Questions To Ask Yourself When Choosing A School
While the cost of school is a critical consideration when deciding between going to a community college or enrolling at a university or four-year school right away, its not the only thing to think about. When choosing between schools, there are a few questions you can ask to help yourself determine which one is the best one for you.
Frequently Asked Questions Below
General Transfer Question
Why Start With Community College
Freshman courses at four-year colleges often have hundreds of students in them. At the same time, community colleges often have around 30 students per class. For students new to higher education, this leaves more room for interaction with professors and deeper engagement.
Many of the professors and associate professors at four-year colleges have to publish or do research to honor their contracts. At community colleges, instructors typically have fewer responsibilities outside of teaching, leaving them more time to commit to their classes.
Why go to community college first? Students who attend two-year schools have more time to transition from high school to the rigors of University studies. Taking two years to mature and consider employment opportunities can give students the opportunity to take different classes and learn how to manage their personal time and study schedules.
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When You Transfer From A Community College To A University Does Your Gpa Start Over
When you transfer the GPA from your original institution is not carried over to the new one. Courses that youve completed generally transfer if you have a C or higher in the course, and its consistent with courses offered at your new school. The credits for that course transfer, but not the grade.
How Long Does It Take To Get 15 College Credits
If you are a full-time student, you can get 15 credits in 1 semester by taking five 3 credit classes. If youre a part-time student, you can easily do it in as little as 2 semesters if you take 3 classes one semester and 2 the next.
If you want to get 15 college credits fast, you may be able to use CLEP exams or credit for life experience to get 15 college credits in a matter of hours .
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What Is College Credit
College credits are the building blocks of a college degree. For every class you complete, you earn credits. By the time youve successfully made it through the entire program, you will have accumulated enough credits to graduate.
- Associates Degree About 60 credits
- Bachelors Degree Usually 120 credits
- Masters Degree 36 credits is the norm, but some programs go up to 54 credits
These credits can be obtained in various ways. The most common way is by attending lectures and doing typical classroom work, like taking exams or writing papers.
For majors like nursing or physical therapy, you may have to complete clinical hours at a hospital or nursing home to begin to apply the things youve learned to real life. These experiences also contribute to your accumulated college credits.
How Long Is A College Credit Hour In College
Basically, a college credit hour is 1 hour spent in class on a weekly basis.
A good example that might make more sense is to compare, say, a microbiology class with the lab that you have to take along with it.
If the class meets 3 times a week for 1 hour each time, that class is worth 3 credit hours. The lab meets for 1 hour 1 day a week and is worth 1 credit hour. Together, the microbiology course with a lab is worth 4 credit hours.
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If I Earn An Associate Degree Will I Be Prepared To Transfer Do I Need This Degree To Transfer
Generally, meeting the requirements for an Associate degree will not prepare you for transfer admissions. Not all courses that are counted toward an Associate degree are accepted for transfer, and General Education requirements differ as well. ” below.) However, it is possible to earn a CCSF Associate degree by completing 60 Associate degree units and fulfilling all of the GE requirements for transfer. You do not need an A.A. or A.S. degree to transfer. The A.A./A.S. degree is not required or considered as an admissions requirement. Many students choose to obtain an A.A./A.S. degree prior to transferring for personal or professional reasons. The program of study for the A.A./A.S. degree can overlap with the lower division preparation for transfer. Privates, out-of-state and international schools vary. If your objective is to transfer, be sure to seek the advice of a Transfer Counselor for the appropriate program of study.
It Might Take You Longer To Finish Your Degree
Although bachelors degrees are commonly called four-year degrees, the reality is that some students need more than four years to graduate. About 60% of students who started a bachelors degree at a four-year institution in 2011 had completed their degree by 2017.
In comparison, just 12.7% of students who started at a public two-year institution in 2011 had completed a bachelors degree by 2017. Although theres nothing wrong with taking your time to get through school, it can increase the cost of college.
