How to Apply to Four-Year Schools

Applying to Four-Year Schools

Suggested Timeline

NOTE: Nursing and portfolio-based application deadlines are often earlier.

Detailed Instructions

Apply for Durham Tech Graduation

Applying for graduation is not just about the commencement ceremony or receiving your diploma, although those are both important. Applying for graduation begins the administrative process of recording the degree you have earned on your transcript, which your transfer university will require.

Apply for graduation in the semester before you intend to graduate. You’ll receive a graduation audit letter listing the remaining classes needed to graduate.

Students can apply for graduation through the Graduation Overview section in Self-Service one semester before their anticipated date of graduation. There is no cost.

Where Should I Apply?

Do your research on the universities to which you will apply first. Make sure the universities to which you will apply have the major you want. You can find this information on the Transfer University Links webpage under Degree Requirements.

The university’s admissions web pages provide information about the minimum requirements to apply and the required minimum or average GPA for transfer students. You’ll find links to the admissions webpages of North Carolina universities on the Transfer University Links webpage under Admissions for Transfer Students.

Apply to least two universities, one of which is a safe school you know you could get into and another that is your reach school. Keep in mind that UNC Chapel Hill and NC State should not be your safe schools. Admissions to both of those schools remain very competitive for transfer students.

The Application

Links to NC universities and how to apply to them can be found on the Transfer University Links webpage under Admissions for Transfer Students.

Some schools, such as UNC Chapel Hill and many private universities, require students to apply using the Common App for Transfer Students. For others, such as NC State, NC A&T, and UNCG, the Transfer Common App is an option, or you can use the university’s own online application. Other schools, such as NC Central, use their own application, which can be found on the Transfer University Links webpage under Admissions for Transfer Students.

The Transfer Common App provides lots of video tutorials on YouTube to help students complete the form. Here are some tips:

• Answer every question: use all space available on the application to tell more about yourself. Avoid repeating yourself—tell something new about yourself in each box.
• For Community Standard or Conduct and Judiciary Information questions, answer honestly and fully, explaining your story. You will be asked to complete a criminal background check when you enroll at most four-year universities, so it’s important to be truthful on the application.
• Some schools may ask for a College Report. This must be requested from Dr. Holly June, Dean of Student Services, juneh@durhamtech.edu.

Letters of Recommendation

Many schools do not require any letters of recommendation from transfer students, but some request one or more.

Academic recommendations from instructors are more valuable to your application than personal or professional recommendations, so ask instructors in classes where you did well if they would write the letter for you.

Usually, the transfer application form will ask you to provide the name and e-mail address for the recommender. When you enter the e-mail address, a request for a letter of recommendation with instructions for submitting it will go directly to the recommender.

Here are some tips for requesting letters of recommendation:

• Give your instructors lots of time, at least three weeks, and ideally longer, to write the recommendations.
• Be sure to ask your recommenders if they are willing to write a recommendation before you send an online request.
• When you ask instructors to write a letter for you, it’s helpful to include a resume if you have one and share the following information:
  • Colleges/universities to which you are applying
  • Deadlines for the letter of recommendation
  • A little bit about you: your planned major, your long-term academic and professional goals, jobs you have held while attending school, hobbies or interests or extracurricular activities, and any challenges you may have faced during your time at school
• Send your recommender a thank you note when you are done applying.

The Essay

Although I’ve just listed two universities here, you’ll see variations on these questions in other applications for universities or scholarships. These are just suggestions; don’t let them limit you from taking your own creative and unique approach.

