Turning Unofficial College Transcripts Into Promotion Points
Once the college has received your AARTS transcripts from JST, they will take about 2 weeks to evaluate. As soon as they have finished, you will get an email saying that your Transfer Credit Evaluation is complete. You now need to log onto your account and print the unofficial transcripts in steps 12-14 above. Once you have those in hand, follow the steps below to finish the process.
Be sure to check on each stage of the process if any of it seems to be taking longer than I have said is normal. If you have spent any amount of time in the Army, you know they like to lose paperwork, a lot! If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments section below are email me at
Financial Aid To Make Your Degree Cheaper
Of course, on top of transferring credits, you want to look into financial aid to keep the cost of your degree down. This is an area where you need to be careful. Youve probably heard lots about the student debt crisis on the news and it is absolutely real. If youre careful about not borrowing too much to pay for a degree however, you can come out of college with a good result.
Its worth doing everything you can to control the cost of your degree program. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, average total costs of attending a state university for a year was over $17,000. Private colleges averaged a whopping $44,551 per year, while for-profit schools cost an average of $25,431. each year .
The first thing you want to do to get financial aid for your bachelor degree are to ask your school if they offer any scholarships. Many, many online colleges provide some kind of scholarship that can cut anywhere from a few hundred to many thousands of dollars of the price of a degree. Some of these scholarship programs are based on you demonstrating financial need, but others are based on different factors. Some, quite honestly, are based on factors that are a bit vague. Its always worth asking about school scholarships because many schools use them to attract students, and you never know what youll turn up.
How Do I Get The Academic Credits I Need To Graduate
This answer is easy too. You simply study and pass your classes. Each class awards a set number of credits. You pass all your classes during a semester, you get all the credits! If you have elective classes in addition to regular classes during a semester, you should make sure the electives you pick amount to the total amount of credits you need in addition to the mandatory classes.
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How Long Do Colleges Keep Transcripts
College transcripts do not expire and schools are obligated to maintain transcripts for all students who have enrolled in and attended their institution regardless of whether or not that student graduated. Whether you last attended a school six months ago or more than two decades ago, you are able to request access to your permanent academic records from any school youve attended. Colleges and universities maintain these records so that employers can verify a person has the educational background necessary of applicants, or so former students can share their educational credentials with other schools to continue their education.
Pros & Cons Of College Credit For Life Experience
The obvious benefits of getting college credits for your prior work, life or educational experiences are saving money and time on your way to getting a degree. In most cases, you will pay something to have your experience assessed or to take exams to get these credits, but it should be a lot cheaper than taking the courses.
Plus, you can save the time you would otherwise spend being mostly bored in a class where you already know the information. You can spend that time more fruitfully learning something new, or getting your degree quicker so you can advance your career and your earnings.
Another benefit is the chance to assess your proficiencies. As you look at all you have learned in your life to see how it would apply to your field as non-traditional education, you will also be consolidating your knowledge and skills to better understand your own goals and talents.
On the other hand, it may be better for you to take the class if you feel that your knowledge in that area is borderlineyou could pass a test or prove experience to get out of the class, but it would be more beneficial for your to take the class and learn the bits of information that you might never had learned through work or life experience.
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The Benefits Of Keeping Your Full
Working full-time while in school certainly doesnt make getting good grades any easier. But there are many advantages you may not have considered when it comes to full-time work and the pursuit of a college degree. Some of the biggest benefits include:
With student loan debt at a record high, graduating with little or no debt is a top priority for many students and can be the motivation you need to endure working 30+ hours per week while taking a full course load each semester. Keeping your full-time job not only saves you money by helping you avoid taking out large loans and interest on those loans, but it can also provide peace of mind, allowing you to study with less pressure of a five-figure debt hanging over your head.
Many employers offer their full-time employees tuition assistance or reimbursement if theyre pursuing education or training thats relevant to their current career. Other benefits may be offered as well, such as health insurance and a 401. If your employee covers your health insurance, you may be eligible for a waiver and reimbursement if the colleges tuition includes on-campus health coverage and a 401 allows you to start preparing for retirement before you even graduate.
Get A Sneak Peek Into What You Can Do
Welcome to TransferologyTransferology is a fast and free way to explore your transfer options. Whether youre planning to transfer or need to take a course somewhere else, weve got you covered.
Will My Courses Transfer?Whether youre planning to transfer or curious if its possible, searching Will My Courses Transfer? makes exploring your options quick and easy!
Find a Replacement CourseNot transferring, but need to take class over the summer? Search Find a Replacement Course to see what courses will transfer back to your current school.
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Counting Credits When Transferring Universities
Where counting credit hours really becomes important is when you transfer credits. Its always a good idea to spend the extra time to get as many of your previous college credits transferred as possible . And the more you transfer, the less you have to complete to finish your degree. Once youve completed the transfer process, you can then figure out how many credits you have left to earn, as well as what core classes and electives you still have to take .
