<p>Do i need to get an A.A to transfer? Does it make my application stronger? My school has some ridiculous requirements for its A.A degree, making me take classes that I have zero interest in and that won't prepare me for my intended major. Would it be a mistake if I ignored the A.A and simply took classes that interest me in the liberal arts? </p>
<p>Getting an AA certainly wouldn’t hurt your chances and might make your application stronger, but you certainly don’t need an AA to transfer. I’m transferring after a single year and while I could have gotten an honors certificate and an AA with my course load, I opted out in favor of taking classes that would serve as lower division pre-requisites for my chosen major. My reasoning was that it would be more valuable to prepare myself for my major than to get a degree that would ultimately amount to very little since I plan on going on to grad school to get my masters and JD. There is some value to the AA and there’s also value in showing your interest in a given field through the courses you’ve chosen to take.</p>
<p>No, it’s not required.
Won’t necessarily make you a stronger candidate.
What makes you a stronger candidate academically (from my experience and what I’ve read on here) is: good grades and challenging courses. That said, there are certain courses you’ll be expected to cover regardless. Hate math? Most colleges will require at least some (one?) quantitative course. Works the other way round - you’ll still need to show composition skills regardless of your major.
Personally I nodded along with my CC advisors (who are pushed to keep the graduate numbers high) then went ahead and took classes based on my own research. For example I took a a different track (College Algebra & Trig) so I could take Calculus, because most selective colleges won’t accept math courses below Calculus. What schools are you applying to? What classes do they accept or recommend?
Some colleges don’t accept or frown upon online courses. LACs I looked into wouldn’t accept pre-professional courses for credit (journalism, accounting, etc.) if you can pull off an AA and take courses that make you competitive, great. But if your goal is to transfer, than that should be your priority. IMHO It’s better to have no AA but have all/most of your credits transfer and set you up with the prereqs needed to get your BA.</p>
<p>Ask your intended new school if they consider an “articulation agreement” with your community college for transfer students. </p>
<p>No, I went and spoke to a counselor a few months ago, she said you do not need to have an AA to transfer. This is when she was doing my IGETC cert. Only thing you really need to finish is your GE and pre-reqs. </p>
<p>Technically to transfer, all you need is to complete your major’s prereq requirements, have the minimum gpa (if they specify one), and 60 credits. An A.A. is also 60 credits, kind of implying that you should be transferring after getting an AA, but its not required, however it would be in your best interest because the classes you take for an A.A. will count toward your bachelors. </p>
<p>Let’s say you get 60 credits, but not all of them are for an A.A. When you transfer to a university, you may have to stay there for more than 2 years to finish your gen eds.</p>
<p>Sometimes it is best if you don’t get associates. Often, associates are from community colleges run by the state. State requirements often include physical education courses, etc. These classes may transfer to other schools, but as electives. This inhibits you from taking classes for a minor or simply for enjoyment.
On the other hand, if you don’t think you can get into a school without a transfer agreement, you may want to lean towards the associates.
Also, scholarships are sometimes available for those who have associates. </p>
<p>Bottom line, depends where you want to transfer to. Get as much info as possible </p>
<p>Much experience in this field. </p>
<p>Caliboy1234 is right on target. Everything depends on the CC that you are transferring from, and the college/university that you want to transfer to. For example Happykid’s university accepted her AA as completely fulfilling their Gen Ed requirements, but if she hadn’t completed her AA the courses would have been evaluated individually and she would have to take a whole bunch of classes in order to meet the Gen Eds there.</p>
<p>So read through the websites of the places you will be applying to and if you can’t figure out how things would work, pick up the phone and have a chat with the transfer admissions officer.</p>
<p>Happymomof1 is right. </p>
<p>It gets VERY intricate when you then go to the level of deciding if it is worth taking the classes that transfer as electives, but ultimately clears the gened in fewer classes than it would take at the 4 year school. </p>
<p>Sorry about that. Just the truth</p>
<p>Ultimately, I transfered to Emory. No transfer agreement. You just have to take the hit on some classes to get into the school you like. You would lose your mind if you tried to plan out your classes based on 5 or 6 transfer schools. </p>