Student Review And Testimonial Sites
Review websites, just like Yelp, exist for higher education too, and they can be a great way to get to know your potential colleges a little better. That being said, they can also be a hotbed for stressed-out and misinformed students , so take what you read with a grain of salt. Use multiple review sites and look for patterns to get a sense of what life is really like at a collegebeyond what they tell you in a picture-perfect brochure or on an official campus visit. College Confidential is a popular option, but youll also find student reviews on sites like Niche, Unigo, and Cappex.
Where To Go From Here
So youve picked a college and degree. You also know more about college course codes than you ever wanted to. How do you start actually taking affordable transfer credit?
We can help.
For the past 15 years, our Central Registrars Office has helped thousands of students graduate debt free via affordable online courses selected specifically for their degree at their school.
Weve already done the research you need, and can take the stress and confusion out of your college transfer.
, and how it can save you thousands of dollars on your bachelors degree.
However, if you think you’re ready to go it alone, here are some other resources that may help you along the way:
Transferring Credits From Abroad
Many students choose to go to college in the US or Canada from abroad. It is absolutely possible to do so, but there are standards and procedures specific to each college. Most schools will need a few things from your previous college record. Such as:
- Official academic transcripts
- Formal English translation of your transcripts
- Official syllabus or curriculum of your previous courses
Transferology is a free resource that helps you figure out if your credits will transfer, whether youre American or an international student. With an easy interface on their website, it can make a rather confusing and frustrating process a lot easier for you.
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Youve Earned Those Credits Let’s Make Them Count
Many students come to AACC already having earned college credit from other institutions. Others have demonstrated their mastery of skills through years of military service, on-the-job experience, standardized tests and more. Youve worked hard to gain that knowledge, so we do everything possible to count those credits toward your AACC degree or certificate.
How To Transfer College Credits
Make sure you check with your advisor or the registrars office so you know exactly what you need to do: the forms you need to fill out, what supporting paperwork you need to submit when all the deadlines are that you have to meet.
If youve previously been in college, you will have to provide a copy of your transcripts so your new school can determine what will transfer and what wont.
Its also a good idea to have a copy of a schedule or syllabus from any class youre hoping will transfer. Your transcripts will usually only show the name of the class, the grade you received, and the credit hours it was worth. If you have a syllabus, you can show exactly what you learned, which might make a difference.
Its not always easy to tell what a class covered simply by looking at its title. A syllabus acts as proof of what you learned.
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Where To Find And Research Colleges
After going through the college search criteria above, you can start looking for the best schools for you. Yup, it’s finally time to fire up those college search tools! And there are tons of other resources you should use to find out more about the schools on your list.
Try to be open-minded as you research colleges. Be cautious about adding schools just because they are considered prestigious. Conversely, be open to colleges you may not be familiar with. You never know what youll find until you really dive into your college search.
Keep all of your college research together, and add your criteria and key data points for each college to your . You will also start to accumulate notes from campus visits, talks with counselors and admission reps, brainstorming activities, etc.
Finally, remember: finding colleges that meet your search criteria is just the tip of the iceberg. Just because a school has your favorite major doesnt mean its necessarily the right college fit for you. You should get to know your potential collegesand if it’s truly the right choice for you.
How Many Credits Transfer And How
At AACC, you can allocate up to 45 transfer credits toward an associate degree or half the credits required for a certificate. Up to 30 of those transfer credits can come from nontraditional sources . Of those nontraditional credits, a maximum of 15 credits may be earned through a combination of credit by examination and portfolio assessment.
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How To Find Out How Many College Credits You Have
If youre planning on resuming your college career, picking up where you left off with one degree, or pursuing a brand new one, you should find out how many college credits you have that can be applied to your new degree. To find out how many college credits you have, youll need to contact the college or university you last attended and request a transcript. You can then share this information with any new schools you are applying to and see how many credits they will accept.
Most colleges and universities have a web portal or form that offers digital transcripts to students, and former students can also use to request transcripts. There is usually a small processing fee for requesting college transcripts . It can take between 24 and 48 hours to receive a digital transcript and one week or longer if a school needs to mail a student a hard copy of their transcripts. If you request a hard copy of your transcripts, your college or university may also tack on shipping costs in addition to processing fees.
