The pro and con of transfering

Illustration by Brandy Pickering

After two years of asking your professor to “Wait, wait, don’t go to the next slide yet,” and “Wow, I never really needed to use my textbook this whole quarter,” both your educational and social life will be altered for the better or worse when it is time to transfer.

Be prepared for a step up in the amount of work you will be required to do. A three-page double spaced B.S. paper won’t get you far when you’re trying to get your bachelors. More effort must be imputed into the work you turn in. Leniency will be lifted, and fewer professor-student interactions will be likely.

While unemployment  is approximately 8.2 percent in the state of Washington, those with a Bachelor’s degree only have an unemployment rate of four percent. Studying to have a higher degree once you transfer will enable you to have more job opportunities. Those who hold an associates degree will typically earn 21 percent more than those with no college education, 120 percent more with a bachelors, 200 percent more with a masters, and a whopping 370 percent more with a Ph.D. than someone holding a high school diploma. You’re at BC now, so you should be proud of your current achievements. However, there are so many more potentials to reach.

One of the negative aspects of transferring to a four-year university will be the financial costs of obtaining a higher degree. Find scholarships through the school you plan to transfer to, search online for any type of scholarship option that applies to you and look into how FASFA can help. Do your best to try to pay for as much college as you can without having to deal with loans.

So here’s the good news: You will be in a new environment with new opportunities. Perhaps you can find an internship related to your field of study or network for future employment opportunities. This new environment can enable you to have a fresh start if you need a break from the constant drama back home. You will be able to make new friends, new relationships and maybe get away from that boss that constantly nags at you.

Another positive of transferring to a four year university is the possible offering of campus housing. Whether it is a fraternity, sorority, dormitory or an apartment, you may have to live with other people. With a huge variety of people living with or nearby you, you’ll experience more social interactions happening around you. This may be a great thing to those of you who feel contrained at home.  Maybe you’ve lived with your parents your whole life and had curfew. Guess what? You make your own rules.

Enjoy transferring, but remember you are there to get an education, not to party it up all of the time. Do your best to prioritize studying and getting your work done than participating in every social event.