Transferring colleges can be a good choice if it’s done for valid reasons. It can be disastrous when done for the wrong reasons.
Recently, I performed a quick cost-benefit analysis for a parent.
The family lives in New Jersey. The student wanted to transfer from his current NJ state school to a school in upstate New York.
The son proffered that the upstate NY school has a better program for his major, Computer Science.
The mother was aware of the potential financial issues a transfer would cause but needed to see it on paper.
After crunching the numbers, which included out-of-state tuition charges, loss of NJ state aid, airfare, or another mode of travel, the costs were clear.
A transfer would have been a minimum of an additional $20,000.
I don’t habitually give much credence to college rankings, but they can sometimes be a useful comparative tool.
There was no comparison between his current school, Rutgers University, and the out-of-state school (name is deliberately omitted).
For Computer Science, Rutgers consistently ranked significantly higher across all ranking platforms and metrics.
Had there been a significant competitive advantage in education and employment prospects, one could argue that the increased cost was justified. That was not the case.
It occurred to me that something else was driving the young man’s desire to switch schools.
When I presented the analysis to the mother, I inquired if there was a romantic interest at the NY school.
She replied, “Yep, you guessed it.”
The point of this story is that it’s essential to remain tuned in to what motivates your young adults. They are not far removed from high school. Their judgment is not always the best, especially when matters of the heart are involved.
Before allowing your child to make a financially costly and potentially career-upending decision, help them examine and understand their actions’ short- and long-term implications.
After some reflection, the young man decided to remain at Rutgers while continuing his long-distance relationship.
A wise decision.
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