Transfer questions on process and on whether to try to transfer

Transfer Students
1
  1. What % of credits usually transfer between 4 year universities?
  2. I have looked at some transfer match sites and some courses are exact matches and some have similar titles but dont show as matches. Do most universities work with students to accept as much credit as possible?

My son is an athlete on a mostly athletic scholarship with some merit aid. That complicates the transfer process. Unfortunately his athletic academic advisor recommended classes that qualified for his current college requirements but dont look like they will transfer, e.g. easy science classes. Many universities have very different humanities and social science requirements.

My son is finishing his soph year, has good grades 3.5+ but in looking at some transfer websites, only 18 hours look like definite transfers, another 15 as courses that sound like similar courses at other universities, and then about 20-30 hours that would only transfer as elective. Under what circumstances is it worth losing a year of credits to transfer?

My son chose a school far from home, but had a good freshman year. However, team dynamics changed his soph year and one of the top players has turned the team culture toxic. He does have a couple friends on the team. The coach is OK and seems to care about players but since he runs a small team (which meant good scholarships), he puts up with the head case players. We think son should stay and try to work things out as in life he will face on occasion difficult bosses or coworkers. It will cost a lot more $ and time to change, and he will have less choices than he had as a recruit in high school. He could transfer and end up with the worst housing and course selection as he has not even applied yet. He would have to tell his current coach before he can even talk to other coaches, so he basically has to give up the current scholarship to even talk about a scholarship elsewhere. However, if he is miserable, he could drop out or quit the team and lose his scholarship anyway. Any advice? (I have also posted on athletic recruit board, but this board may know more about transfer credit process).

Thanks.

2

while none of us know how much credits will transfer over to the new school, if he is truly miserable, it’s probably at least worth it to try. The schools will probably let him know what transfers if he is accepted and then he can make a final decision after knowing what’s going to transfer over

3

There is no easy way to predict which credits will transfer or as what. That is entirely up to the recieving institution. Often transfer applicants are given a preliminary evaluation of their credits when they are offered an acceptance. However the actual transfer cerdits won’t be determined until after the student has enrolled. The student should be prepared to demonstrate what was covered in each class - all textbooks, course syllabi, graded assignments, etc. - so as to optimize the number of credits awarded.

In some cases even if there is not a one-to-one match for gen eds, the receiving institution will accept the previous place’s package of gen eds as being equivalent, provided all gen eds have been completed.

How necessary is his athletic scholarship for completing his education? Can he afford a home-state public U without any scholarship at all?

How badly does he want to keep playing his sport? Would he be happy transferring to a place where he might not be on the team at all?

4

Since he is already in his sophomore year it may be almost too late to transfer if he wants to graduate in 4 years. We’re at the end of the current xfer cycle, kids typically apply in the fall to xfer the following fall. Many schools do not accept senior transfers since their name goes on the diploma but the student only attended for 1 year. You’d need to check the rules at the schools you are considering.