Who is your favorite group of four people? Maybe it’s the Ghostbusters, Dorothy and her friends from the Wizard of Oz, the Beatles, or, if you were my little brother eight years ago, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
If all four members of that quartet were incoming students at Georgia Tech, one of them would likely be a transfer student. Unlike most colleges with first-year admission rates on the lower end, we maintain a robust number of transfer students, making up approximately 25% of our incoming class each year.
How Do We Facilitate Transfer, and Why?
First and foremost, we have a stellar transfer admission team who works specifically with transfer students. LaSean was on the blog this time last year with some great advice for prospective transfer students based on her experience in transfer admission. Chad Bryant, our director for transfer admission, was on the blog back in 2018 with some advice, too.
Along with that excellent leadership, we offer a variety of pathway programs to help some students who applied for first-year admission later transfer into Tech. Pathway programs give clear instructions on the next steps to follow to transfer after attending another institution for a year or two. We have multiple transfer pathways to meet the needs of different students, whether you’re a Raphael or more of a Donatello.
Pathway programs aren’t the only way to transfer into Tech. If you don’t have a pathway offer, you can still apply following our general transfer admission guidelines.
Why do we do this? We want to support as many students as we can in their journey to a Tech degree. A degree from Tech means a lot to so many people, and we know that it is critical that we offer alternative entryways to the Institute. We have more space in classes once you get past those core courses, which means we’re able to open up to more students who are farther along in their educational journey.
How Can Prospective Transfer Students Set Themselves Up for Success?
First, it’s important to be open to new experiences at your initial institution. For every transfer student I’ve spoken to who has thrived upon arriving at Tech, they allowed themselves to truly experience life at their former institution.
A great example are these two transfer students who won the InVenture Prize shortly after arriving at Tech. The concept of their startup was born in a dorm room at their previous institution. When they got to Tech, they were able to hit the ground running and continue building the idea.
I also encourage you to think about your ‘why’ in transferring, whether your reasons lie in academics, opportunity, student involvement, or something else. If you know your reasons for transferring, it helps create a clear picture in your mind (and in the minds of the admission teams) of what’s going to happen once you get here.
One transfer student described coming to Tech to me as “taking the ladder” that was given to him, and it was something he wanted to do because he saw tangible ways he could change campus. The current president of Tech’s Graduate Student Government Association (and her brother) transferred to Tech for similar opportunities to expand academically and get involved in research that wasn’t available at their former institutions.
Find the Path that Works for You
By virtue of supporting transfer options for several types of students, anyone can find a path to Tech that works for them. If you think transferring to Tech (or anywhere) is the right choice for you, plan but don’t pause. Your path is what you make of it, and building momentum by exploring your interests will always benefit you in the long run, no matter where you end up being.
Remember, transferring is not just about moving to a new place; it’s about finding the right environment to achieve your academic and personal goals.
Amanda Budd is a communications officer in Enrollment Management at Georgia Tech. She joined the division in Summer 2023 and writes a variety of content for Undergraduate Admission, Financial Aid, and beyond. She cares deeply about access to education and sharing the ongoing work to expand access at Tech.