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Transferring to a U.S. University

An attractive feature of the U.S. higher education system is that you can transfer from one college to another midway through a degree. The flexibility of the credit system at U.S. universities allows credits earned at one institution to be recognized by another, provided certain criteria are met. Over 1 million students transfer to a new college each fall, and additional students transfer mid-year at the start of the spring semester. Many of these students transfer from community colleges to four-year colleges to complete a bachelor's degree (see community colleges for more information). Others start at a four-year institution, but for personal, academic, or financial reasons decide to transfer to a different four-year college. A small number transfer from an institution outside the United States to one within the United States . The information in this section is designed to give you a better understanding of the challenges involved and help make your transfer process as smooth as possible.

Most colleges prefer students to have completed one year of study before they enroll at the new college, but this requirement varies from school to school. In addition, most universities have a two-year residency requirement prior to graduation. This means that you must spend at least two years studying at that college in order to graduate and receive its degree. Transferring after three years of study becomes more difficult but varies between colleges. In general, most transfer students are in their sophomore or junior (second or third) year when they arrive at the new college.

Credit Transfer

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. 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.

Transferring Between U.S. Institutions

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"

	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.

Transferring From Outside the U.S. Education System

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:


	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.

The Transfer Application Process

The application process as a transfer student takes time, and you should begin to plan your transfer at least 12 months before the date you wish to start studying at the new institution. Carefully study the section in each college catalog on transferring. Often this will include information on the college's policy on transfer of credit.

The application process for transfer students differs slightly from that of freshman applicants. Transfer students often fill out a separate application form, and the new college usually wants to know two main things:


	Why do you want to transfer to this institution? You will be asked to write a personal statement outlining your reasons for wishing to transfer. This is probably the single most important part of your application. Note that this should not be a statement of complaint about why you are unhappy at your current institution, but instead a statement of why the new school will better suit your academic needs.

	What courses of study have you taken, or are you currently taking? What has been your college experience so far? Transfer applicants are expected to have performed well at their current institution and to have proven themselves in higher education.

In addition to the above, you will also need to provide the same items as freshman applicants to the college, including recommendations, transcripts, admissions test scores, and an application essay. See 'Preparing a Successful Application' for more information.

Lastly, remember that transferring is not an easy way into the more selective universities; in fact, many of the more competitive colleges have even more demanding admissions standards at the transfer level than at the freshman level. Many colleges provide statistics on the percentage of applicants accepted for both freshman and transfer admission, which allows you to get a better idea of how competitive the entry is to a particular institution as a transfer student.