Getting into college today

ANN CURRY, anchor:

And we're back on the final day of our special series, GETTING INTO COLLEGE TODAY. And we've assembled an extraordinary panel of college experts to answer some of your e-mail questions. Let's reintroduce our panel. They are Janet Lavin Rapelye, who's a dean of admissions at Princeton University; Elaine Tuttle Hansen is the president of Bates College; Janina Montero is the vice chancellor for student affairs at UCLA; and Nanette Tarbouni is the director of admissions at Washington University in St. Louis.

Good morning to all of you.

Group: (In unison) Good morning.

CURRY: You are the women that all of our young folks will want to sit in a room with and get some answers from. And there are a lot of parents who are, you know, just--as you know, just so stressed out.

So here is a question from Kathleen from Lompoc, California. She says, "I am encouraging my children to go to community college for the first two years and then transfer to a university. How do universities evaluate community college transfers, and do you think this is a good idea?" A lot of kids, let me tell you. You know, I've got nephews and nieces, like, who don't have a lot of money to go to college. This is a way for them. But is it actually going to hurt them in the end, or help them?

Who wants to take it? Jump in.

Ms. JANINA MONTERO (University of California Los Angeles Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs): Well, why don't I take it? There's about 40 percent of our students are transfer students at UCLA.

CURRY: Forty percent?

Ms. MONTERO: Yes.

CURRY: That's significant.

Ms. MONTERO: And it's an important--it's an important part of our...

CURRY: And that's at UCLA?

Ms. MONTERO: ...school. And many of our students in California, in fact, look at this as a natural path. They start in community colleges because of cost, because they're looking at different options before making a decision. They are--they want to maybe hone their expertise, or their skills.

CURRY: Right, right, that makes a lot of sense.

Is this less likely at Princeton, however, do you think?

Ms. MONTERO: Not at all.

Ms. JANET LAVIN RAPELYE (Dean of Admissions, Princeton University): Well, we don't have a transfer program, so the transfer option...

CURRY: Aha, a different story, different school.

Ms. RAPELYE: Every school has a different option, and--but it is a good option for some students.

CURRY: What about Bates College?

Ms. ELAINE TUTTLE HANSEN (President, Bates College): Again, we're very small, so we take a very small number of transfers. You'd better do your homework if that's your plan, and find out...

CURRY: So big schools, then you're more likely to.

Ms. HANSEN: Yeah.

CURRY: And the same thing true for...

Ms. NANETTE TARBOUNI (Director of Admissions, Washington University, St. Louis): Well, we have--we have a transfer program, and we'll work with students right from the beginning of their community college experience so that they can be ready to transfer.

•	Getting Into College Today NBC News "Today", Friday, Oct. 20, 2006 Byline: Ann Curry, anchor