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If I want transfer out of the current college I go to and my credits don't transfer? Will I have to retake those courses?

I've heard many stories of credits not transferring over after leaving a college. It's a scary idea to think of because then those classes were basically pointless. #transfer #collegecredits #college #college-advice

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Thank you comment icon It is not a fun process to go through. However, even if the new university does not take the courses, they are by no means pointless. They gave you knowledge and valuable experience moving forward. Depending on the university that you are looking into, there is the possibility of fighting for those courses to be counted towards your major. I have done it four times now, I was a transfer and it has taken a long time to get those courses to count. However, it can be done if you are willing to put in the work and talk with your universities. If not, then you may have to retake the courses. I hope this helps! Ashley
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Ashley’s Answer

Hi Ronain,

It will depend on a few things:

1) Where you're transferring from
2) Where you're transferring to
3) The courses in question

The best thing you can do as you consider a potential transfer is to reach out to an academic advisor or point of contact at the college you're hoping to transfer though. They'll ask you for information about the course and will determine whether or not those courses are transferable.

If the courses DON'T transfer, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll need to retake them. Different colleges and academic programs have different requirements, so repeats may not be necessary.

Even in the situation where the courses don't transfer, try not to think of them as pointless. They will have prepared you for the courses you'll be taking at your new college. Even if you don't receive credits for them, you'll be better prepared as a result!
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Blaise’s Answer

I agree with Ashley - just one more thing to add:

I fell into something like this where I was under the impression that some of my credits were transferring in as a direct match and that I wouldn't need to repeat them. Turns out, that was not the case and I had to repeat them, but what did help to my advantage was I need a larger amount of credits than the school required for a degree in order to get my CPA license upon graduation. I was able to apply these credits towards my hours for my license, even though I couldn't for my degree through school.

I'm not sure if this type of situation would apply to you, but you may have alternative uses for credits received down the road.
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Richard’s Answer

Unfortunately you may have to retake some or all of the courses. Study the course catalog carefully before you make the decision to transfer. You may want to find a school that accepts the credit you have already earned.
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Stuart’s Answer

You've gotten great feedback already. All I can add is that you should think of it in stages. When you transfer, you'll submit your official transcripts to your new school. Their evaluation process will tell you what credits they're accepting and how those credits translate into their system and degree requirements. Now, that may not be the "end of the line."


Often, when you have your credits evaluated, your classes will correlate directly to something offered at your new school. In those cases, you'll get credit for something specific. Sometimes, however, you'll get a more generic transfer designation. For instance, you might see that you've gotten credit for an unspecified Math elective, rather than a specific math course. Now, if your degree at the new school only requires an unspecified Math elective, you're all set. But if it has a specific requirement, you're going to want to try and get credit for that specific course. The same holds true if the course is rejected outright.


So your next recourse might be to seek a "course substitution." You'll usually work with an adviser of some sort (either a faculty adviser or academic adviser) to submit the course substitution. The key in doing this is that you'll need to be able to show your new school what you learned in the course. Years ago, I would have advised that you hang onto your syllabi from all of your courses, so you could submit those as evidence of the content you learned. Nowadays, that may be less crucial, with the internet. But it doesn't hurt to hang onto those things, just in case.


Another option just occurred to me as well. You'll want to check with your new school to see what options there are for "prior learning." There may be tests and assessments you can access to give you credit for things outside of the usual transfer evaluation. For instance, many schools honour the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) offered through College Board. You could see which CLEP exams your new school offers and see if taking (and getting good scores on) those exams might help to offset the transfer difficulties.


Remember that it might not necessarily be as a way to get credit for a course that didn't transfer as you'd hoped. Instead, you might think about offsetting the credit evaluation by getting credit for something else entirely. For example, most of the students I work with take the CLEP to get credit for already speaking French or Spanish. Taking the CLEP (or something similar) may very well result in earning the equivalent to three or four classes for something you already know. And that can definitely take the sting out of not getting as many transfer credits as you'd planned.


I hope that helps a little.
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