When choosing colleges to which you wish to transfer, consider how
many of the courses you have taken will transfer from your current
to your new institution. The system of recognition for work
completed at the original institution is called credit transfer, and
the policy and procedures for credit transfer vary considerably from
institution to institution.
Colleges determine which courses they will recognize on the basis of
your transcripts and other information you may be asked to provide
about your original institution, course syllabuses, and so on. While
schools can usually give you an unofficial estimate at the time they
issue your letter of acceptance, often you must wait until you
arrive at the college and meet the head of the department to get an
official final evaluation of your transfer status.
Students may find that some of the courses taken at their original
institutions are "lost" in the transfer process. They often need
extra time to graduate or need to take summer school combined with a
heavier workload if they wish to graduate on time. In addition, most
colleges have a maximum number of credits that can be transferred in
from a previous institution. Contact schools directly or use
reference material available at your U.S. educational information or
advising center for further information on specific transfer
policies.
Students are required to take three main types of courses in order
to earn a U.S. degree: general education requirements, requirements
for the major field of study, and electives (see About Undergraduate
Study for further information on these different types of courses).
Courses that are transferred from the original institution to the
transfer institution must fit into one of these three categories if
they are to count toward the requirements for the degree. The
following sections explain how this process works in practice. |
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Because general education requirements are similar at many U.S.
colleges, students who transfer from one U.S. institution to another
are the most likely to find that their courses are recognized and
transfer easily.
Transferring courses you have taken as requirements for a particular
major may be more complicated, especially if you are trying to
transfer courses for a major that the new college does not offer
(for example, trying to transfer business courses into a school that
does not offer business courses). Sometimes the courses taken for a
certain major may not meet the requirements for the same major at
the transfer institution. The transfer institution may even insist
that you take all the course requirements for a major at that
college. Courses not accepted either as credit toward the major or
as general education requirements may be accepted as credit for
elective courses. However, if even this is not possible, either no
transfer credit will be granted, or the new college may tell you
that it will grant transfer credit for these courses, but the credit
cannot be applied toward your requirements for graduation. When you
are discussing with a college how many transfer credits you will
receive, it is important to check and understand the distinction
between a general acceptance of credit for transfer purposes, and
acceptance of credits to meet the requirements for graduation with a
degree in a certain discipline. In the former situation, further
clarification is needed, and some credits may be lost between the
current and transfer institutions. In the latter situation, you can
be sure exactly which courses and credits you can apply from your
current institution to meet the course requirements for a certain
major (for example, mathematics or history) at the transfer
institution.
The College Handbook for Transfer Students offers suggestions for
ways that students can maximize their transfer credits. Advice
includes:
- Take any required general education courses during your
first two years of study.
- Take any prerequisites for your major at your original
institution, as these will help you get accepted into another
college, particularly if your major is highly competitive.
Prerequisites are preparatory courses that are required before
you can start studying for the major itself.
- Plan to take the majority of the courses required for your
major after you arrive at the transfer institution as these are
more difficult to transfer.
- If you are studying at a community college, work closely
with your academic adviser in planning your course schedule and
take courses designated as "transfer courses" (see community
colleges for further information).
- You can ask a college to reconsider its decision about
transfer credit. Sometimes a transcript or course description
provides insufficient information to enable a college to grant
credit; further information may allow them to make a decision in
your favor.
Students transfer every year from other countries into U.S. degree
programs and successfully go on to complete their degrees. However,
the structure of degrees in other countries rarely matches the
structure of U.S. degrees, making the transfer process more
complicated. For example, if in your country you study only one
subject for your degree, the courses you have taken will not match
up with the varied subjects a U.S. undergraduate student takes to
meet his or her general education requirements. The types of
institutions in other countries also vary from those in the United
States, as do other details.
The transfer institution needs to consider a number of factors when
granting credit for the courses you have taken at a non-U.S.
institution. Pat Parker, assistant director of admissions for
international students at Iowa State University, identifies three
factors that U.S. universities usually consider:
- Is your university or college recognized by the ministry of
education in your country? U.S. colleges are looking for
institutions that are recognized by a ministry of education;
however, if some other authority approves your college, it may
still be acceptable. Decisions vary from college to college and
often depend on what the situation would be for a similar
college in the United States.
- How similar is the nature or character of the courses you
have taken to those offered at the transfer institution? U.S.
schools usually assess similarity by looking at information from
course descriptions, syllabi, or catalogs. If your institution
is not well known in the United States, the college may have to
do a more detailed evaluation with you when you arrive, and only
then decide whether and how to grant transfer credit.
- How applicable are your courses toward the degree, and in
particular the major, that you wish to pursue? This will often
involve evaluation of the courses by both the admissions office
and the academic department to which you wish to be admitted.
They will look at whether courses can be accepted for transfer
credit first, and then at whether they can count toward the
requirements for a specific major. Again this decision may not
take place until after you have arrived, and the decision may
vary from college to college. Applying courses toward a
particular major is most difficult for professional programs
such as engineering, architecture, or journalism, where course
requirements are carefully structured and often dictated by
accrediting bodies for the profession.
In addition, to make the transfer process run as smoothly as
possible, you are advised to:
- Make sure all academic records provided are official and
bear the original stamp or seal of the issuing institution.
- Submit course descriptions in English for all post-secondary
courses taken. They should also include:
- summaries or outlines of the major topics covered in
each course (If an outline is not available, write a summary
yourself and have it certified by the school as accurate.);
- the number of units or hours required in lecture and
laboratory for each course on a weekly basis;
- the length of the term or academic year, and, if it is
not given elsewhere, the year in which you took the course.
- Prepare a list of textbooks used in each course as this will
help in any decisions that are made after you arrive at the
campus about whether to grant credit for particular courses.
- Provide information on the total number of courses, credits,
or units required for the diploma or degree program from which
you are transferring.
Students who transfer into a U.S. institution may also be able to
receive credit for their secondary school work if it is considered
to be comparable to introductory college-level work in the United
States. Ask each college about this. |
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