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You are here: Home / Transferring Credits / Obstacles You Need to Watch For In Transferring College Credits

Obstacles You Need to Watch For In Transferring College Credits

November 17, 2016

problems transferring college creditsMore than a third of all college students transfer schools within six years of starting their education. They do it for all sorts of reasons: some finish a two-year community college program and want a to finish a four-year degree, some move to a new geographic area, while still others change majors or simply decide they’re not satisfied with the first school they signed up for.

Key To Finished The Degree
It’s important that you research the transfer policy at your prospective new school carefully. Studies have shown that students who do not succeed in having many of their old credits transferred into a new school have less change of completing their degrees.

Transfer policies are not very standardized at all among U.S. colleges and universities. If you sign up for a new school with assumptions about how many of your old credits will transfer, you may be sorely disappointed.

Do The Research
Whatever your reason for transferring, make a point of talking to a transfer counselor in your new school’s admissions office. That’s your best protection against wasting a good deal time and money having to repeat classes you didn’t expect to. In fact, you should be as aggressive as possible in getting your new school to give you credit for learning, life experience and work skills you bring with you from past work.

Challenges to be aware of:

  • Schools generally have a maximum number of transfer credits they accept. Find out this number before you apply to a school.
  • There is generally a minimum grade required in any past course if it’s going to be accepted in transfer. This number unpredictable, with some schools accepting C or even D grades, but most asking for at least a B.
  • Some courses have an expiration date, which means that if you’re older and took them long ago, they won’t count. This tends to be particularly true of science or STEM courses, where tech knowledge and procedures change rapidly over time.
  • Advanced Placement (AP) or CLEP exams can be accepted for credit, but it’s important to check your new school’s policies, as some colleges don’t accept credit for these at all.
  • Just because a course you have already taken has a similar name to one at your new school, that doesn’t mean it has the same content. Your new school is likely to look at this closely before granting any transfer credits.
  • Most degree programs have “prerequisites,” or basic courses you need to take before you can start in on your more advanced study. Find out if the prerequisites are different at your new school. If they are, you may have to circle back and take several very basic courses.
  • Some previous courses may be applied directly to your major, while others may be accepted only as electives. Alternatively, a school may refuse to accept credits for any courses in your major, or insist that you have completed them with a B or even an A.
  • Be aware that you may be able to get credit for work experience, military training or even life experiences. In some cases, it can be a bad sign when a school offers to give a great deal of credit for life experiences – it tends to be a hallmark of a “diploma mill.” But even high quality schools can be open to giving some credit for sold real-world experience and knowledge if it relates directly to your academic major.

Finally, a key tip if you are attending a Community College: Be aware that many CC’s have “articulation agreements” with four-year schools that virtually guarantee acceptance for graduates who complete a two-year degree.

There are few ways you can save more money on college than getting credit for courses you have already taken. It’s well worth doing your homework, and having a long talk with the admissions counselor at any school you want to transfer into, to find out how you can avoid repeating schoolwork you’ve already done somewhere else.

Filed Under: Transferring Credits Tagged With: college credit problems, college credit transfer, college transfer mistakes, community college credits, problems transferring college credit

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About John O'Brien

John O’Brien has been a writer, editor and consultant in higher education for over 14 years. His background includes writing for insidehighered.com and The Chronicle of Higher Education. As editor of College Degree Complete, he has advised hundreds of adult students on how to transfer colleges without wasting the credits they’ve already accumulated, to finish their degree programs in the fastest and most affordable way.

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A very large well-known school with over 40,000 students on 11 campuses and a large online degree program, and top quality accreditation. Offers a very wide range of bachelor’s, master’s and associates degrees in:
– Criminal Justice
– Education
– Health Care
– Nursing
– Computer Technology
– Information Systems
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Learn more about Purdue’s degree programs

American Intercontinental University
AIU is a large online school that accepts a very high number of credits toward completion of its bachelor degrees. The school offers online associates and bachelor degree programs in:
– Business
= Computers & Information Technology
– Healthcare Management
– Criminal justice
Get information on American Intercontinental University