Example Essay Questions

Prompt	Suggestions for Approaching This Question
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.	Take this opportunity to show something unique about you or something you’re passionate about. Use lots of specific, concrete examples to demonstrate your values, motivation, ability to persevere, and/or intellectual curiosity.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?	Use concrete example to show how you’ve learned from the experience and it will make you a better student at UNC or more effective in your career, etc. Be specific about the challenge, but don’t spend too long on the set back so you can devote most of your time on how you came back—the skills you developed and lesson you learned that will sustain you in the future.
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?	Here’s a chance to show your ability to think differently. The situation could arise from something you read or learned as well as an experience. You could relate it to your career goals or just use it to show another facet of your personality.
Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.	This is a little like the obstacle question above, but it can also show your interest in a social justice issue, spotlight volunteer work you have done, reveal your interest in an intellectual topic, or show future career goals. Notice that the question asks you not only to describe the problem/issue and why it matters to you, but also to discuss concrete ways to address it.
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.	This can be anything from an idea you encountered in class that really struck you to a life event that really challenged you or a moment of change in your life or interest or experience.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?	This question invites you to show your passion for learning and your unique interests, hobbies. Your essay should reveal deep, not casual, engagement with the topic and demonstrate your commitment and motivation to seek out knowledge on a subject you care deeply about.
Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community. This could be your current community or another community you have engaged.	This could be an example from community service you have done, or work with your neighborhood, environment, faith organization, or even family. Be concrete and specific. Show an awareness of the larger social issues related to your experience.
Discuss an academic topic that you’re excited to explore and learn more about in college. Why does this topic interest you? Topics could be a specific course of study, research interests, or any other area related to your academic experience in college.	Demonstrate an awareness of the opportunities available to you at the university and use this as an opportunity to demonstrate that you have researched the school to which you are applying and are making a deliberate choice that this school is the right one for you. Connect future goals to past preparation.

 

NC State Essay Questions

Prompt	Suggestions for Approaching This Question
Explain why you selected the academic program above and why you are interested in studying this at NC State. (2000 characters, required)	Reveal why you are passionate about this subject area. Show all the concrete things you have done in the past that have led you to select this major and prepared you to be successful in it. You might consider family, summer experiences, work experiences, inspiring teachers, books, movies, classes.
Discuss any obstacles and/or hardships you have encountered and how you dealt with them. (2000 characters, optional)	Your focus here should not be on the hardship but on how you faced the challenge and grew stronger from the experience. Connect this past experience to your potential for success at NC State.
Who in your life is depending on you? What are they depending on you for? (2000 characters, optional)	This is an opportunity to show the responsibilities you have shouldered in addition to your coursework. “Depending on you” could be literal, as in someone whom you support financially or emotionally, or more metaphoric, as in someone who is depending on you to fulfill your potential.
How does continuing your education at a new institution help you achieve your future goals? (2000 characters, optional)	Here’s your chance to show what you hope to do with the degree. Connect your major to your career goals. Dream big here. Is graduate or professional school part of your plans? How will your goal not only help you but the community?
Personal Essay (3250 characters, optional)	This question is giving you a lot of room to tell your story. See the UNC questions for tips on approaching each of these questions, since they are virtually the same.

Application Fee

You will be asked to pay an application fee when you submit your online application. Application fees range from $40 to $90.

Requesting a Fee Waiver

Colleges and universities do not want the cost of applying to be a barrier, so most offer fee waivers. The most common reason transfer students are eligible for a fee waiver is because they receive Pell Grants.

Students can apply for a fee waiver (PDF) through the National Association of College Admissions Counselors. The student fills out page one of the form, and our financial aid office signs the second page. After you have completed page one, e-mail the form to Durham Tech’s Director of Financial Aid, Ms. Nadine Ford, fordn@durhamtech.edu.

If you are using the Transfer Common App, you can choose a fee waiver and indicate the reasons why you think you qualify on the application itself. The university will require you to submit the fee waiver form after submitting the application, usually through their online application portal.

If you are not using the Transfer Common App, at the end of the online application form, select “mail check” when asked to submit the application fee. You will be be asked to submit the fee waiver form separately, usually through their online application portal.

Transcripts

You will usually have to send your transcripts at least twice, the first time when you apply—usually you’ll still be taking classes—and the second when you have finished your Durham Tech classes and/or degree.

Submit transcripts from every college you have attended. Colleges will check to be sure that they have transcripts from all colleges you have attended using the National Student Clearinghouse.

