I went to a small school and graduated with an Associate degree. Now I want to go to A&M. Their admission page says that if I have any college credit after high school, then I have to apply as a transfer, but the transfer admission page tells me I can only apply as a transfer if I have a minimum of 24 transferable hours. Only 15 hours of my Associates degree transfers. I called the admissions office and asked about it and was told that I couldn’t apply at all, period. According to her, I’d have to go to another school until I have 24 hours of transferable credit despite the fact that I’ve already finished my Associates degree. Is there really nothing else I can do? I’ve already taken a gap year, I’d really rather not have to wait almost 3 years just to continue with my degree.
They only admit transfers with a full year of credits (normally, 1 year= 30 credits but they give you some leeway by asking for 24). You need to take a full semester of classes before you’re allowed to be considered for a transfer.
@paurtokie Seems very odd that you don’t have 24 transferable credits with an associates degree. Most of your core credits should transfer without issue. Where did you go?
I went to Texas State Technical College. My core classes transfer, but they come out to 15 hours in total. No other classes transfer.
The moment a high school graduate enrolls in a college course, they then become a transfer student and no longer a freshman applicant to any other college or university.
Did you complete the academic core classes? The Academic Core classes http://www.tstc.edu/programslist/academic_core (or University Core Curriculum at TAMU) comprises 42 hours of classes that are transferable to any university in TX.
After completing the Academic Core courses at TSTC, you’ll receive an institutional certificate of completion. In order to qualify to receive the certificate, you must obtain a “C” or better in all courses taken for core completion. You must also have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. Completion of the Academic Core allows you to transfer all the classes as a block. This will substitute for the academic core at any other public college or university in Texas.
What was your major for your associates degree? Specialized classes don’t always transfer from college to college or University. The only classes that are universal in Texas are the one’s that have a Texas Common Course Number https://tccns.org
Some universities require specific coursework to be completed before being accepted as a transfer student into the major. Other universities will accept you as an intended major but then you must complete the required coursework before actually accepted into the major. A&M and UT are very competitive public universities for transfer and require specific coursework to be completed prior to being accepted, so depending on the major you are wanting, you will need to enroll in another college to complete the transfer requirements
This link has the transfer course sheets for all majors at TAMU http://admissions.tamu.edu/transfer/apply
You can’t enroll as a freshman, so you’re going to have to transfer it. Unfortunately if only 15 credits transfer, you have completed the equivalent of one semester, and would have 7 more semesters to go. If you attend another school this spring, you could complete enough credits to transfer in, and possibly enter in the fall of 2019 as a transfer student, with 3 years to complete your degree. That’s probably the best option at this point.
Make sure to take TRANSFERABLE credits.
Typically, that’d be classes along the lines of:
statistics, foreign language, English, history/philosophy, economics/sociology/psychology, a science (biology, computer science, chemistry, environmental science…)
If you know your intended major, look at a degree plan, and try to take the courses that will cover your first year, so you have the necessary prerequisites to jump in as a sophomore. In other words, take the same classes you would be taking this spring if you were on campus - and as noted above, make sure they will transfer in.
Another option is to see if a local community college or junior college has an articulation agreement, where you might be guaranteed admission after completing an appropriate (additional) AA or AS program. That would provide a smooth transition, though might require an extra year locally, but the same total time.
@Thelma2 I’m not sure I understand the course requirements for majors that you’re talking about. From what I’m reading, you are meant to apply to get into a major after your second semester of already attending A&M. So these required courses are taken in your first two semesters at A&M instead of before going to A&M, right?
@paurtokie I think you are confusing the situation. Let me see if I can straighten it out from what I’m understanding. You have 15 hours under your belt. You need 9 more. That’s 3 classes. In the spring, take these classes at a junior college. Just basic core classes like English, history, political science, etc. Make sure they transfer to TAMU credit by using the equivalency site. During the spring, you can apply for summer or Fall 2019. With your courses not being completed, they can accept you on probationary level until the courses are complete in May and grades are in.
Someone mentioned looking at degree plan for your intended major. If it were me, I’d take 15 hours in the Spring and one or two over the summer. No need to drag this out any more while waiting to get to TAMU. You only need 45 in residence credits at TAMU to graduate from TAMU (That’s generalized, some degrees might require more, I’m not sure).