Moving Forward With Your Education
If youâre looking to go back to school after completing some college courses, you may be closer to earning your degree than you realize, even if some time has passed since you last entered a classroom.
Before applying to a degree program, learn about your prospective schoolâs transfer policies and any limitations on the transfer credits they accept. Ask if they offer cursory transcript reviews to get more information specific to your prior coursework, and consider whether you might be able to apply work experience, military credit, or independent learning toward your new degree program.
The more you can maximize your previously earned credits and experience, the better youâll be able to focus your time, money, and energy on your academic growth.
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Search For Transfer Equivalency Credits
Enter the name of your college/university, followed by the course number to view equivalency. To view a listing of all course equivalencies for a college/university, enter the name and click “Apply.”
Please note, established equivalencies determined by course subjects and numbers may vary based on catalog year in which the course was taken.
Transferring College Credits After 10 Years Or More: How Long Do College Credits Stay Valid
How long are college credits good for? How long do college credits stay valid? These are common questions among people considering a return to school after having spent some time away from the classroom.
While the easy answer is that most college credits for core courses will stay valid for years or even decades some credits may have a more finite shelf-life. Typically, course credits within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields expire within 10 years after the time they were earned. Due to ever-evolving technological and scientific advances, information learned in the STEM field more than a decade ago may be rendered obsolete and require students to rebuild a foundation grounded in newer practices before moving forward. So, if you took STEM-related courses over 10 years ago, be forewarned that they may not necessarily be able to be applied to your new college or university degree program. Its always a good practice to check with your admissions office to find out whether or not any of these courses may be able to be transferred.
While some courses do have an expiration date, the upside is that, if youve worked in a field related to your desired degree program, you may be able to earn college credits in exchange for your work or life experience in that field. Again, consult with your college or universitys admissions team to learn if you may be able to leverage recent field experience for college credit.
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Transferring Your College Credit
Credits earned through Tompkins Cortland Community College, an institution of the State University of New York, are highly transferable to colleges and universities nationwide. All SUNY and CUNY schools, and, according to a survey of past CollegeNow students, 90 percent of colleges and universities accept Tompkins Cortland credits earned by high school students. View the transfer chart to see some of the colleges our former students have attended.
The following checklist is designed to assist you in transferring your Tompkins Cortland credits to your college.
If you are having trouble transferring your college credits, email . Please include: your full name, the name of the college you will be attending, the courses you are having trouble transferring, and the steps you have taken thus far to transfer the credits. We may be able to assist in helping you gain recognition for your college credits.
Will Older College Credits Transfer
To find out if your credits qualify for transfer, look for your new schoolâs transfer credit guidelines on their websiteâs admissions page.
Most colleges and universities will state any explicit limitations regarding transfer credits on their website or in documents outlining their application process. If they donât list any credit age limitations, itâs possible that they will consider transfer credits from all previous courses, regardless of age.
Depending on how many credits youâve earned, you might also want to take note of any upper limits on the number of transfer credits a school will accept. More accessible undergraduate programs may accept up to 90 transfer credits, or about three years of full-time coursework, toward a bachelorâs degree.
You can contact the schoolâs admissions office for more information on both credit age limitations and maximum transfer credits. Before you contact the admissions office, you may want to be ready to provide the following information:
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The name of your previous institution
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Dates you attended
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Classes you took and number of credits earned
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The program you are looking to transfer into
You can find the first three items on your transcript from your previous institution. See below to learn how to get a copy of your transcript.
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How To Think About Your College Search
Are you convincedand terrifiedthat you need to somehow find the single perfect college for you from the more than 5,000 two- and four-year colleges and universities in the United States? Youre definitely not alone in thinking that way. But you can relax , because here’s the truth: there are probably many colleges where you will be happy and successful. And finding them isnt as hard as it seems.
Of course, if you’re like most high school students going through the college search, you want to get into the best school for you. But too often “best” means “most selective” instead of a place where you’ll really thrive academically and socially. Finding colleges that fit you may mean rejecting conventional wisdom of what is a good school or a popular school or a validating school. It may mean disregarding things such as whether or not your parents went there, if its an Ivy League school, if its a state school, etc. It also helps if you can set aside any financial concerns or affordability judgments for a moment . Instead, try to get a feel for the college’s personality and how it meshes with who you are and what you want.
