Rollins

11 Reasons to Finish Your Degree at Rollins

April 24, 2022

By Luke Woodling ’17MBA

Students in gaps and gowns walk to commencement at Rollins College, one of the best colleges for transfer students.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

Transferring to Rollins is as seamless as it is rewarding, and there’s no time like now to make the move.

For the fifth consecutive year, Phi Theta Kappa has named Rollins to its Transfer Honor Roll, which identifies the nation’s top four-year institutions creating dynamic pathways to support transfer students. What did we do to earn such an honor? We could go on and on about why Rollins is one of the country’s best colleges for transfer students, but we know you’re busy so we narrowed it down to 11 of our favorites.

A Rollins professor teaches in small, discussion-based classroom.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

1. A Personalized Approach

At Rollins, your education is built on a human scale. It’s powered by relationships, particularly the partnerships between our inventive, inspiring faculty and motivated, industrious students. Thanks to small classes that average just 17 students and a student-faculty ratio of 11:1, you receive the kind of personalized attention and support that you’ll find only at one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges.

A student and a professor work on a math equation.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

2. A Future-Proof Foundation

A recent report by Dell Technologies estimates that 85 percent of jobs that will exist in 2030 have yet to be invented. Through Rollins’ innovative, interdisciplinary core curriculum, you’ll develop broad-based knowledge and an array of 21st-century skills like creative problem solving, critical thinking, collaborative teamwork, and clear communication that are immune to the fast-paced fluctuations of our ever-evolving world.

A Rollins professor shows a student something on a computer screen during a one-on-one advising session.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

3. One-on-One Advising All the Way

As a transfer student, you’ll be paired with a dedicated transfer advisor as well as a faculty advisor from day one. Plus, the personal attention you receive as a Rollins student begins long before you’re actually a student. From mapping out your degree plan to understanding how credits will transfer, we have your back every step of the way.

Six college students hang out in a dorm room at Rollins College.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

4. The Opportunity to Join an Inclusive Residential Community

At Rollins, housing is available for transfer students, so you’re welcome to call America’s most beautiful campus home. Even if you decide to live off-campus, you’ll find yourself immersed in an authentic college experience. Thanks to Rollins’ inclusive culture, tight-knit community spirit, dynamic diversity, and 150-plus student clubs and organizations, you’re certain to find your perfect fit.

A student and her alumni mentor have a discussion while walking down a hallway on the Rollins College campus.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

5. Mentorship, Mastered

As part of Rollins’ unique cohort mentorship model, Rollins students have access to a constellation of mentors. Peer mentors—second-, third-, and fourth-year Tars—help you transition to academics and life at Rollins while a spectrum of staff advisors guide you through everything from finding the ideal internship to landing that first job. Through Rollins’ Career Champions alumni mentorship program, you have the opportunity to get firsthand career and life advice from alumni mentors whose professional paths align with your interests.

An advisor and a group of students work together during a orientation class for transfer students.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

6. A Perfectly Tailored Transition

Anxious about changing schools? That’s only natural, but there’s no need to fret. Rollins has created an entire course that’s designed to ease your transition and set you up for success. From mastering your R-Card to finding your niche on campus, our transfer-specific seminar course will help you optimize your #RollinsLife right from the start.

A professor gestures to a student's computer screen in a small, discussion-based classroom.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

7. Get Credit for Your Classes

Have your AA degree? Good news: You’ve met your general education requirements, and you’re ready to dive directly into your major. Even if you haven’t finished your AA, Rollins awards credit for classes with a grade of C- or higher, and we’ll will work with you to transfer up to 64 semester hours.

A college graduate looks down at her diploma during a commencement ceremony.
Photo by Scott Cook

8. Ample Assistance

With generous merit scholarships and need-based financial aid, finishing your degree at Rollins is far more affordable than you think. Transfer-specific academic scholarships that range from $15,000 to $24,000. Renewable $6,000 Phi Theta Kappa scholarships. $50 million in annual state, federal, and institutional assistance. At Rollins, your financial aid options abound.

A college student and his mentor have a discussion on the lawn of the Rollins College campus.
Photo by Scott Cook.

9. A Powerful Alumni Network

Phillip Denizard ’16 transferred to Rollins from Valencia and quickly realized the power of our alumni network. The communication major forged a mentorship with fashion executive Stacy Van Praagh ’93, which led to internships at L’Eclaireur in Paris and Givenchy in New York as well as his first position after graduation as an assistant buyer at Gucci’s U.S. headquarters in New York City. The fashion aficionado has continued to thrive in the Big Apple and is now a planning manager at Fendi.

An intern at NASA's Kennedy Space Center carries his laptop with a half dozen rockets in the background.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

10. Real-World Experience

Rollins has an entire office dedicated to helping our students secure the best resume-builders. Just ask Michael Gutensohn ’18, a computer science major and Valencia transfer who landed three consecutive internships at NASA. Gutensohn handled software development at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, served as a computer-engineering intern at Kennedy Space Center’s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, earned a master’s in information management and systems at the UC Berkeley School of Information, and is now a software engineer at Apple.

A college student poses with her arms crossed in the stacks of a library's archives.
Photo by Photo by Scott Cook.

11. The Opportunity to Flourish

Rebecca Charbonneau ’16 hit the reset button on her college career at Rollins and quickly reaped the rewards of our interdisciplinary liberal arts education. As a student, the art history and critical media studies major performed independent research in England and Italy. After graduation, Charbonneau earned her master’s in the history of science, medicine, and technology from the University of Oxford. And in 2018, she was one of just 35 U.S. students to earn a Gates Cambridge Scholarship, one of the most prestigious postgraduate scholarships in the world. Charbonneau received her PhD in the history and philosophy of science at the University of Cambridge and is now the historian-in-residence at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University.

Jonathan Hooker

Connect With Your Admission Counselor

Jonathan Hooker, associate director of transfer admission, will guide you through every aspect of the admission process.

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