Request for Transfer Credit Evaluation

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>My son was accepted SCEA at Stanford and we are trying to figure out some of the details of how transfer credit/academic placement policies compare at Stanford vs. some of the other schools that he's considering. We're pursuing these questions with Stanford's registrar, but I thought I'd throw this out in this forum in the event that it helps others here.</p>

<p>Here's the situation: </p>

<p>My son has been taking courses at the University of [the state we live in] for quite a while. For example, in math, he has completed these university "honors-level" courses: Calc I, Calc II, Calc III, Probability and Statistics, and Differential Equations. (He has taken other stuff too, but let's focus on math.) For the sake of some of the issues below, the Calc I course covered all of the material in the AP AB and BC curricula and then some.</p>

<p>Here's what the Request for Transfer Credit Evaluation form says:</p>

<p>"<em>Prematriculation Credit Evaluation</em>. Students may not request evaluation of credit for course work that counted toward a high school diploma and/or graduation requirements. Requesting transfer credit for work completed prior to matriculation may be disadvantageous because if could significantly limit your options for transferring credit in the future."</p>

<p>Let's look at the first sentence first. What does "counted toward a high school diploma and/or graduation requirements" mean? All of these courses do appear on his HS transcript (via PSEO and a special math program), but they are all beyond the HS graduation requirement of (I think) 3 years of math.</p>

<p>So, since he got HS school credit (btw, he's way over the minimum credits required for graduation), can these courses be evaluated for transfer credit?</p>

<p>If not, it seems very arbitrary that you can get transfer credit for AP exams - which test material taught in courses that would also appear on HS transcripts.</p>

<p>On to the second sentence in the policy above (which is a real grammatical gem, btw):</p>

<p>If it is disadvantageous to request credit prior to matriculation, why do they even allow it? And how could it possibly limit your options in the future? We really have no idea what this means.</p>

<p>Oh, and we also found the following at:
Transfer</a> Credit</p>

<p>Q: I am an incoming freshman. What should I do to get my transfer credit evaluated at Stanford?
A: Transfer credit is not evaluated and processed until you have enrolled in classes and instruction has begun. We recommend that you confer with your academic advisor before you apply for transfer credit. Submit your transfer credit application after you have talked to your advisor and enrolled in classes. Note that applications received prior to the beginning of Autumn Quarter will not be processed until the quarter has begun; it can take a few weeks for this processing to be completed given the large number of requests.</p>

<p>So, is Prematriculation Credit Evaluation even possible?</p>

<p>The bottom line for my son is that if he can't hope to get credit for these university classes because they appear on his HS transcript, should he sign up for some AP tests so that he can get credit for some of this work? (Talk about a waste of time and money...)</p>

<p>Hopefully some current or former students that have been through this can shed some light on this process.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Hoping that this helps others, I am following up on my earlier post regarding requesting transfer credit. Here's our interpretation of what we were told:</p>

<p>(Thanks to our regional admissions officer for diligently following up on this.)</p>

<p>Recall the following two sentences from Stanford's "Request for Transfer Credit Evaluation" form:</p>

<ol>
<li>"Students may not request evaluation of credit for course work that counted toward a high school diploma and/or graduation requirements."</li>
</ol>

<p>Transfer credit will be considered for classes taken that are beyond those <em>required</em> for graduation. For example, my son's high school requires 4 years of math to graduate. For him, the Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and Math Analysis classes fulfilled this requirement. The other (Calculus, etc.) classes can be considered for credit at Stanford, even though he received "credits" for these on his high school transcript.</p>

<p>A caveat: In order for a college class to be considered for transfer credit, it must substantially match the content of a specific class at Stanford. We were advised that if you're not sure, go ahead and take the AP tests, because these do match.</p>

<ol>
<li>"Requesting transfer credit for work completed prior to matriculation may be disadvantageous because it could significantly limit your options for transferring credit in the future."</li>
</ol>

<p>We still don't have a clue about what this means, but since you can't apply for transfer credit until classes begin, we're not worrying about it.</p>

<p>Disclaimer: this is our interpretation. (ymmv)</p>

<p>You should check with the math department as well as the admissions office to find out if the classes will transfer.</p>