You don’t just need “credits”, you need specific credits. That’s why you need to look at the Core requirements (those aren’t major-related, everybody needs to take them). For instance, you’d need to take an American history class, a philosophy class, a creative arts class - and you’d need to check that those are accepted.
In addition, you’d need to take the pre-reqs to the major you’re interested in.
For instance, imagine you’d want to major in Management.
You’d need to complete
Math 141, Business Math, Math 142, Business Calculus, Economics 202: Micro, Economics 203: Macro, and Accounting 229.
In addition, have you completed the equivalent of: English 104 or Comm 203 or Comm 243 + History 105-106 + a physical or natural science with lab at your CC?
Do they necessarily need to be courses that go into my major? I found out that some dual credit courses I took back in high school actually transfers to A&M and puts me over 24 hours. One of them is a biology class that I don’t think fits anywhere in my major. There’s two more that I checked with the transfer equivalency tool on A&M’s website, and it said they transfer but don’t have any equivalent classes. So where do those hours go? I don’t really care if they don’t go towards my major as long as they get me into A&M to begin with. Those classes weren’t that great and I’d rather redo those hours at a better school where I’ll actually learn anyway.
Also, I talked to an admissions counselor and was told that only the grades of the courses I plan to transfer matter when being considered for admissions. I was planning on retaking those dual credit courses and try to get As in them since I got straight Cs back then. If what the counselor told me is true, then does that mean I should just take new classes that go into my major/cores instead and ignore those bad grades from my high school days since they shouldn’t have any effect on me if I don’t choose to transfer them?
I’m planning on majoring in Computer Engineering. I’ve got courses that transfer to A&M as ENGL 103, MATH 102, MATH 166, PSYC 107, KINE 199, BIOL 107, and then 9 hours that transfer without any equivalent courses. From what I can tell, only PSYC 107 and ENGL 103 will actually go towards my major/cores at A&M.
You need to take transferable math classes as well as intro physics, plus transferable social sciences/Humanities. You MUST take classes that transfer as exact equivalent for the core of your major. They CANNOT be random classes.
@paurtokie please talk to an engineering admissions counselor at TAMU, preferably in person, making sure that the counselor has a copy of all your college classes taken thus far (including dual credit taken through a college) and what you are taking at the moment. This is your best chance IMHO for getting a clear plan of action. My understanding is that once you’ve taken a college class, you can’t retake it (ie the same class can’t appear twice on your transcript), and you can’t edit your transcript either. On the other hand, you can decide if and when to accept credit for AP classes. Someone please correct me if I’ve got my facts wrong.
@MYOS1634 So what you’re saying is that I really only have 6 transferable hours and I need 18 more?
@Eggscapgoats I didn’t know there were specific major counselors. I’ll see if I can get one on the phone. Way too long of a drive to go there in person.
Yes.
You can do that over Spring and summer, 12-14 credits in the Spring + 4-6 credits in the summer (one science class or two Gen Ed classes).
Your classes need to meet TAMU requirements.
What happens with courses that transfer but don’t have any equivalent classes then? Where do those hours go?
@paurtokie Attached are the classes needed to be taken to be considered for transferring to TAMU to study Computer Science in the Engineering Dept. Hope this helps you in making your schedule for the spring.
http://admissions.tamu.edu/admissions-staging/media/Main/pdfs-transfer2018/ENG18-ComputerEng-SCI.pdf
Also, there is an Aggieland Information Day on Monday, Nov 19. http://admissions.tamu.edu/tid/
The classes that don’t have an equivalent and don’t transfer don’t go anywhere. If they don’t have an equivalent but transfer, they pile up in your “electives”, reducing the number of electives you can/must take at TAMU. It’s just like a HS student who took Remedial Reading (doesn’t count for HS graduation) or Culinary Arts (counts for HS graduation but not as a core class, only as an elective).
That’s why you MUST take classes that have an equivalent AND will transfer.
Have you taken Engineering Math I and II? Chemistry? American History 1&2?
Those are the classes you need to take. I’d recommend taking Engineering Math I, Physics for Engineerings 1, and American History 1 in the Spring, then American History 2 and Chemistry + Lab over the summer (perhaps taking one during summer session A and one during summer session B).
Neither of the schools near me offer Engineering Math or Physics, and I can’t get any chemistry classes that transfer without having to take additional pre-reqs, but I did work out a list of classes that will knock out my history, government, and creative arts cores while putting me at 24 transferable hours.
Thanks to everyone in the thread for all the help!