<p>I have been under the impression that in order to transfer to any college, versus applying as a freshman, you need to have ~60 units from a community college.</p>
<p>Is this just totally false? Have I been wrong? I am starting to get that impression. I am noticing some college have transfer requirements, and then also "junior" transfer requirements, with the latter being more aligned with what I thought it all was.</p>
<p>So does this mean that I can attend a community college for one semester and then use those grades/credits in a transfer application to a 4 year institution? So I could technically transfer in as a sophomore? </p>
<p>Please please give me your input. It may seem like a dumb question to you, which I hope it is. I think I was misinformed awhile ago and I have been wasting my time by purposely avoiding acquiring any credits due to not wanting to be disqualified for "freshman status" fearing that I would then be forced to do my first 60 units at a junior college.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>You can transfer with or without 60 units (Junior status), depending on the school or state.</p>
<p>What you’re getting confused about is the distinction between lower-division and upper-division transfer. Some schools only allow upper-division transfers (60+ semester units), so you’d have to check with the schools that you’d intend to apply to if you are restricted to applying only once you have completed 60 or more units. Others allow lower-division transfers (59 or <), so this would mean Sophomore status.</p>
<p>For example, the University of California system currently does not accept lower-division transfers (I believe there are some exceptions with UCM; and neither do most CSUs), so all of the UC-bound students in CA are talking about having 60+ units to transfer. However, other state systems and many private schools are accepting lower-division transfers (typically 45 units completed or less).</p>
<p>So, it just depends on where you may be looking to transfer and what those transfer policies are.</p>
<p>EDIT: It is important to note that a student who has taken college-level course work prior to applying to almost any college/university is considered a transfer student and can no longer apply as a freshman. So, once you start taking college-level courses there is no going back to try as a freshman - you must complete either 45 or 60 units (depending on school) and apply as a transfer only.</p>
<p>Couldn’t you just not report your prior credits and forefit them to start fresh as a creditless student (more $$$ potential for the school?) </p>
<p>Some have told me on here that there are reporting services that college can check to see if you have any prior credits. I may have two classes that could show up on that list, but that’s it. So maybe I am screwed.</p>
<p>But geez, what about these bogus credits the military hands out to Veterans? I would sure hate to think those are gimping people from being able to go to a 4 year UC school. I would never even try bothering to claim those.</p>
<p>Blue,</p>
<p>On every academic application I’ve ever filled out they explicitly require that you put down “all colleges and college course work you’ve attended”. I too have heard there are third-party agencies to check an applicants academic history, and the truth of the matter is that an applicant can technically leave out anything he or she wishes, but if they are found out later, then it is considered academic dishonesty (for those schools who explicitly require you to submit prior academics) and any credits or degrees a student has been awarded can be revoked. Is it a long shot this can happen? Quite probably, but there is that chance and I’d personally rather not take it.</p>
<p>As for the random military credits: those are not considered college-level credits earned at *a higher education institution<a href=“i.e.%20college%20and%20university”>/i</a>. They are recommended awarded credits - not all schools have to accept them, and since they were not awarded through a college-level course, they are not counted against a veteran for freshman status. I have applied as a freshman to colleges and universities with those types of credits and still considered a freshman. Although they are approved by ACE (American Council of Education), almost no private school would probably accept them, unfortunately. A veteran is also awarded a handful of PE and Military Science credits just by having a DD-214, but again, those don’t count against a veteran for freshman application purposes. So, no, a veteran isn’t giving up the chance to apply to colleges as a Freshman just by enlisting. Only coursework taken at a college or university will count. Typically, any state school is required to accept ACE/SMART and DD-214 credits, but they usually do this by applying them as elective credits and not for general education courses or major requirements, but it’s still nice to get some credit for it. Don’t forget, you can also take advantage of some training that doesn’t give you “college credit” as well. For example, if you became fluent in a foreign language due to military service and the school you attend has a FL req, then you can most likely test out of it by demonstrating your mastery of that particular language.</p>
<p>As for your two classes: determine if they were military classes (PME - Professional Military Education schools such as Corporal’s or Sergeant’s Course, DLI - Defense Language Institute, etc), or if they were awarded to you from a bonafide college or university such as a local community college or a school prior to your enlistment. If the former, then those fall into the same category of your ACE/SMART and DD-214 credits. If the latter, then according to the applications, you are required to report those and if that makes you ineligible to apply as a Freshman then you should plan for that. However, I would also contact all the schools in which you are applying and ask them if these specific classes make you ineligible to apply as a Freshman just to be absolutely clear.</p>
<p>EDIT: Didn’t want to forget to mention that current service members can also take advantage of FREE CLEP tests. It’s more likely that a private school, and certainly a public, will accept those. Did I mention they are FREE for active duty service members? You can take as many as you want too. These also do not count towards transfer-status, but they can be applied to your degree once you are admitted to a school.</p>