At this time of year, lots of families are realizing that their high school seniors can’t attend their dream schools.

Seniors are receiving their financial aid packages in the mail and for some of them the numbers don’t look good.  Among those who are struggling are upper middle-class families that you might assume would be in better shape to pay for college.

Well-off families who haven’t saved for college can get hammered because they will be expected to pick up a substantial amount of the tab. An affluent student might get a $15,000-a-year scholarship, but if the school costs $50,000 that’s a huge leap for a family of any income with meager savings.

Where the Upper-Middle Class Students Are Heading

That’s why I’m not surprised by a new study by Sallie Mae that indicates that a growing number of students from the upper-middle-class are enrolling in community colleges. The increased popularity of community colleges among the more affluent is stunning.

Nationwide, 22% of college students from families with incomes above $100,000 enrolled in community colleges for the 2010-2011 school year. In comparison, just 12% of students in this demographic attended community colleges a year earlier.

Most of these students in this demographic would have normally trotted off to public four-year institutions because sure enough, there was a significant drop among this group who headed to these institutions (56% attended four-year public schools in 2009 versus 48% the next year). The percentage of students  attending private colleges and universities during those two years didn’t change as much 30% to 27%.

Community Colleges Are Looking More Appealing

I’ve been encountering more affluent parents out here in California, who are curious about sending their children to community colleges.  Many of these parents haven’t saved enough money for four-year institutions, but they also wonder why they should sacrifice financially when their children could take the same general-ed classes they’d get at a public university with fewer students and for less money.

California , by the way, is ground zero for community colleges, which is where most students end up here. One out of every seven college students in the entire country attend a community college in California!

Middle-Class Preference for Community Colleges

While not as pronounced, the survey revealed that middle-income families also are showing a greater preference for community colleges. During the same time period, the percentage of middle income students attending community colleges jumped from 44% to 53%.

The New Community College

The knock against community colleges is that they’ve always the Bermuda Triangle of higher education. Most students who enroll get lost in the system and never emerge with a degree.

That’s far less of an issue with affluent students, who are better prepared academically and who have parents who can easily handle the cost. These students are also more likely to seek out counselors, which is very important since students need to make sure that their credits eventually transfer. Consequently, these students are far more likely to obtain their associate degrees and move to a four-year college for their bachelor’s degrees.

A story in yesterday’s Inside Higher Ed noted that affluent students descending on community colleges are demanding a full college experience like great fitness centers and extracurricular experiences. Here are stories on the phenomenon:

Younger Wealthier Students Pick Community Colleges, Bringing Expectations

Just Like a Real College Student

A New Jersey Magnet for Affluent Students

One of the schools experiencing a rush of affluent students is Raritan Valley Community College in northern suburban New Jersey. Over the past five years, enrollment has shot up 32%, but the percentage of traditional age students has jumped 49%. Many of these students are coming from two counties (Somerset and Hunterdon), which are among the top 10 most affluent counties in the U.S.

Excellent Community Colleges

For motivated students, exemplary community colleges are scattered across the country and some of the finest have been celebrated by Washington Monthly when it’s released its own honor roll.

“Students at the top community colleges,” the magazine once observed, “are more likely than their research university peers to get prompt feedback from instructors, work with other students on projects in class, make class presentations, and contribute to class discussions…At the best community colleges, teaching comes first.”

For lots of students, community colleges are definitely worth taking a look at!

I’ve been running into more and more parents, who are curious about sending their children to community colleges.

I can understand the attraction. Community colleges are often much cheaper than four-year schools and they can offer a more personalized education than big state universities.

Out here in California, for instance, a freshman can take introductory courses with 30 to 40 students at a community college versus hundreds of students  at introductory courses at many state universities here.

Teenagers who start at a community college or end up leaving a four-year school for another four-year institution, have lots of company.

According to a transfer student report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, a third of students end up transferring to other colleges or universities. Some of these students are transferring from community colleges, but many are also seeking to move from one four-year school to another.

Because of the huge number of college students who are on the move every year, I am sharing some tips for these often overlooked students:

8 Things Transfer Students Need to Know

1. The transfer admission hurdle is slightly more difficult.

The acceptance rate for transfer students (64%), according to NACAC, is slightly lower than the acceptance rate of first-year students (69% ).

When evaluating transfer applicants, the biggest admission factor by far is a student’s grades at their current college. More than 90% of colleges that participated in the NACAC survey said the overall postsecondary grade point average was “considerably important.”

2. Transfer students can qualify for merit aid.

Seventy-seven percent of colleges reported that they provide merit scholarships to transfer students. Eighty-one percent of small colleges, which have less than 3,000 students, report that they award merit scholarships to transfer students. In comparison, 66% of medium-sized schools and 67% of large schools offer merit awards.

3. Not all schools have room for transfer students.

Small colleges, which have very few undergrads leaving, can have few available spots for transfer students. For instance, Amherst College admitted just 24 transfer students out of 421 applicants for the fall term. Georgetown University, a much larger institution, admitted 364 transfer students out of 1,616 who applied.