Rasmussen College
Rasmussen is a school of about 13,000 students in an extensive online program and on 24 campuses in Florida and around the midwest. Founded in 1900, it offers a variety of career-focused associate’s and bachelor degree programs in:
– Business
– Computer Science
– Criminal Justice
– Graphic Design
– Cyber Security
– Marketing
– Health and Wellness
Additional programs in other specialties.
Get information on Rasmussen College

Southern New Hampshire University
Southern New Hampshire University is an 80 year old private school that’s become very widely known for it’s career-oriented online degree programs. As a not-for-profit, the school is under less pressure to institute big tuition hikes each year than some other schools. Many degrees are offered on an accelerated basis. SNHU offers an array of online associates and bachelors degree programs in:
– Communication
– Creative Writing
– Digital Photography
– Graphic Design
– Human Resources
– Psychology
– Criminal Justice
– Marketing
– Information Technology
Additional degrees in other subjects.
Get information on Southern New Hampshire University

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A large private school offering online degrees at a relatively moderate price for a school with strong name recognition across the country. Grand Canyon has bachelors and masters degrees in:
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A very large and well-known school with over 40,000 students on 11 campuses and in a large online degree program, and accreditation. Offers a very wide range of bachelor’s, master’s and associates degrees in:
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– Information Systems
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Grand Canyon University A large private school offering online degrees at a relatively moderate price for a school with strong name recognition across the country. Grand Canyon has a vast array of bachelors degrees in specialties including:
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Colorado Technical University
CTU is a large institution based on Colorado Springs with over 25,000 students. It has solid regional accreditation (the best kind) and has been ranked #1 Best for Vets in the category for online and non-traditional universities by Military Times Magazine.
Offers associate’s and bachelor’s degrees online in
– Criminal Justice (multiple specialties)
– Business
– Accounting
– Project Management
– Information Systems (multiple specialties)
– Logistics
– Psychology
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Online Degree Completion Programs, Credit Transfers & Other Tools To Finish College Faster

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an amazing 38 million Americans have earned some college credits, but never finished a degree. To deal with that problem, online and campus-based schools are creating new options to help people finish college. A growing list of completion degrees, accelerated programs and more flexible credit transfer policies are all enabling students - many of them adults with jobs and families - to complete the journey to graduation.

Transferring Credits To Finish College Faster
Being smart about how to transfer college credits can help you save a great deal of time and money. First, make a solid choice on the major you want to finish your degree in. Then consider these key questions:

  • Can I Transfer Credits I Earned A Long Time Ago To A New Degree Program?
  • Which Online Colleges & Universities Accept The Most Credit Transfers?
  • Q&A: Will Transferring Colleges Lead To Me Losing My Old Class Credits?

The rules on transferring old credits vary from one school to another. It's worth spending some time to learn what all your options are - and being ready to make a strong case at your new school for getting all the credits you deserve.

Make Your Case
Although most colleges and universities publish a basic policy on how many transfer credits they'll accept, the final award each student gets can vary quite a bit. As you get ready to enter a new school, it's in your interest to make the strongest possible case about the value - and the transferability - of your previous learning experiences. Some very well-known colleges accept up to 90 transfer credits toward a 120 credit degree bachelor degree, which could save you many thousands of dollars and allow you to get on to your next career far more quickly.

Bachelor degree programs tend to offer the most flexibility on college credit transfer, but there are options to use old credits or even get credit for job experience at the associate's or master's levels too. Here's a full roundup of our articles on transferring credits successfully.

Keys To Degree Completion
So called "completion" programs come in all shapes and sizes. Some schools promote completion degrees heavily, while others offer great tools to finish a degree but never use the term "completion degree" at all. Here's a list of top online completion degree programs.

In addition to favorable transfer policies, schools offer accelerated programs, flat fee structures, blended and online classes to make it faster and more affordable to finish college. Some of the keys to getting an accelerated degree. A large percentage of the students going back to colleges today are working mothers. If you're one of them, read this review of how moms can go back to school successfully.

Quite often, the degree programs that give students the most options to get through quickly are in career categories like business administration, criminal justice or nursing (the RN to BSN is, in fact, one of the most popular online degree completion programs). There are "general studies" degrees offered by some schools on an accelerated basis, but you need to decide if such a degree will give you real career benefits.


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