedule and lifestyle before committing to the class.

Find Night Classes near you:

If you are a student who is interested in more than one major and you do not mind taking extra classes during the regular semesters as well as summer, then maybe you should consider a double major. A double major is where you would typically obtain one degree with two majors being acknowledged. You would take the classes required for each major simultaneously during your college career. Of course there are pros and cons to double majoring so be sure to consider them as you decide your course of action.

PROS

• Learn More: Since you are double majoring in two different subjects, then you are gaining more knowledge than the average college student.


• More Valuable: By double majoring, you are making yourself more valuable once you graduate from college. If you decide to double major in Finance and Economics, then you will show potential employers how disciplined you are and that you can handle the extra workload. If you double major in two different subjects, such as English Literature and Math, then you are proving that you are well educated in two totally different subjects. This is especially helpful to aspiring teachers as you will be more marketable when you are applying for that first teaching job.


• Related subjects: If you double up in two subjects that are related and then take a few classes over the summers, you can still graduate in four years and with two majors. Related subjects are easier as you are taking classes that are probably needed for both majors; therefore you are not taking too many extra classes.

CONS

• More work: No matter how closely related your majors are, you will definitely have to be prepared to take on an extra workload. You will be taking more classes and probably during the summer as well, otherwise you would be stretching your college career to five or six years. You may also have to meet with more than one advisor as well as each major is assigned a specific advisor.


• Takes longer to graduate: Unless you plan on taking on a full course load during your summer and winter breaks, you will probably graduate a year or two later than the normal four years. Remember that college majors usually include four semesters worth of concentrated courses. By doubling up on your majors, you may add another year or two to your graduation date.


• Cost more money: Since you are taking on extra classes, that means more money per credit and of course more books to purchase. If you are receiving any form of financial aid, such as grants, loans and scholarships you should check to see if the money will cover your extra major.

If you are considering a double major, you really need to sit down and evaluate if you can handle the extra course load. If you have a part-time job or other obligations, then the extra classes may be an interference. You should be able to handle the extra credits as well as receive good grades in the class. After all, is the double major degree really valuable if you barely passed any of the classes? Still, it can be a great opportunity for some students.

Steven Colbert, who spoke at Princeton's Graduation this year, addresses the class of 2008 on The Colbert Report.