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Do I Have To Transfer All College Credits
If youre concerned youll need to transfer all of your credits to a new school , you can relax. Most colleges wont accept transfer credits unless you earned at least a B. Others will give you credit as long as you earned a passing grade. Since these policies vary from school to school, the best answer to this question will come from the registrars office of the school youre transferring to.
How Does College Transfer Work
When you transfer from a two-year college to a four-year college, your new school will review your transcripts and will request copies of syllabi for the various courses. After reviewing this information, the admissions team will determine how many credits to count toward your baccalaureate degree.
Most courses are worth 3 credits. Therefore, if you have 10 courses transferred, that equates to 30 credits that you would not have to take again. So, for the typical 120 credit bachelors degree, you would end up needing 90 credits to graduate.
To summarize, here is what you have to gain by transferring as many credits as possible:
- If the majority of your credits transferred from a two-year program, you will start at the four-year school as a third-year student .
- Even if you spent two years at a community college, when you get a bachelors degree, it only lists the four-year university.
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Transfer Agreements Are In Place
Read more about college transfers and going back to school here:
This extensive resource can help military students figure out transfer policies, including how credits and experience will transfer to different schools.Big Future by The College Board Tips for Transferring
The College Board and Big Future have tons of resources for students planning their college paths. This page has tips specifically designed for those thinking about transferring from a two-year to a four-year college.CollegeTransfer.Net
Students can find informative articles and FAQ pages to help guide them through the transfer process, and they can check their course equivalencies between various schools.National Association for College Admission Counseling Transfer
While this professional organization is geared toward college admission counselors, prospective transfer students can find many of the resources, tools and information they would obtain from a transfer counselor on this page.Transferology
This free online tool allows students to enter the courses theyve taken and find equivalent courses at other schools. This can help students figure out which schools will grant them the most credit for the courses theyve already completed.
A 2 Year Doesnt Prepare You For Senior Colleges
Studies have shown that students who do well at the community college continue to do well at the senior college. Studies have also shown that transfer students do as well, or better than native students at 4 year colleges. If you have a borderline GPA at SUNY Schenectady, see a counselor to help you assess what gets in the way of doing well at SUNY Schenectady so that you can increase your GPA.
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My Friend Lost All His Credits When He Transferred Into A Senior College
Any time a student transfers from one college to another, there is a chance that some credits will not be accepted, especially when transferring without an associates degree or with an A.A.S. degree. Generally students with an A.A. or A.S. degree transfer all of their credits. Transferring with an associate degree will maximize the number of credits SUNY and private colleges accept. It is important to plan early and speak to admissions counselors from the senior college while you are in the beginning of your SUNY Schenectady career, so that you can find out exactly how your SUNY Schenectady credits will be applied at the senior college. Generally speaking, the reasons that credits were not accepted were low grades, remedial or duplicate coursework, professional-technical courses not designed for transfer, or credits beyond the maximum number allowed for transfer.
A 40 Gpa In Community College Will Open Doors For Success
Very few students go into community college with the intention of doing poorly.
Certainly there are students who would rather party, play truant, or sleep through class.
And there are a few that don’t really care about their education and their only goal is to get mom and dad off their back.
But even these students doubtlessly go into the process hoping to skate by.
For most community college transfers, however, the goals are much loftier.
The vast majority are looking to do their best, achieve the highest grade point average possible , and eventually gain admission to their four-year school of choice as a result of their efforts.
To help you reach your goal one accomplishment that looks great on any college application is inclusion on the Dean’s List with a 4.0 GPA during your time in community college.
But how can you attain this goal and how will it benefit you now and in the future?
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When Is The Graduation Ceremony Where Is It Held What Time How Many Guests Can I Invite
Community College of Philadelphias May have planned a multi-tiered celebration for our 2020 and 2021 graduates. One part is the Virtual Commencement Ceremony which will be live on Saturday, May 8th at 10am. More details will be shared in the coming weeks. Keep checking your CCP email daily these next few weeks as lots of updates/info will be shared regarding Commencement and other celebratory activities, including how to share pictures/videos to be included in the Virtual Ceremony.
