Forms & Documents for Transferring Colleges 

If you’re getting ready to transfer from one college to another, there’s probably a lot going on in your life. Our best advice is to pause and take a deep breath. Before moving any further with your transfer application(s), it’s worth taking a little time to get your documents in order.  

Gathering Your Transfer Application Forms & Documents 

To start, make a master list of all the due dates for the transfer applications you want to submit. Then list the required components for each application, like the personal statement, essay, and resume. From there, you can start gathering your documents so they’re ready when you need them. 

To help you pull everything together, here’s a list of the most common forms and documents requested in the transfer application process.  

Transfer Document #1: Full Articulation Agreement Guidelines (If Applicable) 

When planning to transfer colleges, the first thing you should do is chat with your academic counselor or someone in the admissions office. They’ll know if your current institution has articulation agreements and with which schools. Acquire that list and review the stipulations for each school. Hopefully, one of them can be your match!  

Transfer Document #2: Official College Transcript  

Each college will handle transcript requests differently, so check your college website to see if there’s information posted there. If not, speak to your academic counselor about the process.  

While you’re at it, it would be handy to have a list of all the classes you’ve taken, the grades you’ve gotten in each, and descriptions of the course material covered. Since this aspect is mainly for you and your transfer admission counselor, it can be an unofficial document. If your college uses an online portal, you might even be able to print off something close to what you need by signing in there. 

Transfer Document #3: Official High School Transcript 

Each high school handles how they release their official transcripts differently, so your first (and best) bet is to check your high school’s website. Honestly, start by entering “[high school name] transcripts” into a search bar. 

Some high schools have moved this service to a third party, such as Parchment. This can be cool because they offer things like real-time status alerts for when your transcript is delivered. But this convenience typically comes with a higher fee.  

If you can’t find information about transcripts on your high school website, call the administration office and find out the protocol for getting and sending out your high school transcripts.   

Transfer Document #4: Letter(s) of Recommendation 

Every college application will look a little bit different, but the odds are that they will want some letters of recommendation. You may automatically be reaching for the letters your high school teachers wrote, but those aren’t going to offer much weight here.  

It may feel weird to ask your current college professors for recommendations to attend another college, but most educators want to see their students thrive. Chances are if you’re asking that professor for a recommendation, they’re not the reason you’re leaving anyway.  

Always express your appreciation and give them ample time to write the recommendation. The same rules for asking for a recommendation in high school apply to college. 

Transfer Document #5: Standardized Test Scores (ACT/SAT) 

While we’ve already spoken about how standardized test scores don’t carry the same merit they did when moving from high school to college, colleges still might want this information for reference.  

Getting these numbers comes with a bit of a charge, however.  

You’ll want to head over to the “Sending Your Scores” page to get your ACT scores. If you took your test pre-September 1st, 2017, it costs $38 to send out, but if you took your test post-September 1st, 2017, it’s $13. Keep in mind that this is per test date per report. So each college these scores need to go to will cost you more. As far as the ACT website shows, no fee waiver is available.  

Make sure you put in your request online — if you call to request it, you’ll be charged a $15 fee on top of the “per test date per report” fees. Also, make sure you have the following information to submit the request:  

• Test Date (month/year) 
• Test Location 
• Valid codes and names of up to 8 schools (within the US only), including the city and state/province of each institution 
• Credit card and valid information  

For the SAT, you’ll find there’s a similar process. Scroll to the bottom of their “Fees” page and see “Fees for Additional Scores Services.”  

For newer scores, outside of the standard that comes with the test, it’s $12 per report. For older tests, it costs $31. However, the site doesn’t say what constitutes an “older” report. While those costs vary only slightly compared to those for the ACT, there is one significant difference: fee waiver.  

Students eligible for fee waivers can access unlimited score reports sent to colleges, free CSS Profile applications to apply for financial aid from participating schools, and even waived application fees at participating colleges. Check your eligibility and make sure that you take advantage of these benefits! 

Staying Organized as You Search for Transfer Scholarships & Schools  

Transferring to a different college isn't an effortless process, but it’s worth it to attend a school that better meets your needs and interests. Of course, by using Appily to search and save transfer schools and see their acceptance rates, you’ll save time and access all the information you need in one place.  

Let Appily organize the list of schools you’re considering and show you curated recommendations based on what you’re looking for in a college. Click the button below to get started and apply for our $1,000 (no essay!) Transfer Student Scholarship.