One reporter described the transfer process as problematic:
The trouble can begin during the clunky and overly complicated transfer admissions process. While students who come from community colleges are often assisted by long-standing agreements between a state's junior colleges and its flagship universities, the path for everyone else--those who are crossing state lines, who come from another four-year university, or who have spent years in the workforce--is far more treacherous. The process is difficult to navigate without the help of counselors and advisers, positions that often are left unfilled when budget cuts need to be made.
-- Alison Go in US News, 2008
Openings for transfers vary by type of college, and can vary at a particular college year by year. One source suggested that small liberal arts colleges which have most freshmen completing all four years, tend to have few openings available; in contrast, large state universities often have many positions open, typically to accommodate graduates from two-year colleges. For example, 412 students applied for transfer admission into Amherst College and admitted about 6% of them; in contrast, the much larger Arizona State University had 11,427 transfer applicants and admitted 84% of them. One report described transfer students as "academic nomads" struggling to keep credit hours they have earned.
Transfer students, particularly community college students, face many additional obstacles when trying to achieve their transfer goals. While attending a community college is a financially attractive choice to numerous students in the United States, studies have shown that students who enroll in community colleges are significantly less likely to complete a bachelor's degree when compared to four-year students who started at a university as freshmen. In fact, it is estimated that only 20% of the 1992 high school class originally enrolled at a community college received a bachelor's degree by the year 2000. One factor preventing transfer out of community colleges is the requirement of remedial courses for new students. The large need for remedial classes, especially in writing and math, has left students discouraged, as they feel they are repeating high school. In addition, the lack of quality academic counseling has been a problem. Due to the fact that many community college students attend more than one college, proper advising has been hard to come by since each school has its each course numbering system. When a student wishes to transfer to an institution out of state, the process becomes even more complicated as there may be limited articulation agreements.
The obstacles preventing two-year college students from transferring and earning a bachelor's degree may also be related to motivational and psychological issues. While work, family, and financial issues are the common factors to blame for the decline in transfer rates from community college students, research has shown that motivation to learn and succeed can make a major impact on a student's future. After examining the results from National Longitudinal Surveys, it was discovered that students entering a community college who aimed during their last few years in high school to earn a B.A. or graduate degree yielded the highest transfer rates in 1972 and 1980, the two classes of the study. While the transfer rates in this study declined, a correlation between positive educational aspirations and transfer success was noted. Additional studies have also examined the relationship of psychological and motivational factors with transfer rates. Students who have ambitious career goals are more likely to transfer, and students whose expectations don't exceed the two-year college level are less likely to transfer. Making significant progress and steps at a community college may also be a beneficial factor in maintaining motivation and overcoming the difficulties that transfer students face. Referring back to the results from the National Longitudinal Surveys, it was found that students who transferred without an Associate degree were less likely to complete a B.A. degree than those without one.