Penn State Berks will celebrate transfer students during National Transfer Student Week (NTSW), from Oct. 18 to 22. Organized by the National Institute for the Study of Transfer Students, NTSW is an annual event held during the third week of October.
Penn State Berks is committed to meeting the needs of transfer students and helping to make their transition from their current institution as smooth as possible. The college offers a wide variety of resources.
Transfer Tuesdays, virtual visits in which transfer admissions counselors talk with prospective students and answer questions, is one such program. Prospective students are welcome to schedule in-person visits as well.
The Transfer Students section of the Penn State Berks website offers Transfer Tips, a one-page downloadable guide to transfer admissions, and a link to Penn State University’s printable Transfer Guide, a comprehensive fact book that helps transfer students determine if Penn State is the right fit and provides information on the transfer process.
Penn State Berks provides transfer guides for many of the college’s academic programs. Penn State accepts transfer credits from all regionally accredited institutions. Students can utilize the Transfer Credit Tool to see how credits will transfer from other institutions.
Penn State Berks has long-standing articulation agreements with Reading Area Community College, Montgomery County Community College, Harrisburg Area Community College and Northampton Area Community College. These arrangements provide clear pathways for students to transfer seamlessly into the college’s baccalaureate degree programs.
Most recently, Penn State Berks and Northampton County College established an articulation agreement in hospitality management.
In June 2021, Penn State Berks, along with partners institutions Reading Area Community College (RACC), Berks County Career and Technology Center and Reading Muhlenberg Career Technology Center signed articulation agreements that result in a 2+2+2 engineering pathway. This is addition to the articulation agreement Penn State Berks and RACC signed in 2017 which provides pathways to seven baccalaureate degree programs.
In addition, the college offers the Schmidt Family Scholarship Fund, an endowed scholarship for students with demonstrated financial need who enroll in one of Penn State Berks' baccalaureate degree programs upon graduation from RACC.
At Penn State Berks, transfer students are eligible to become members of the Tau Sigma Transfer National Honors Society, a national honor society designed exclusively for transfer students. Tau Sigma provides its members opportunities to earn scholarships, take leadership positions in the University, and serve others at the University and in the community –– all while developing friendships and becoming a more integral part of the university. Penn State Berks is the only college in the Penn State system to offer a chapter of Tau Sigma.
Support for transfer students does not end after they enroll. The college’s Transfer Student Orientation is held in the beginning of each semester. The orientation provides general information about Penn State Berks, specific information regarding the transfer course evaluation process, and a current transfer student panel discussion.
For more information on transfer admissions at Penn State Berks or to schedule an in-person or virtual appointment, contact James McCarty, assistant director of transfer admissions ([email protected]) or Bradley Simko, transfer admissions counselor ([email protected]).
