Over 1.3 million students transfer schools within six years of attending college. It’s a surprisingly common path and one you might consider in your own academic journey. But have you cracked the code on how to transfer college credits?
Whether you’re coming from a community college or restarting your degree, every class credit counts! Let’s unlock the secrets of efficient credit transfer together. 🪄
Step-by-Step: How To Transfer Your College Credits
1. Look Into Transfer Policies at Your New College
A college will typically accept credits from other schools anywhere between 15 and 90. However, reading the transfer policies of every school on your radar is a must because these significantly impact your decision when choosing what school to attend. These policies and other information on the matter can usually be found on the school’s website. 📚
When choosing a new college, it’s crucial to verify that your completed courses align with both general requirements and your chosen major. Consider this: Does a college’s prestige outweigh the importance of graduating on time and saving money? Make a focused decision based on your priorities. 💡
READ MORE: These Are the Cheapest Colleges in the US
Note: It is important to check with the school you are transferring to to find out their specific transfer deadlines.
2. Request an Unofficial Transcript From Your Previous College
The unofficial transcript is your go-to guide for knowing which credits your future school might accept. This important document shows all the credits you’ve earned, along with course codes, which will come in handy for the next step of your transfer. 📋
Good to know: While unofficial transcripts are generally free, some colleges charge a small fee, typically around $5 to $10, for processing the request. Be prepared to pay up if required.
All you have to do is visit the registrar’s office or order the form from the school website. Request your transcript be sent directly to you instead of your prospective college; this way, you can control when and where it’s sent later. It’s always a good idea to order it in advance, as it may take some time for your request to be processed.
3. Know What to Expect by Comparing Course Equivalencies
Since it’s not always a matter of ensuring all credit hours are transferred, verify whether the courses you completed are equivalent to those offered at your new school. 🔎 Be smart about calculating your transfer credits and avoid unexpected surprises.
Most colleges consider a class worth three credit hours, and you typically need around 120 to graduate. However, the catch is that some colleges operate on a quarter system, where four-credit courses and 160 total credits are required. This can throw a wrench in your graduation plans, requiring you to take additional courses or adjust your timeline.
Good thing colleges have simple formulas to calculate course equivalencies, so check for credit calculators on their websites to breeze through the process. For instance, if you’re switching from a quarter system to semesters, your previous four-credit class will be worth 2.68 semester hours (a formula of 0.67 for every quarter hour). 💪
4. Talk with Your New Admissions Advisor
An admissions advisor can answer all your questions about credit transfers, so it’d be wise to set an appointment. 📞 Before your meeting, prepare specific questions about the school’s transfer policies. Here are some examples:
- Does the new school accept courses taken in the military?
- Are AP courses from high school eligible for transfer?
- Does the college offer credit for life or work experience?
Admissions advisors will help you navigate potential challenges and optimize the transfer of your credits for a successful academic transition. If you have credits from unique situations, such as military courses or AP courses from high school, your advisor can clarify whether these credits are transferable. 🪖
They can also help you strategize to maximize the number of transferable credits. They might suggest alternative courses or pathways that align with your previous coursework and fulfill the requirements of your new program.
5. Have Your Official Transcripts Sent to Your New School
Many colleges offer a simple online process through their registrar’s office on their website to make it easy for you to transfer college credits. ⌨️ Keep in mind that a small processing fee, typically between $3 to $10, is usually involved. This is used to request and send the official transcript directly from your former school to the new one.
You can transfer college credits at any time, but it’s best to do so before a new school year or semester. This aligns your academic record with the new institution’s schedule, meets application deadlines, and allows you to plan your courses effectively. ⌚
6. Be Patient
Now comes the hard part — waiting. It takes around four weeks for a school to assess transfer credits. 🗓️ You’ll get an email letting you know which credits have been transferred. This usually happens a few months to a year before the semester you plan to start. If the wait time is unusually long or if you run into trouble with the credit transfer, it’s time to reach out to the admissions advisor.
Set up a meeting and bring your transcripts along for a chat on how to sort things out. 🤙 During your meeting, the advisor will conduct a thorough review of your transcripts to identify any potential discrepancies or areas of concern related to credit transferability. This personalized audit ensures that your academic achievements are accurately represented and accounted for.
If discrepancies arise, your advisor will collaborate with you to explore various solutions, such as appealing credit decisions, submitting additional documentation, or even considering alternative credit pathways. 🤔
Good to know: One of the best ways to ensure that your credits will transfer is to ace your courses. Earning high grades in your courses demonstrates to the new school that you have mastered the material and that you are prepared for success in their program.
Why Transferring College Credits Isn’t Always Straightforward
The process of transferring your college credits to another institution can be confusing, inconsistent, or downright unfair. 🤔 The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 70 percent of students who transferred to another college lost one or more credits. This can mean thousands of dollars wasted with today’s stratospheric educational costs.
