Tips for transferring to a 4-year university from community college

My first experience with Waubonsee was when I was a junior in high school. My parents had heard there was an event called College Night. Colleges and universities from all over the country were coming to our area to meet with students.

Back then, College Night was held in the gymnasium on the Sugar Grove campus. It was hot, crowded, and overwhelming to my 16-year-old self, especially since I had never stepped foot on a college campus. But I walked away from that event with a sheet of paper from Waubonsee Admissions that outlined the transfer process and a new understanding about the connection between community colleges and four-year universities.

Because I received a scholarship to Illinois State University, I did not attend Waubonsee as a freshman. But after that first year away, I realized how much time and money I could have saved by taking a couple of my general education courses at Waubonsee during the summer. The convenience of the Aurora downtown campus and evening courses added to the allure. It motivated me to enroll in summer courses at Waubonsee, and to my delight, my coursework transferred back to ISU with no issues.

While on campus, I ran into high school friends working on their associate's degrees, and we swapped stories about college life. I realized that Waubonsee wasn't that different after all from my four-year university. At Waubonsee, I had great instructors, saved time and money, and received the added convenience of coming home during my summer break at ISU.

Years later, it's amazing how what I learned then is something students are now learning today. As the graduation and transfer coordinator, I work with students daily who aspire to transfer to their four-year college of choice once they complete their degree at Waubonsee. Some find themselves transferring before graduating, but I often see those students returning to us in the following summers, trying to finish those last few general education courses needed for their bachelor's degree. Some students even transfer their credit back to us so that they can be awarded their associate degree.

I want to share helpful transfer tips that I offer when advising students:

• It's OK if you don't know where you want to transfer after Waubonsee. We are here to help you choose the right courses that we know will transfer easily to most four-year institutions. Our transfer pathways and guides were created to help you select courses that will transfer into your intended major. And if you don't see a guide on the website, let us know. Your assigned adviser can research for you.

• We make it easy for you to explore four-year institutions while studying at Waubonsee. Take advantage of our host university table visits on campus and virtually. These events are listed on our events calendar. You can see which four-year institutions will be on campus, so you can set aside time to chat with them one-on-one about your major and transfer goals.

• If you want to stay local, Waubonsee's Transfer Partnerships are for you. We make transferring to nearby four-year colleges as easy as possible through specific agreements such as our transfer partnership and 2+2 plans, with more than 20 local, four-year schools and programs to choose from. Some students get caught up in thinking they can only transfer to a school Waubonsee has established an agreement with for transfer. However, our courses transfer to almost all colleges and universities throughout the country.

• Waubonsee makes it possible for you to transfer to almost all colleges and universities throughout the U.S. While it does depend on your major and transfer institution, our dedicated counselors and advisers work with you and your four-year school of choice to make sure you are on track to graduating here and transferring there. Waubonsee students have transferred to almost 800 colleges across the country.

• Sarah Kocunik is Waubonsee Community College's graduation and transfer coordinator.