At what point in the admissions process does one learn which credits will be accepted? Is this information typically included with an offer letter or are you able to request an evaluation only after you have an offer letter in-hand?
I realize that some institutions have public databases with some of the course mappings. I have read that some schools require course syllabi and textbook info, and I assume it takes some time to perform an evaluation.
My kid expects to have 40 college credits (37 dual enrollment, 3 college in high school) at the time of high school graduation, so knowing what will transfer is a critical financial factor. I have already researched the max number of credits each school will accept, and it definitely helped to narrow down the list! (It’s interesting that some schools will not accept credit for online courses, especially during COVID when many courses were online.)
My D didn’t find out about her DE courses until just a few weeks before the start of the semester. AP courses were much more straight forward and most schools had a grid to show what could be skipped and the required score. For the DE courses, she needed the official transcript from the college with course descriptions.
I’m guessing you can contact the schools where your kid gets accepted to ask this question before you make a matriculation decision. Maybe they will be able to give you an answer.
Both of my kids found out before orientation about AP courses because what they got good scores in actually wiped out the need for some entry level courses.
D20 took 6 AP classes and 6 DE classes in HS. Our experience was that colleges were pretty clear about what AP test scores counted towards which classes and the info was available on their websites (sometimes under advanced standing or transfer topics but can also be found by googling the school name and AP credit).
She only applied to private colleges, none of which gave any credit for DE classes. She got a 5 on every AP test and only one counted for actual college credit at the school she’s attending. We weren’t given formal notification of anything but when she logs into the student portal, she can see what credits have been satisfied by outside courses.
i have loved looking at all of this with my kids! it’s like a puzzle.
i think the more elite the college, the less likely courses will transfer. With our kids’ non-elite colleges we knew exactly ahead of time what would transfer.
when my older kids were in HS, they had options to take classes that were dual enrollment classes from a few local universities (both state and private) and community colleges. We were a merit seeking family, and knew our kids would most likely end up at state schools.
I chose several of these state schools, and googled transfer credit equivalencies. From there i learned if these local dual enrollment classes could transfer in as credit. If they didnt transfer to even our noncompetitive state flagship, i guessed they wouldn’t transfer to anything more elite.
Then, i went another step and saw if these classes would actually count as credit towards the majors my kids had planned. (so far 3 for 3 with sticking with their majors!). Some of the classes did not help in any way with credits needed for the majors; this was true with both AP classes and DE classes. For example: dual enrolled marketing doesn’t fulfill a single needed credit for a computer engineering degree. OR AP Art History was not accepted for an architecture degree no matter what score.
If having credit from classes taken while in hs is important to you, search for those colleges that flat out tell you on databases which classes they accept. Again, you have to realize that 37 hours of classes doesnt automatically mean your child has 37 less hours to take for their major, because some of those classes may just not fill the needed slots.
my daughter did transfer after 1.5 years at her first college. She had to have syllabi from those classes to get transfer credit at her new college. Most of them transferred, but not all. So, do save those syllabi.
Most college websites have a Transfer Matrix. Just google “University of XXX transfer matrix” and go tot he appropriate web page. You can enter the name of the college that is awarding you the DE Credits and then it will show you which credits, if any, are accepted by the university you wish to attend. If you cannot find that website page, call the registrar office of that particular university and they can lead you in the right direction.
You can even access that information prior to applying to schools. If you know ahead of time that 2 or 3 colleges on your list don’t accept the DE Credits, then you may not want to bother applying there at all.
Just an FYI…even IF a college accepts your DE and AP for credit…that doesn’t mean the coursework will apply towards your degree. My one kid had two AP accepted for credit courses, and neither was able to be used toward fulfilling her degree requirements at her college.
An in-state public college is more likely to accept credits than private schools - and the more selective the school the less generous will the policy be. In the latter case, credits may be helpful to skip the “101” level in some subject areas, or can be used towards electives.
In the case of my daughter they still came in handy, because it allowed her to choose more “interesting” courses in mandated subject areas, rather than being trapped in entry-level unnecessarily.