'Ask a lot of questions and hope you meet the right people': A case study analyzing the transition experience of community college transfer students involved in the transfer program at a selective university.

摘要

The transition experience of community college transfer students at a highly selective university is marked by several difficulties, most notably a change from a seemingly non-competitive environment to one in which students are in constant competition with their peers and having to meet higher faculty expectations. Transferring from a public, open-access community college to a highly selective, private, research university is not an easy feat. Compounded with being from a traditionally disadvantaged community, in terms of finances, age, educational attainment, ethnicity, or a mix of several characteristics, it is no surprise that the transition process would be difficult. This qualitative study examined the transitional experiences of eight community college transfer students at a highly selective, private university through the lens of Nancy K. Schlossberg's (1995) Transition Theory. This study revealed that the coping mechanisms (both innate and acquired) of the study participants were positively affected by a transition-based program at the students' senior institution, leading to a relatively quick transition to the institution despite the difficulty.