University of Lynchburg will be one of the first institutions in the country to adopt a new application experience that will make a college application easier and more efficient for transfer students.
The Common Application, an organization that allows students to apply to multiple colleges through one application experience, recently announced that it has launched its early adopter program for the new Common App for transfer. Lynchburg is one of nine early adopters.
“Transfer students are invaluable to the student population for all colleges and universities, however, they are often forgotten when it comes to the application process,” said Cindy Childress, enrollment database and communications coordinator. “Their experiences are different than those of the freshmen, and there hasn’t been a way — before now — to make their application experience different than those of the first-year students. We are very grateful that The Common App recognized this missing link in the transfer application process and has taken the lead in providing them with an application option designed to fit their needs.”
Common App members will begin the transition to the new transfer application in March with their applications going live in the 2018-2019 application cycle.
While the educational goals of transfer students often differ from traditional undergraduates, so too does the admissions process. For that reason, The Common Application, a non-profit membership organization serving more than 750 colleges and universities worldwide, set out to reimagine the transfer application process in close collaboration with member institutions and new technology partners.
“The mission of The Common Application hasn’t changed, but higher education and the students we serve have. The launch of the new transfer application advances our pursuit of access, equity, and integrity in the college admission process,” said Jenny Rickard, president and CEO of The Common Application. “We’re dedicated to supporting the diverse group of individuals who didn’t take the so-called traditional path to college but are determined to achieve their educational goals. The Common App and our members are just as determined to meet these applicants where they are in their lives and help them pursue their dreams.”
Nearly 40 percent of students across all higher education sectors will transfer at least once during their education lifecycle. A report by The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center tracking students over a 6-year period notes, “Among those students who do transfer, 45 percent transfer more than once. The greatest number of transfer students come from two-year public colleges—almost 40 percent of transfers originate from these institutions.”
Transfer applicants are more likely to be first-generation students, often having to balance work, life, and education responsibilities. For the current college application year, 44.2% of transfer applicants using the Common App were the first in their families to apply to college.
Built in collaboration with Liaison International, the leading graduate and professional admissions solution provider, the new transfer application presents features and functionality that offer a welcoming solution for applicants that is thoughtful to their life story. To develop this reimagined transfer experience, The Common App convened a Transfer Advisory Committee comprised of representatives from 29 institutions, including community colleges where nearly 40% of transfer students start their higher education.
Some of the new enhancements delivered in the Common App for transfer enable institutions to provide:
- Targeted application experience via the Extended Profile that includes tailored pathways and programs based on age, goals, degree status, and credits earned.
- Prerequisite coursework feature, so applicants can select courses they completed to apply toward prerequisite requirements for a given academic program.
- Expanded document collection to centralize collection of documents, including those applicable to transfer applicants such as DD214, Joint Services Transcript, and financial transcript.
- Tracking of experiences and achievements that allows transfer applicants to report volunteer, internship, and work experience, as well as any awards or honors they’ve accumulated outside of the classroom.
- Common App Recommendation Portal, so applicants can choose recommender types: Academic, Professional, Personal, and deliver a personal message with deadline date to each recommender.
Additionally, with centralized transcript collection, applicants using the new transfer application need only to request transcripts from their most recent institutions – where they were previously or are currently enrolled – once, thus reducing transcript request fees and time spent completing their applications. Transcripts are easily scanned, verified and attached to the applicant’s record.
Early adopters of the new Common App for transfer include:
- University of Lynchburg
- DePaul University
- Dominican University of California
- King’s College
- Mount Holyoke College | Frances Perkins Program
- Robert Morris University
- St. Edward’s University
- University of Dayton
- Valparaiso University
To learn more, visit commonapp.org, follow @CommonApp, and #CommonApp.