State universities are often more equipped to accept large numbers of transfer applicants. UCLA, for instance, recently accepted 5,505 transfer students out of a pool of 18,986 transfer applicants.

4. Standardized tests scores aren’t as important.

The SAT and ACT, according to the NACAC survey, are less important for transfer students than high school seniors.

In fact, the more time you’ve spent in college, the less other institutions care about your SAT or ACT scores, according to Deborah Shames, an independent college counselor in northern New Jersey and a transfer admissions advisor for Kaplan Education Foundation.

“If a student is transferring after one semester in college or a year, schools usually want the SAT and high school GPA, but the further away from high school, the less schools rely on them,” Shames says.

5. Check out what a college wants from transfer students.

Before applying to a school, find out what the institution is looking for in transfer applicants. You can get a good idea by looking at a school’s Common Data Set. The Common Data Set is a document that four-year schools across the country complete that contains lots of information on such topics as admission criteria, freshman academic profile, campus safety and transfer admissions. You can often find a college’s Common Data Set by Googling that term and the name of the institution.

The College Board also provides this same transfer information. When looking at the profile of any four-year school on College Board, click on “Admission” hyperlink and you’ll find the transfer statistics.

6. Make sure your credits transfer.

You don’t want to lose credits when you move to another school. During the admission process, talk to a college’s transfer credit evaluator to get a sense of what credits would transfer.

7. Look for transfer-friendly schools.

One way to access that intangible is to ask if the college has a transfer coordinator. Also does the school have a transfer orientation or other transfer programs? Does the school have housing for transfer students? Ideally, you’d like to talk to transfer students about their experience at a school.

8. Focus on the positive when explaining your desire to transfer.

College applications will typically ask a student why they want to transfer. Shames warns that students should avoid saving anything negative about their current school. Instead focus on positive reasons for the change and offer specifics on why you want to transfer to a specific college.

Most of the attention during every admission season is on high school seniors, which means transfer students often get lost in the shuffle. That’s a shame since a sizable number of college students end up transferring every year.

According to special transfer student report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, a third of students end up transferring to other colleges or universities. Some of these students are transferring from community colleges, but many are also seeking to move from one four-year school to another.

If you or your child is hoping to transfer, here are 8 things you need to know:

1. The transfer admission hurdle is slightly more difficult. The acceptance rate for transfer students (64 percent), according to NACAC, is slightly lower than the acceptance rate of first-year students (69 percent).

When evaluating transfer applicants, the biggest admission factor by far is a student’s grades at their current college. More than 90 percent of colleges that participated in the NACAC survey said the overall postsecondary grade point average was “considerably important.”

2. Transfer students can qualify for merit aid. Seventy-seven percent of colleges reported that they provide merit scholarships to transfer students. Eighty-one percent of small colleges, which have less than 3,000 students, report that they award merit scholarships to transfer students. In comparison, 66 percent of medium-sized schools and 67 percent of large schools offer merit awards.

3. Not all schools have room for transfer students. Small colleges, which have very few undergrads leaving, can have few available spots for transfer students. For instance, Amherst College admitted just 24 transfer students out of 421 applicants for the fall term. Georgetown University, a much larger institution, admitted 364 transfer students out of 1,616 who applied.

State universities are often more equipped to accept large numbers of transfer applicants. UCLA, for instance, recently accepted 5,505 transfer students out of a pool of 18,986 transfer applicants.

4. Standardized tests scores aren’t as important. The SAT and ACT, according to the NACAC survey, are less important for transfer students than high school seniors.

In fact, the more time you’ve spent in college, the less other institutions care about your SAT or ACT scores, according to Deborah Shames, an independent college counselor in northern New Jersey and a transfer admissions advisor for Kaplan Education Foundation.

“If a student is transferring after one semester in college or a year, schools usually want the SAT and high school GPA, but the further away from high school, the less schools rely on them,” Shames says.

5. Check out what a college wants from transfer students. Before applying to a school, find out what the institution is looking for in transfer applicants. You can get a good idea by looking at a school’s Common Data Set. The Common Data Set is a document that four-year schools across the country complete that contains lots of information on such topics as admission criteria, freshman academic profile, campus safety and transfer admissions. You can often find a college’s Common Data Set by Googling that term and the name of the institution.

The College Board also provides this same transfer information. When looking at the profile of any four-year school on College Board, click on “Admission” hyperlink and you’ll find the transfer statistics.

6. Make sure your credits transfer. You don’t want to lose credits when you move to another school. During the admission process, talk to a college’s transfer credit evaluator to get a sense of what credits would transfer.

7. Look for transfer-friendly schools. One way to access that intangible is to ask if the college has a transfer coordinator. Also does the school have a transfer orientation or other transfer programs? Does the school have housing for transfer students? Ideally, you’d like to talk to transfer students about their experience at a school.

8. Focus on the positive when explaining your desire to transfer. College applications will typically ask a student why they want to transfer. Shames warns that students should avoid saving anything negative about their current school. Instead focus on positive reasons for the change and offer specifics on why you want to transfer to a specific college.