Finding the right college for you takes a little introspectionand a whole lot of research. But that begs the question
How Many Credits Do You Need To Graduate College
How many credits to graduate college depends on the degree you are pursuing.
- For a 2-year associates degree, youll need about 60 credits.
- For a 4-year bachelors degree, youll need about 120 credits.
Keep in mind that associates and bachelors degrees are two separate programs.
For example, you cant start a Bachelors in Business Administration and decide after 60 credits that you changed your mind and walk away with an Associates in Business. Each of these degrees is structured differently and serves a different purpose.
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Do College Credits Expire After 5 Years
The short answer is no. Most credits do not have an expiration date. Many credits, particularly core courses , may be able to be applied to a new degree program. Core course credits from different colleges or universities may also be applied, provided those credits were earned at a regionally accredited school and are transferred to another regionally accredited or nationally accredited college or university.
How To Use It
Apart from that first digit, course numbers honestly arent very helpful for transferring credit. They vary widely between colleges and would take immense study just to learn how one specific college uses them. Even once you do understand your colleges system, these numbers wont provide much assistance in understanding if your courses will transfer.
The one thing to remember about course numbers is that the first digit indicates what level of study your course is. That is likely the only uniform piece of information these numbers will provide for you.
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Campus Visits In Your College Search
Imagine buying a house. You would inevitably do research online. You might even take virtual tours of the homes that appeal to you. But before you sign on the dotted line, you will need to actually walk through the house yourself. You need to step inside to see if it feels like home. And if it’s worth the investment. Its similar with colleges.
In spite of the depth and breadth of college search tools you have at your disposal, they are no exceptions to visiting campus in person. So, after you have narrowed your college list to a manageable number, its time to think about visiting their campuses.
A successful college visit will give you a real sense of what your life might be like if you enrolled thereand whether it matches what you want. Often, youll know instinctively how you feel about a campus within moments of setting foot on the quad. If you hate it, note the things that really turn you off, so you know what to look for at the next school.
The best time to visit is typically when classes are in session, the college is alive with students, faculty are accessible, and the campus is buzzing with activity. Of course, for many students and their families, summer is a much more convenient time. That’s okay too. Maybe you can make some campus stops on your way to the beach, amusement park, or family reunion. A summer visit is better than no visit at all. Most schools will have special summer visit hours too.
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How Long Is 3 Credit Hours In College
If youre attending class on campus, 3 credit hours is a class that meets for one hour 3 times a week.
You may also find night classes that will meet 1 night a week for 3 hours. Because youre in class for 3 hours every week in each of these cases, they both give you 3 credit hours.
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Online classes arent as straightforward since youre not actually attending a lecture, but the idea is that youll spend as much time doing the online work as you would if you were in the classroom to achieve the goals of the class.
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How To Pull Up College Transcripts
EVA GORDON
You never know when you might need to produce a copy of your college transcript on short notice. Many jobs, graduate programs, and grant applications require them, and of course it is always a good idea to keep a copy of your school records in your personal files. Universities handle transcripts differently, but the basic technique for locating them is fairly streamlined.
Explore this article
How To Check Credits From My Former High School
CRAIG WITT
High school transcripts provide a record of every class taken and grade received in high school. They generally include a cumulative average of all grades called a grade point average. Transcripts also note whether or not a person graduated from high school. A transcript is most commonly used for proof of education when applying for college or a job. Make transcript requests directly through your high school, or through your state’s Department of Education if your high school is no longer open.
Contact your high school. Call the office of your high school or send an email to determine the transcript request requirements. Some schools require you to provide information through a form others accept written letters. Contact your state’s Department of Education if your high school is no longer open.
Complete the request form or write a letter. Provide your information to the high school or Department of Education in the format requested. Schools typically require your name , your current address, the name of the school you attended, your Social Security number, your date of birth, the year you graduated or last attended the school, and your signature. The required information is the generally the same for requests filed with a school or with the state.
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