Example Of Core And Major Courses For Degree
For an example of how the elective and core courses break out on a typical bachelor degree in business, lets look at the basic online B.S. in Business Administration degree offered by Purdue University Global. Purdue, which is regionally accredited, requires 180 credits to finish the degree at a cost of $371. per credit.Like most bachelor programs, this one requires a mix of core courses designed to provide a broad-based education that expands the students horizon and teaches critical thinking, along with major courses that focus more on business career training:
Core Courses:
Managerial Economics or Corporate FinancePolicy ManagementInternship or Capstone in ManagementTotal: 88 Credits
Finally, students are required to take 59 credits of Open Electives courses. These are designed primarily to give you a business degree with a specialty on Finance, Investment, Marketing or another area. If you dont wish to have a specialization, you can pick your 59 credits from many different areas. If you choose a specialty, most of your open electives will focus on that area, but youll also need to do some other elective courses. As an example:Open Electives for New Media/Internet Marketing specialty in BS Business Degree:Social Media MarketingMarketing ManagementTotal: 24 Credits
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Major Area Of Study Credits
Major area credits are required for your particular major. Theyre the meat of your degree since they teach you the skills and subjects of your chosen field.
If youre a psychology major, for example, your area-of-study credits might include Addiction, Childhood Development, Human Behavior, and Ethics in Social Sciences. If youre an accounting major, you might need Statistics, Microeconomics, Auditing, and Financial Management.
These credits are usually upper-level ones that you take after you have completed the basic courses. Many college students get their general education credits done first before they move on to intensive area-of-study credits in their chosen subjects.
How Many Credits Do You Need To Graduate College With An Associates Degree
An associate degree is a two year degree thats primarily offered by technical schools, vocational schools, and community colleges. Some four-year universities have them, but its less common.
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It usually takes 60 credits to earn an associate degree. Though its considered a two-year degree, your timetable can vary depending on how many credits you take per semester:
- 60 credits / 15 credits per semester x 2 semesters per year = 2 years
- 60 credits / 9 credits per semester x 2 semesters per year = 3.3 years
- 60 credits / 6 credits per semester x 2 semesters per year = 5 years
One nice thing about associate degrees is that many colleges will accept them as the equivalent of two years of college, so if you take your AA/AS and apply to a four-year university in pursuit of a bachelors degree, you can probably start as a junior instead of a freshman. Your 60 credits will most likely transfer with you.
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How Do College Credits Work And How Should I Earn Them
If youre starting to panic about how youll earn all of your credits, dont. Most programs for each major break down exactly what courses you need to graduate, and show you how to earn all of your credit hours to complete your degree. Each major will have whats called core classes, which you must pass and earn credit for to graduate within that major. Beyond that, youll have some choices in the electives category. For instance, an English major may get to choose between a poetry class, creative writing class or French literature class to fulfill an elective spot. This is where you can tailor your program to meet your needs and interests. As long as you meet with your advisor and plan out your classes according to your schools course catalog, you should have all the credits you need to graduate.
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.
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Reading Basic Transcript Information
Sending In Your Transcript
When you choose a school you want to attend, part of the application process for transferring credits involves sending in your transcripts. You should ask to speak with an advisor from the school to discuss your credits. You can likely send the transcripts online, but you should have a conversation with someone about your specific situation.
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How Credit Transfer Works
The value of your credit transfer depends on how similar your courses are to the ones at the new institution and / or how the courses youve taken fit in with the requirements of the new program.
There are also several factors that institutions consider when granting a credit transfer, including whether you have met the grade requirements for a course or achieved minimum GPA for a program, as well as how long ago you completed a course or program. Colleges and universities also have something called residency policies, which require you to complete a certain percentage of a program at their institution in order to receive your credential there.
How Many Credits For A Bachelors Or Masters Degree In The Us
A course is measured in the number of credit hours needed to complete it. For an undergraduate degree, basic courses may have 1 credit or 2 credits. In a Masters degree, including for MBAs, most courses are either 3 or 4 credits.
A standard full-time study load is usually 30 credit hours per year. Typically, in order to graduate with a degree, universities expect students to complete:
- 120-130 credit hours for a Bachelors degree
- 30-64 credit hours for a Masters degree
Some universities use Semester Credit Hours to set tuition fees and scholarships for prospective students. During a semester, an international student has to take between 9 and 12 credit hours, depending on each college or university.
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Using Jst To Send Your Army Transcripts
Is Credit Transfer Right For Me
Students switch postsecondary programs for a number of reasons some to improve their career opportunities, others because their interests change or their current program isnt a good fit. Some students find they like their program, but decide they want to go to school in a different city.
Whatever the reason, according to the Canadian Federation of Students, in 2010 Ontario students spent about $40 million on duplicate courses when switching between programs or institutions. If youre interested in changing programs or institutions and you qualify for credit transfer, you could save both the time and money spent on repeating courses and may also earn course exemptions or advanced standing in your new program, which can help you earn your credential sooner.
Finding Your Credit Transfer Pathway – The ONTransfer.ca Transfer Guide
The ONTransfer.ca Transfer Guide is an easy-to-use, searchable database of all available credit transfer pathways offered by Ontarios colleges and universities. To use it, first choose to search by either course transfer or program transfer, and then fill out the required fields.
Once youve submitted your search, youll be shown a list of all pathway options open to you, with details including Pathway ID and Title, program eligibility, transfer equivalency and more. You can view the details of each pathway individually, compare the details of multiple pathways on one page, or register with ONTransfer.ca to save transfer paths to view later.
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