Our top tips for transfer student success
Transferring to the University of Colorado Boulder can be one of the most exciting experiences in your academic career. You’ll make new friends, find new interests, develop your passions, and put yourself in unfamiliar situations. But no journey is without its challenges!
To support you in your transition, we’ve put together a list of tips that can serve you throughout your entire CU journey:
1. Take advantage of Continuing Education and Summer Session classes
Whether you are in your first or fifth year, moving due to new circumstances, or returning to academia to finish your degree after an extended absence, Continuing Education classes give you the opportunity to stay on track and earn your degree on your timeline.
With flexible in-person, online, remote, evening, and special session classes that fit your busy lifestyle, Continuing Education makes it easy to advance your education when, where, and how you want. Credits earned in Continuing Education classes count toward your overall GPA and your transcript doesn’t distinguish between Continuing Education and main campus courses.
Special Sessions to consider after completing your first semester at CU
• Winter Session: Earn credits toward your degree during winter break during a three-week intensive online class in December. Credits earned during Winter Session count toward your credit limit for the Spring Semester, so you can spread out your course load or focus on fewer classes.
• Summer Session: Earn the credit you need during the summer to keep advancing your degree during a series of convenient, short terms.
Need help figuring out which courses you need to advance your degree? Our world-class advisors can help. They have extensive experience working with transfer students and can help you navigate your path to completion, including career planning and financial aid advising.
If you have additional questions about how Continuing Education can help you throughout your academic career, contact ceregistration@colorado.edu.
2. Don't stretch yourself too thin
Remember that your first semester (or even the first few!) at CU Boulder will be a transition. In many ways, you are at an advantage because you already have a sense of what to expect with college coursework, but that can turn into a disadvantage if you don’t recognize that every higher education institution is different and that you will need to give yourself the space to adjust.
Far too often, transfer students get focused on a four-year timeline and commit to more coursework than they can handle. But did you know that just over 50% of CU students graduate in four years and that more than 70% graduate within six years?
Take the time you need to complete your journey and don’t give in to the notion there are time constraints on your education.
You can always start ramping up your course load in future semesters once you feel more comfortable with and confident in your new academic home!
3. Ask for help
If you are having difficulties in a class, take advantage of faculty office hours, get to know your academic advisor, connect with campus resources like Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS), Disability Services, and academic coaching through your school or college, and be intentional about building relationships with faculty and staff.
Every faculty and staff member at CU wants to help you succeed, don’t be afraid to take them up on the offer!
As you start your journey at CU Boulder, know that you are never alone. You are a CU Buff no matter what your journey looks like or where it started.