You Need To Be Aware Of Transfer Agreements
Transferring your community college credits to a four-year school can be challenging in some cases. Schools dont always accept every course for transfer, meaning you might have to repeat some courses or take additional courses at your new school. Students who transferred from one public school to another between 2004 and 2009 lost an average of 37% of their .
Transfer agreements can help to streamline the process of moving from a community college to a four-year school. If you know going into a community college that you plan on transferring, its a good idea to find out exactly what courses you can or should take and how to make the transfer as painless as possible.
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Special Transfer Admissions Programs
Many colleges have special transfer admissions programs that make it easier for students to switch schools. Universities and nearby community colleges often team up to facilitate a smooth transfer between two-year and four-year schools. Courses transfer directly, for instance, and degree planning tools are often available to help transfer students transition between partner schools. Some colleges even have two-year transfer degrees that set students up to enter a partnering four-year school seamlessly. Some transfer agreements, both community college-to-university and university-to-university, have guaranteed admission policies. Other schools may have dual enrollment policies, which allow students to concurrently earn credit from either institution, or reverse transfer agreements, entitling students who have earned credit at a four-year institution to get a credit evaluation and receive an associates degree from a partnering two-year college if they are eligible.
What Is A Competitive Gpa For Transfer
Grade point averages necessary to compete for admission to impacted or selective programs vary from year to year, depending on the pool of applicants for any given academic year. Generally, a GPA of 3.0 is considered competitive, though even higher GPAs may be required to gain admission to majors and campuses for which most students apply. A CCSF transfer counselor can tell you whether that is the case for the major or campus of your choice.
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Costs Of Community Colleges Vs Four
The difference in price between a two-year college and a four-year school can often be considerable. During the 2015-2016 school year, the average cost of attending a two-year public college full-time was $10,091. The average cost of a four-year public college or university was $19,488.
Private schools were a bit more expensive. During the 2015-2016 school year, a private two-year college had an average cost of $24,824. A private four-year school had an average cost of $40,261. The total costs include tuition, fees, and room and board.
Using the average costs as a guide, a student who decides to attend a public, four-year school for all four years would spend nearly $78,000. Meanwhile, a student who decides to start their post-secondary education at a public community college, then transfer to a four-year school would spend around $59,000, nearly $20,000 less.
Do My Local Community Colleges Have Any Articulation Agreements Does My Dream Four
Many four-year colleges partner with community colleges to help students transfer between the two. These partnerships are called articulation agreements. They intend to simplify the transfer process by matching coursework between the community college and the four-year school to make sure that credits transfer between them. Attending a community college that has an articulation agreement with your dream four-year school minimizes your need to retake certain courses. If youd eventually like to hold a bachelors degree from a specific college, even if you have no plans to enroll in the immediate future, call its admissions office to ask if it has any such partnerships.
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How Do I Choose A Major
The very best way to choose your major is by participating in a career exploration process or internship. You are probably becoming educated in order to enjoy a prosperous and interesting life and your work will a big part of that life. Along the way to discovering what you want to do with your time and energy, you will get information about the education you need to have in order to do it. That is your major. Some students also use a sampling method that involves taking GE courses in a number of disciplines to determine which one interests them most. One disadvantage of this method is that it can take a long time for such a process of elimination. Certainly, if you use this method, it is important to learn what you might do with your major and decide whether any of the possibilities appeal to you.
Are There Advantages To Starting Your College Career At A Community College Rather Than The Four Year School
Yes, there are several important advantages. The community colleges are much less expensive, and often have smaller class sizes than the four-year schools. Also, it is often easier to get into the university of your choice at the junior level than it is to get in at the freshman level directly out of high school.
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Transferring Colleges Senior Year
Deciding to transfer in your senior year isnt something to be taken lightly, as this move can set you back drastically in terms of your graduation timeline thanks to transferring credit policies that often cap at around the 60-hour mark. If youre willing to complete your studies online, youll be happy to know that some accredited universities offering online programs accept up to 90 credit hours from transfer students.
When choosing to transfer colleges your senior year, the following steps should be considered: