An increasingly popular — and money-saving — strategy for Maine students is to complete their basic requirements at any of Maine’s community colleges, then transfer to a university for their four-year degree. Unfortunately, this transfer process can be incredibly complicated; the Transfer Scholars Network (TSN) is a growing project that looks to help students by connecting eligible students to their desired four-year schools.

The Beacon sat down with Oleksii Sverbyvus, a Political Science major here at SMCC, to find out more about this vital program. Oleksii is an avid supporter of the TSN and hopes to get the word out to his fellow students and college administrators about what the program has to offer.

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The Beacon: For those who don’t know, what is the Transfer Scholars Network (TSN)?

Oleksii: The TSN is a network that connects two-year colleges with prestigious four-year academic institutions. They’re partnered with almost all of the country’s Ivy League schools. In fact, I think they have more prestigious schools than community colleges, at the moment. But the idea is that each school nominates a few high-achieving students each year for the TSN, and those students get supported throughout their entire application process. They also get really generous financial aid packages. As a disclaimer, I know that Dean Goodman, Matthew Goodman, is currently trying to get the entire MCCS to join the TSN. 

Matthew Goodman, the Dean of Academic Excellence and Strategic Initiatives at SMCC, says that “The Transfer Scholars Network (TSN) benefits students and higher education alike. We could more fully support Maine’s community college students by submitting a joint application on behalf of the Maine Community College System (MCCS) and its seven colleges.”

The Beacon: What are the requirements to get into the TSN?

Oleksii: You have to be nominated by the faculty. If I’m not mistaken, TSN students have to come from families that make less than $100,000 [a year]. So, the only two qualifications would be high academic achievement and the $100,000 income limit. 

The Beacon: How helpful do you think the TSN could have been for yourself and various SMCC students?

Oleksii: I would have loved SMCC to have been part of the TSN movement; someone to help me out. While the TSN has certain ties to SMCC faculty members, where some students can get nominated, it doesn’t have any official support or connections.

The Beacon: What’s the best way to spread the word about the TSN?

Oleksii: Well, at this moment, I think it would be really helpful if other students were interested [in the TSN]. I would love people talking about it and knowing more about it. I mean, the faculty knows about it, I think we’ve done a good job getting information spread through the faculty, but I would love for the students to be interested in it and look at it as an interesting and beneficial possibility. It could help multiple student’s lives.

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The good news for SMCC students interested in the TSN is that, while SMCC is not in an official partnership with the TSN, there are faculty members here at SMCC with connections to the program who are working diligently to elect high-achieving students. To participate in the TSN, students need to attend community college, maintain a minimum 3.5 academic GPA, and demonstrate the financial need, which is an adjusted gross income less than $100,000, as mentioned by Oleksii. Joining the TSN would give students custom assistance with their transfer application process, direct connections to representatives from their desired schools, and generous financial aid  packages. Additionally, students will be eligible for prestigious scholarship programs, such as the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. Furthermore, students will receive personalized evaluations of their transfer credits, greatly improving the chances of getting into their dream institution. 

Officially partnering with the Transfer Scholars Network could be an incredible opportunity for SMCC’s transfer department. TSN could bear a great deal of heavy lifting for the administration and give community college students a multitude of opportunities for their four-year degrees. SMCC students in particular have been finding it increasingly difficult to navigate the transfer process, and the TSN could serve as a notable aid to this very predicament. While there are various SMCC staff members hard at work to connect students to the TSN, an official partnership would do wonders for the community. 

Oleksii and other TSN advocates encourage students to look into the program and ask their administrators more about it. A greater interest in the program could be just what SMCC needs!

To find out more about the TSN, visit their website at https://transferscholars.org/.