How many high school students know what college they want to attend and what major they'll declare?

Not many. That's why the State of Colorado has developed guided pathways to success (GPS) that give students the flexibility to explore without wasting time and money on college courses that won't transfer or apply to a variety of degrees.

Colorado has a statewide, guaranteed-to-transfer general education curriculum, called "gtPathways," that forms the core of every liberal arts and science associate and baccalaureate degree. That means students can start taking their general education coursework at any public college or university, and it will transfer and apply to equivalent general education requirements at any receiving institution.

Colorado also has 30 statewide transfer agreements in the most popular majors, like business, psychology and teacher preparation. Students who complete the first 60 credits at a community college receive an associate's degree with academic designation in the major.

Those credits are guaranteed to transfer to a university where the student can complete the baccalaureate degree in no more than an additional 60 credits. If students attend full-time, they can complete both degrees (all 120 credits) in four years.

And for students interested in engineering or nursing, the state offers pre-engineering transfer agreements and an RN-to-BSN transfer guide. As always, students are encouraged to meet with advisors at any college or university they wish to attend.

Though we try to make the transfer agreements and guides easy to understand, transfer can still be tricky and self-advising is not a good idea.

For more information visit http://highered.colorado.gov/Academics/Transfers/Students.html.