Multiple-transfer students in a public urban university: Background characteristics and interinstitutional movements

Little research has been conducted on multiple-transfer students, those students who transfer more than once during their collegiate careers. In this study, background characteristics and previous interinstitutional movements of a sample of multiple transfers enrolled at a large, urban, public university were examined. These students moved along four different transfer paths before enrolling at the university, where they comprised one-fifth of new undergraduate enrollments. Their paths differed significantly on a number of demographic, institutional, and interaction variables. Overall, these students were academic achievers with high socioeconomic status backgrounds, who focused on academic quality and programs in choosing four-year colleges. Their tendency to transfer among large, inexpensive, public institutions has negative implications for the private sector of higher education.