Abstract
This study explored levels of hope and understanding of personal strengths experienced by College of Agriculture transfer students during the transition from a previous institution into a four-year, west coast university. There is a sizeable amount of research regarding Hope Theory and the traits of Agency and Pathways, as well as the transfer student population and transition process. However, research is limited about the effect of hope and strengths specific to the transfer student demographic.|Many college students experience an academic and social adjustment process when entering a university, but needs of new freshmen students and transfer students vary. Therefore, the research conducted was specific to new transfer students, and considered how strengths influence the Hope Theory traits of Agency and Pathways regarding the university adjustment phase. The study sample consisted of new transfer students in the College of Agriculture at a west coast university. The independent variable is a Strengths-based intervention, the dependent variable is levels of hope, and the control variable is the students not selected for the Strengths-based intervention. Independent t tests were used to compare differences in hope experienced by intervention participants verses non-intervention participants.|Results from the study indicated no relationship between hope and strengths with the transfer student participants. Additional research is recommended to assess a larger transfer population and to conduct a random sampling of intervention participants to determine if the outcome would be influenced differently.|Key words: transfer students, transfer shock, Hope Theory, Agency, Pathways, Clifton Strengths for Students Assessment