Georgia Tech Transfer Pathway Information:
I know the transfer pathway offer can be confusing so based on my research I have put together some information to help clarify things for everyone that has questions.
Are you guaranteed admission if you meet the requirements. In short, yes. Georgia Tech says it is a “secure offer” but doesn’t use the word guaranteed because they don’t do advising and it is up to you ensure your application meets the requirements. But they clearly state if you meet the requirements will be offered admission. That means you must meet the credit requirements, GPA requirements, including the Math/Sci GPA if applicable, and fulfill your major requirements by the deadline, and submit the application by the deadline, with the requirement documents.
Let’s look at those in further detail:
Credit Requirements: You must complete 30 credits at a regionally accredited institution. AP and DE classes cannot be used to fulfill the 30-credit requirement.
That means you actually have to take the 30 credits at the institution. AP and Dual Enrollment courses will however be used for other reasons, such as meeting the major requirements, or in the case of Dual Enrollment classes meeting GPA requirements.
These 30 credits DO NOT NEED to have transfer equivalencies at Georgia Tech. However, you will need to make sure between AP, DE and credits from the institution that you fulfill core requirements and requirements for the major. While it is ideal to take classes that have equivalencies, so you aren’t wasting time and money taking unnecessary courses, it is not necessary for the purposes of meeting the 30-credit transfer requirement. If they do not transfer, Georgia Tech will likely give you elective credits for those classes, or in some cases no credits at all, but the evaluation of transferability of the credits will take place through the Registrar which happens AFTER admissions reviews you transfer application and gives you an acceptance. Also, there are AP courses which GT does not except directly, such as Stats, which your college may accept, and in these cases, GT will give you credit for those courses.
From the admissions perspective, they will be looking at your transcript and determining the semesters during which you complete the courses. They will determine that the classes were took in the period specified. Your dual enrollment classes will have been take prior, during high school, and will be excluded from being counted toward the 30-credit requirement. Your AP classes will show up as a transfer with no grade and will be excluded from being counted toward the 30-credit requirement.
For the First-Generation Pathway, the applicable period for the 30-credit requirement will be courses taken during the summer session after high school, and the following Fall and Spring semesters. However, the summer session after freshman year cannot be used. In fact, you will need to submit your transcript with application before that second summer session begins anyway, so there will be no way those classes can be included on your transcript. But is important to point this out in case your plan was to fulfill major/ or credit requirements in the second summer. They will not count.
GPA requirement: Admissions will simply be looking at the cumulative GPA on the transcript you submit with your application. Simply put, your official cumulative GPA on that transcript is what is used to determine if you meet the requirement. Note that different institutions have different means of calculating GPA. Georgia Tech will be using that institutions published GPA and does not recalculate when determining admissions requirements. Again, they will use the official GPA on the transcript no matter how it was calculated.
The GPA requirement is a strict, hard requirement and they do no round up. If the requirement is a 3.3 and the transcript says 3.29999999999 you do not meet the requirement and will be rejected.
AP Classes: AP courses will be on the transcript a transfer that gives you credit for one or more courses, but with no grade. Therefore, they are not used in determining your GPA. However, AP can be used to fulfill major requirements.
Additionally, since admissions is using the transcript of the institution you transferred from, it is the institution you transferred from that determines if the AP course satisfies the requirement. What matters is how that AP class is given credit on the institution you attended.
For example, GTA requires a 5 on AP Physics C: Magnetism for credit for Physics 1 and a 5 on AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism for credit for Physics II. If you only scored a 3 on both and the institution you are transferring from gave credit for the courses for a 3, then those courses will both be on your official transcript and Georgia Tech will accept those credits as fulfilling your major requirements.
Similarly, different schools have different requirements for all other AP exams. Another one that will come up regarding Georgia Tech is AP: Calculus BC since all majors require Calc I and most require Calc II. Again, fulfillment for these classes is dependent upon how you are given credit on your transcript. Some colleges give credit Calc 1 and Calc 2 for a score of a 3. Others will give credit for both classes with a Score of 3 and an AB sub-score of 4, while other colleges may credit one or both classes with a score of 4, and others require a score of 5. GT will give you credit for whatever credits your college gives you.
Dual Enrollment: The most likely scenario is Dual Enrollment will be on your transcript with a grade and will be used to calculate the cumulative GPA, and if applicable the Math/Lab Sci GPA. Dual Enrollment classes will also count toward fulfilling major requirements. Again, they do not count toward the 30-credit requirement.
I say most likely for a few reasons. First, as previously stated, Georgia Tech will be using the GPA from the transcript. That means if for some reason the institution did not use the Dual Enrollment course in determining your GPA, Georgia Tech will not either. This can happen for a few reasons. For example, if you dual enrolled in multiple institutions in high school and then decided to take courses at one of them. The institution you attend might count the Dual enrollment classes from the other institution as a transfer with no grade. In that case, the transcript you submit to GT will not have a grade for that course and hence not be used in the GPA calculation.
If you had a bad dual-enrollment grade institutions have different policies about retaking classes, having classes marked not applicable for GPA calculation, and some even have amnesty policies. For example, some may allow you to retake the course and only include the highest grade in GPA calculation. A not-applicable policy can allow you selective chose courses not be included in your GPA. An amnesty policy will reset your GPA to zero. In the case of Amnesty and non-applicable declaration that means those classes will count as zero credits and not count as fulfilling requirements.
Treatment of Duplicate AP and Dual Enrollment Classes
If you took AP and Dual Enrollment for the same class, whether that class is used toward your GPA will again be up to how the institution you attend reports on your transcript. Suppose you took AP Stats and Dual Enrolled in Stats. Most institutions will show the dual enrollment and the grade on your transcript, so the class would be used to calculate your cumulative transfer GPA and your math/sci GPA. However, to be certain you need to verify the policy with the institution you will be transferring from.
Sources for this information: comes form Admissions counselors (High School, Institution will be transferring from, GT admissions), Past Transfer Students and GT website.
Transfer Course Requirements | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
Grade Point Average Requirements | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
Transfer Pathway Frequently Asked Questions | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
First-Generation Transfer Pathway Program | Undergraduate Admission (gatech.edu)
(25) My 5 Year Journey as a Georgia Tech Transfer Student | LinkedIn
Reddit - Deep Dive - Conditional Transfer Pathway Program