Every year, thousands of university students cross institutional lines – not because they failed but because they adapted. To wit, in the US, for the fall semester 2024, nearly 1.2 million college students transferred to a new institution, representing 13 per cent of all non-first-year undergraduates. This figure marks a 4.4 per cent increase on the previous year. The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that transfers grew across all pathways, including from two-year to four-year institutions, and from one four-year institution to another.
Transfer students are among the most agile learners in higher education. They have pivoted through academic and life transitions, navigated bureaucracies and made deliberate choices about their educational goals. And yet these students are often framed through a lens of deficit, as if their circuitous path signals a problem.
It’s time we rewrote that story.
We have done just that at Virginia Tech: reframing transfer students not as catch-up cases but as contributors with resilience, self-advocacy and lived experience. In today’s uncertain landscape, where soft skills matter more than ever, transfer students might be some of our most future-ready learners. But they still need tailored support to succeed.
The invisible transition – and a potentially devastating gap
While most institutions focus on the first-year experience, with robust orientation programmes and supports, transfer students often land midstream, bypassing the traditional entry points for social integration. They might arrive with sophomore or junior standing but without the friend groups, faculty mentors or campus fluency that catalyse a true sense of belonging.
- Why transfer student programmes are key to expanding access
- We need to improve credit portability. Here’s how
- Six strategies for boosting student attendance
This gap isn’t academic – it’s relational. And it can be quietly – but deeply – devastating.
Belonging is not a feel-good extra; it's a determinant of student persistence and success. For transfer students to thrive, we need to be intentional about creating fast-entry pathways into the holistic university community and not just into classrooms.
Supporting transfer students from orientation to integration
A purposeful approach to boost belonging as quickly as possible can support transfer students so they never feel “other” during their university years. I’d go as far as to say the Hokie transfer community is a case study in what intentionality looks like. It’s not a single programme, rather, it’s a network of support structures that meet students where they are, starting from day one. The model has three pillars:
- A living-learning community exclusively for transfer students, now nearly 200-strong, offering built-in social connection for those who might otherwise live off-campus and feel disconnected. Living-learning communities (LLCs) allow students to live with and among other students – in this case, transfer students – in an on-campus community, with academic support services and campus resources hosted on-site and engaging events and activities designed specifically for transfer students throughout the school year.
- A peer-mentorship programme that pairs incoming transfer students with those who’ve already made the leap helps demystify everything from the dining hall to the transit system.
- A transfer-specific first-year experience course, focused not on basic academic skills – most transfer students already have those – but on résumé-building, career readiness and campus resource navigation. The timing is as strategic as the content: with career fairs happening just weeks into the semester, transfer students need to move quickly from orientation to opportunity, including for internships and part-time jobs as well as for full-time roles after college.
While not every academic institution can institute comprehensive LLCs, adapted models can be used instead – specialised residence halls, perhaps, or interactive community centres for meeting other transfer students and offering tailored services and resources.
Soft skills in action
It is ironic that transfer students often arrive with soft skills that many institutions are trying to teach: time management, grit, adaptability, communication. These aren’t abstract competencies; rather, they have been forged in real life. Whether managing competing work and class schedules at a community college or navigating family obligations while shifting majors, transfer students are often practised at resilience. They know how to ask for help, find the right office and keep going when the road gets complicated.
By designing transfer-specific programming that affirms and builds on these strengths, institutions can send a powerful message, one that firmly reiterates that you don’t need to start over or start fresh to succeed.
What belonging looks like
Ultimately, helping transfer students thrive isn’t just about retention. It’s about creating a more inclusive vision of academic community, one that values diverse pathways and acknowledges that not every student starts in the same place.
It means seeing transfer students as vital contributors to campus culture. It means building structures that accelerate connection, not just academic credit transfers. And it means holding space for the full range of student experiences and supporting these students in the ways they truly need. Because the truth is, we could all stand to learn a little more from those who have had to figure things out the hard way.
Lauren Thomas is associate vice-provost for academic advising initiatives at Virginia Tech.
If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week, sign up for the Campus newsletter.
comment