Lost credits are primarily due to the lack of a consistent transfer policy among US universities, which can also explain why this predicament happens frequently. ⚠️ Each institution has its own set of policies, and they all exercise discretion over how they process credit transfers. Some considerations include:
How Comparable Your Credits Are
Universal core classes, like “Intro to Business” or “Psychology 101,” that stay consistent throughout most university curricula can be readily accepted by your new school. However, not all classes will transfer seamlessly, and this will likely be influenced by the unavailability of similar courses at your new university. For example, a metalworking class may not be recognized if your new university doesn’t offer a similar course. 📓
Where Your Credits Come From
Courses taken at a community college or technical school may not transfer to a four-year university. 🚫 It’s essential to check if your two-year school has a partnering agreement with your dream college (an arrangement in which a four-year college automatically accepts course credit from a two-year school). If not, you should check with your new school’s academic advisor or registrar to make sure they will accept your courses. 🔍
How Old Your Credits Are
Credits you’ve received for general education or core classes are likely to transfer, no matter how old they are. After all, if you took Intro to English Literature 15 years ago, the content is expected to be the same.
However, when it comes to computer coding courses, healthcare, or sciences, things are a bit different. Technology is constantly evolving, and courses like these are “time-sensitive.” They need to be updated every few years to keep up with the latest trends and advancements in the industry. ⏰
School Accreditation
Accredited universities have undergone a rigorous process to ensure that their instruction meets the highest educational standards. If you’ve previously taken courses at a non-accredited institution, your credits are unlikely to be accepted by an accredited school. ✅
Colleges with accreditation are skeptical about courses taken at non-accredited schools meeting the same criteria. They want to maintain the quality and integrity of their programs, which is why they typically don’t accept credits from non-accredited institutions.
Non-accredited schools can include for-profit institutions or some online education providers, which often face challenges in obtaining accreditation. 💻
READ MORE: College Accreditation Explained
Pro Tips: How to Get the Most Out of Your Credits When Transferring Schools
- Find a transfer-friendly school. Your best bet when transferring to a new school is to find one that is as flexible with credits as possible to invite less stress in your life.
- Ask about credit for professional and life experience. Many schools try to sweeten the pot for transfer students (especially older applicants) by offering extra credit for work, life, and military experience. This is often referred to as “credit for prior learning.” For example, a job as a volunteer counselor for at-risk youth, parental experience with a disabled child, or military service could all translate into valuable credits.
- Focus on taking general education and easily transferable courses in your major if you’ve decided in advance that you will later transfer to another school. This will likely ensure acceptance of all your credits.
- Ask your new school whether they offer the option to test out of specific courses. For example, many universities accept credit for College-Level Examination Prep (CLEP) tests, which can save you additional time and money.
- If you’re attending a community college, see what kind of reciprocity agreements it may have with four-year institutions. This will allow you to transfer the credits you have earned directly without any hassle.
- Find Hidden Transfer Credit Opportunities at Your Chosen School. Some schools offer unique credit opportunities for specific skills or experiences. For example, one school may offer credit for learning a second language, while another school may offer credit for participating in a student exchange program.
It’s perfectly possible to graduate on schedule as a transfer student. Trying to figure out how to transfer college credits may seem tricky, but following these steps and staying on top of the process will get you the most credit possible. 💪
READ MORE: How to Transfer Colleges: All You Need to Know
How to Transfer College Credits: Frequently Asked Questions
Why won’t some of my college credits transfer?
Colleges won’t generally accept credits from another school with a low grade. The same applies to courses taken, pass or fail. Plus, community college credits from a school that doesn’t have a reciprocity agreement and non-accredited schools are often declined. Your target school may not think these previous courses provided enough “rigor” to meet its academic standards.
Who do I need to talk to about transferring my college credits?
The first stop for any questions about transferring your credits is the registrar’s office. If they don’t have the answers, your admissions advisor is the next best bet.
How can I tell if my college credits will transfer to my new school?
One way to ensure you won’t waste time applying to a school that won’t accept your credits is to book an appointment with an academic advisor at your new school. You can look over the courses listed on your unofficial transcript together to get a better idea of what will transfer.
Can I choose which college credits to transfer?
You can choose not to transfer certain credits — for example, because you didn’t do well in those classes. It’s ultimately your decision.
When are college credits too old to transfer?
Many core classes are considered evergreen, and schools will often accept them even if taken many years ago. Think literature, history, philosophy, business math, or Psych 101. Other courses, such as those in STEM fields, are much more time-sensitive. As standards change, computer tech and medical sciences courses are likely to become outdated, and you will likely have to retake them.
How many college credits can I transfer?
Most schools have a maximum number of transfer credits that they will accept, typically between 45 and 90 credits. However, some schools may have lower or higher limits, depending on the type of degree program that you are pursuing.
To find out how many transfer credits you will be eligible for, you should contact the admissions office of the school that you are transferring to. They will be able to review your transcripts and provide you with an estimate of how many credits will be transferred.
To find out how many transfer credits you will be eligible for, you should contact the admissions office of the school that you are transferring to. They will be able to review your transcripts and provide you with an estimate of how many credits will be transferred.
Will transfer credits impact my GPA?
No, transfer credits will not impact your GPA at your new school. Your GPA will be a blank slate at your new institution.
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if you transfer to a school that uses a weighted GPA system, your transfer credits may be weighted based on the difficulty of the courses that you took at your previous school.
If you have any questions about how transfer credits will impact your GPA, be sure to contact the admissions office of the school that you are transferring to.