Requesting Durham Tech Transcripts

Durham Tech official transcripts can be requested online and cost $5.65 each. When you request transcripts, here are the answers to some questions in the online form:

• Select School: Durham Technical Community College
• Are you ordering an Adult High School transcript: NO
• Recipient: College or University
• Department: Undergraduate Admissions
• The reason for sending them is transfer or admissions
• When do you want your transcript processed?
  • Current Transcript—Process As Is: This will send your current transcripts. Any classes in which you are currently enrolled but have not yet received a final grade will not show up.
  • At End of Current Semester: Your transcripts will not be sent until final grades are posted for the current semester.
  • After Degree Is Awarded: Transcripts will not be sent until the awarding of your degree is posted on the transcripts. This usually happens about three weeks after final grades are posted at the end of the semester.
• What type of transcript? Curriculum (credit)
• Why are you ordering your transcripts? Admission

Sending Transcripts to the Common App or NursingCAS

If you are a nursing school applicant using the NursingCAS or a regular transfer student applying via the Transfer Common App to more than one university, you can have your transcript sent directly to the Common App so all schools to which you apply using that application can see it. This can save you some money on ordering transcripts. Here’s how:

• In Academic History>Colleges Attended, click on the blue Order button next to Durham Tech.
• Under the tab Order Electronic Transcript, select National Student Clearinghouse.
• A dialogue box will open with 3 steps. Next to Step 3, click on Copy to copy the Transcript ID number. Then click the blue Visit National Student Clearinghouse Now button.
• You’ll arrive at the Durham Tech transcript request page.
• You are NOT an adult high school student.
• Recipient: Education Organization, Application Service, Scholarship, or Professional Licensing
• Select Organization: Common App for Transfer (or NursingCAS or other)
• Enter CAS Transcript: Here’s where you’re going to paste (Control-X) the number you copied
• Complete the rest of the form following the instructions for regular Durham Tech transcript requests above.

High School Transcripts

Some colleges require high school transcripts. If you graduated from a public NC high school, you can request your high school transcripts be sent to Durham Tech through CFNC. In CFNC you’ll use the same login you just used for your Durham Tech application, not your Durham Tech login.

Go to Application Hub>Request Transcripts. If the form that opens up doesn’t auto-populate when you log in, you will need to enter your public school student number. Some students remember this as their Power School number or their lunch number.

If CFNC doesn’t work or you graduated from a high school out of state, you can often make an online request through the school system’s website. Here are links for Wake County Public Schools, Durham Public Schools, Orange County Schools, or Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.

If there’s no transcript request link on the school system website, you can call your school directly.

Applying for Financial Aid and Scholarships

FAFSA

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an online form that colleges and universities use to determine your eligibility for financial aid. If you complete the FAFSA as part of your application for admission, the university will use that information to create a financial aid package for you.

The FAFSA for the next academic year usually becomes available October 1. Even if you think your income is too high to be eligible for financial aid, fill out the FAFSA, at least for the first year of university. On the FAFSA, list all of the universities to which you are applying so that they will receive your financial information.

Some private universities and UNC Chapel Hill will also require you to complete the CSS Profile. This is like a more detailed version of the FAFSA, and it will be used to determine what university-based aid you may be eligible to receive.

NC Promise Schools

Another tip for lower college costs is to consider applying to an NC Promise Schools: Elizabeth City State, Western Carolina, and UNC Pembroke, and Fayetteville State Universities. At NC Promise Schools:

• Tuition for all in-state students capped at $500 per semester/$1000 per year.
• Tuition for all out-of-state students capped at $2500 per semester /$5000 per year.

Where to Find Scholarship Information

When you are admitted to a four-year university, you’ll have access to the scholarships that are only available to their students. But you can also apply for external scholarships:

• Transfer Scholarships on the Transfer Center webpages (look especially at Triangle Community Foundation)
• Scholarships Regardless of Immigration Status
• Research your network—your or your parents’ workplaces, places of worship, voluntary organizations in which you or your family are involved.

Applying for scholarships will usually follow the same steps as applying for transfer universities: online application, letters of recommendation, transcripts, FAFSA. You can re-use essays you may have written for transfer universities, adjusting them to the question, since different people will read these essays.

Monitor Your Checklist

Either before you apply or after, the universities to which you are applying will ask you to create an online account or web portal.

In this web portal, the universities will create a checklist of missing documents or additional steps in the application process. This is also where your admissions decision will be posted.

Keep checking this checklist regularly. Keep in mind that most processes are not automatic, so universities may take a couple of weeks, for example, to connect your transcripts and letters of recommendation to your online application.