Financial or academic challenges may cause a student to transfer from one college to another.
Each year thousands of students enter colleges and universities with the goal of earning a bachelor's degree. Financial or academic challenges, however, can cause a student to transfer to another institution to pursue that diploma. Each college or university system, whether private or public, has its own standards and rules for accepting transfer students and how many of their credits it will accept.
Instructions
1. Request official transcripts from your former college or university. Ask that the transcript be sent by fax, email or regular mail, according to the receiving school's instructions. Have the contact information at hand for each of the schools where you might transfer. Also be prepared to supply your full name, address, student ID number or Social Security number.
2. Research private and public colleges and universities for academic programs that offer degrees in your major. Contact the transfer adviser at each of the schools and verify the number of your credits that are transferable there. Verify the universities' criteria for the minimum and maximum number of credits they accept, as well as the minimum grade point average you need for acceptance. Many universities have agreements with community colleges in their regions, guaranteeing that all courses completed with a grade of C or better will be accepted.
3. Consult with your transfer adviser regarding courses with similar titles. For example, a 200 level biology course at one college won't necessarily have the same credit value at another. You might have earned three credit hours for a course at a community college, but the college where you want to transfer may require five credit hours for that subject. Often, you can use courses that fall short of the credit requirements as electives for transfer purposes. Once admitted, consider petitioning the department head of that discipline if you need that course for your major. If you can demonstrate that you have a command of the overall course material, the department head might recommend that your credits be accepted.
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