While it might not look like it, the college admission landscape is constantly changing.

This month The Chronicle of Higher Education ran a fascinating article about admission trends at colleges across the country. I’m going to share the article with you and also highlight the trends that the Chronicle reporter uncovered:

State universities continue to struggle.

State budget cuts are crippling public universities across the country. To help make up for the shortfall, many state schools are recruiting out-of-state students because they can charge a much higher tuition. In my own state of California, for instance, the cost of a nonresident attending UC Berkeley or UCLA is around $50,000!  With anemic state support, public universities are also raising tuition for their own residents to keep the lights on.

Transfer students are becoming a higher priority with 4-year universities.

This is good news for all the students who start out at a community college. It’s also encouraging for students who hate their four-year schools and would like to start over somewhere else.

Summer melt is a growing problem.

Families are only supposed to put a deposit down on one college. But as students apply to more schools, more are double or triple depositing. This can create havoc at small private schools that are counting on a certain number of freshmen, but see those numbers melt during the summer.

Admission offices are scaling back.

It’s ironic that many schools are receiving  more applications at the same time that they are cutting back on staff. Colleges are cutting back on printed materials they sent prospects, as well as travel time for admission reps. The article didn’t say so, but more schools are reaching out to teenagers virtually through such websites as Zinch and Cappex, as well as College Week Live.

When recruiting internationally, colleges are casting a wider net.

There is such a crush of Chinese students applying to Americans universities and colleges that you could fill entire classes with them. While it’s been easy to recruit Chinese students, colleges are now focused on greater international diversity.

If you’re curious, here is The Chronicle article on college admission trends:

Admission Deans Feel Crunched by the Numbers

Lynn O’Shaughnessy is the author of The College Solution, an Amazon bestseller and a workbook, Shrinking the Cost of College: 152 Ways to Cut the Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree. Follow her on Twitter.

University of Missouri image (my alma mater) by ensign_beedrill. CC 2.0.

According to special transfer student report from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, a third of students end up transferring to other colleges or universities. Some of these students are transferring from community colleges, but many are also seeking to move from one four-year school to another.

If you or your child is hoping to transfer, here are 8 things you need to know:

1. The transfer admission hurdle is slightly more difficult. The acceptance rate for transfer students (64 percent), according to NACAC, is slightly lower than the acceptance rate of first-year students (69 percent).

When evaluating transfer applicants, the biggest admission factor by far is a student’s grades at their current college. More than 90 percent of colleges that participated in the NACAC survey said the overall postsecondary grade point average was “considerably important.”

2. Transfer students can qualify for merit aid. Seventy-seven percent of colleges reported that they provide merit scholarships to transfer students. Eighty-one percent of small colleges, which have less than 3,000 students, report that they award merit scholarships to transfer students. In comparison, 66 percent of medium-sized schools and 67 percent of large schools offer merit awards.

3. Not all schools have room for transfer students. Small colleges, which have very few undergrads leaving, can have few available spots for transfer students. For instance, Amherst College admitted just 23 transfer students out of 412 applicants for the fall term. Georgetown University, a much larger institution, admitted 284 transfer students out of 2,028 who applied.

State universities are often more equipped to accept large numbers of transfer applicants. UCLA, for instance, recently accepted 5,261 transfer students out of a pool of 16,587 transfer applicants.

4. Standardized tests scores aren’t as important. The SAT and ACT, according to the NACAC survey, are less important for transfer students than high school seniors.

In fact, the more time you’ve spent in college, the less other institutions care about your SAT or ACT scores, according to Deborah Shames, an independent college counselor in northern New Jersey and a transfer admissions advisor for Kaplan Education Foundation.

“If a student is transferring after one semester in college or a year, schools usually want the SAT and high school GPA, but the further away from high school, the less schools rely on them,” Shames says.

5. Check out what a college wants from transfer students. Before applying to a school, find out what the institution is looking for in transfer applicants. You can get a good idea by looking at a school’s Common Data Set. The Common Data Set is a document that four-year schools across the country complete that contains lots of information on such topics as admission criteria, freshman academic profile, campus safety and transfer admissions. You can often find a college’s Common Data Set by Googling that term and the name of the institution.

The College Board also provides this same transfer information. When looking at the profile of any four-year school on College Board, click on “Admission” hyperlink and you’ll find the transfer statistics.

6. Make sure your credits transfer. You don’t want to lose credits when you move to another school. During the admission process, talk to a college’s transfer credit evaluator to get a sense of what credits would transfer.

7. Look for transfer-friendly schools. One way to access that intangible is to ask if the college has a transfer coordinator. Also does the school have a transfer orientation or other transfer programs? Does the school have housing for transfer students? Ideally, you’d like to talk to transfer students about their experience at a school.

8. Focus on the positive when explaining your desire to transfer. College applications will typically ask a student why they want to transfer. Shames warns that students should avoid saving anything negative about their current school. Instead focus on positive reasons for the change and offer specifics on why you want to transfer to a specific college.