<p>I have two sons attending colleges in the U.S.</p>
<p>S2 is at Tufts and doing fine both academically and socially. I have no problem with him. S1 is a little different story and I need your advise on his possible options. S1 first went to Michigan State but after two years there he quit and went to LA to follow his dream of becoming a singer. He ended up at Musicians Institute in Hollywood but after a year he realized that singing career was not his best interest. </p>
<p>Now he is attending a community college and is trying to transfer to 4 year college preferrably to an UC. However, he recently found out that only one course could be transfered to any UC or Cal State. I can not believe that only one course will be counted after two years at MSU. His gpa at MSU was around 3.0. He is now understandably depressed and does not know what to do. My suggestion to him is to check some private colleges in California because he doesn’t want to come back to Michigan to finish up his undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>I would appreciate it if you could give some input/idea/advise:</p>
<li>Since he is 24, is it still possible to transfer without retaking SAT? </li>
<li>Transfer to an UC or Cal state impossible? If not, what he has to do?</li>
<li>If only private colleges were an option, at which college he might have a chance? I suggested to him to check Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Occidental, Whittier, U of San Diego, Chapman.</li>
</ol>
<p>I love him so much and I just hope that I can be helpful to him as much as possible. Sorry for a long post.</p>
<p>Do you know why UC won't accept your son's Michigan State credits. I tried to find info online, and found this statement at the UCSD site, "The university will accept transfer courses from accredited post-secondary institutions that are similar in content to those offered in the UC system" - I assume that is true for all UC's.</p>
<p>I do not know the UC or Cals State system very well, but what you are saying makes no sense to me, as I do know people who have transfered into it from schools like Michigan State. Unless he was taking unusual types of course, it doesn't seem right to me. I would start calling some admissions offices and get the scoop directly from them. Ask for a phone appointment so you can give and get full attention, and have your son's transcript right in front of you so you can talk specifics. It may well be that only one course could be transferred for advanced standing which would make sense. He may not be able to transfer all of his credits, but I would think some are salvageable. But you need to hear this and the answers to all of your questions straight from the horse's mouth.</p>
<p>you need transcripts and course catalog-but actually the UC should have that-
if he took college level credits- then there isn't any reason why they wouldn't transfer . Freshman english should transfer as freshman english no matter what they call it.
Even if a class that wast as only offered at Michigan and they don't have comparable at a UC- then he would still be getting credits in that dept- but as elective credits.
what sort of program was he taking at Michigan?
The only way I can see it being a real problem is if he was taking classes that may be considered a tech or voc class- instead of more general ed requirements</p>
<p>If he still has or if he can get the course syllabi from his profs that should help the course evaluator at UC</p>
<p>Where did your S get the information that only one course will transfer? That doesn't sound right to me either. I'm with Jamimom--call a specific UC or Cal State and talk to someone.</p>
<p>I agree -- that's absolutely bizarre, and I'd be shocked if it were universally true at the UC's. Is it possible that the source was referring to what would happen if he switched to a completely different degree program than he was in at MSU (music to engineering for example)? Don't make any decisions based on this till it's confirmed by a couple more direct sources.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your advices. I will contact my S and advisors at the comm.college, UCs. Since I do not live in the States it will take some time to clarify all the issues. I did not check his transcript but I suspect that the courses taken at MSU did not include requied courses and/or grades were low.</p>
<p>jamimom: I understand that your S is also at Tufts. I am so happy that S2 is enjoying his life at Tufts so much. In Korea Tufts is not well known as Ivies and we had tough time selecting Tufts over others. I really enjoy reading your posts which are very informative.</p>
<p>I don't know much about transferring of credist and such, but could there be a time factor involved? Maybe a minimum grade? Just some thoughts. And what were the courses taken?</p>
<p>I don't understand this either, but...I suspect the problem is that he went to a community college after completing two years of college. A community college usually only offers courses which are taken in the first two years of college. After those two years are completed, you transfer to a 4 year college to get a bachelor's degree. </p>
<p>Many colleges and universities require you to take the last two years of college at the college or university to get a bachelor's degree from it. So, a college might say that no more than x# of credit numbers can transfer. My hunch is that the problem is that when you add up the total number of hours he's taken, he's over the limit. If he did one year of community college in California and two years at MSU, there are VERY few colleges anywhere that would give him three years of course credit and permit him to get a degree with only one more year of course work. He'd still have to take two full years of courses to get his degree from the 4 year public university in California. If he's taken a heavy work load in community college, it's possible that one and only one of the MSU courses will count towards the maximum # of credit hours the 4-year university will accept from any transfer student. </p>
<p>If this is the problem, he'll have the same problem at almost any college or university, public or private. Almost any college will require you to take the equivalent of two years of course work at the college to get a bachelor's degree from it. </p>
<p>The other possibility is that he repeated work, even if he didn't repeat the actual course. For example, if you are required to have two semesters of freshman English, you aren't going to get credit for freshman English taken at MSU and freshman English taken at community college, even if the course wasn't exactly the same. A university might require a semester of introductory art or introductory music and not give you "general education" credits for both. So, the 4 year university might say you can get general education or distribution credit for introductory music OR art, but not both. </p>
<p>Again, I'm not saying this is the problem, just that it might be...and, well, while I agree with the advice to get the information directly from the schools involved, the schools may not be willing to talk to you, especially as your son is 24. I'd suggest setting up a conference call, so your son is on the line with you and the school, and you can hear the information.</p>
<p>good point jonri
I didn't even catch that- but I think you are right
If you want a degree from a U that for example is on quarter system and you have 45 credits each year- then you would not be able to transfer more than 90 credits- if you took two years at a 4 yr U- I assume most credits are at 100-200 level- but then if you then took coursework at a CC- those classes would still be at a 100- 200 level. It would vary by degree granting institution, but it would be up to them- how many courses to allow from transfering school.
It is in their best interest of course to have at least half of the courses from their school.</p>
<p>jonri: Thank you so much for your insightful advice. I have just called my S and told him exactly what you said. He will set up a meeting with an admission officer at UCI with his MSU and Glendale transcripts. I hope that at least he will get a clear picture from the meeting and go from there. He is now taking 4 courses at Glendale and it's his second term. I am not sure if it's a good idea to continue to take courses until he gets into a four year college. Thank you again.</p>