What does the 2 year maximum really mean?

Transfer Students
1

<p>When colleges say that by the anticipated date of matriculation applicants may not have exceeded 2 academic years at another institution, do they mean timewise or creditwise?</p>

<p>For example, I might be on track for 37 credits awarded for fall, winter, and spring classes by June'11 (on a quarter system and excluding AP credits). Should I be rejected for Fall'11 admissions, taking the minimum of 12 credits during Sophomore Fall'11 and Soph Spring '12 will put me at 61, which exceeds the 60 credit cap specified by some schools.</p>

<p>However, do they mean that applicants' credits will not transfer beyond 60, or that students who have completed more than 60 credits but still within 2 academic years (assuming one year on a quarter system is the time between two successive Fall semesters, or is it something else?) are ineligible for consideration (i.e., will be rejected automatically)?</p>

<p>Furthermore, my current college has awarded me enough AP credits so that it's impossible for me to stay under 60 credits through the end of my sophomore year even if I take the full time minimum of 12 each semester (starting with Fall'10, this semester) and neglect all winter sessions.</p>

<p>I'm considering, for example, Columbia, and its instructions PDF says:</p>

<p>"Since Columbia requires that a minimum of 60 points toward the degree be earned at Columbia, you may not enter with more than 64 points in Columbia College or with more than 68 points in The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. Credit granted on the basis of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other standardized examinations will count towards the 64 or 68-point maximum."</p>

<p>Columbia allows for 64, but I still can't stay under that because my AP credits count toward the 64 point maximum.</p>

<p>Is it time to leave for community college so that I may be able to take fewer than 12 credits for each of my sophomore semesters?</p>

<p>Columbia seems to be the only college among my preliminary candidates that specifies a hard number. All the others (at least, from their websites) seem to say the cap is "the equivalent of two academic years."</p>

2

<p>Pick up the phone and call each of the places on your list. Some will not include your AP credits in their time/course count. Others will. Some will not care if you are over a specific credit count if your particular A.A./A.S. program requires that you complete more credits. Others will. Some won’t care if you take more than four academic semesters to complete 60 credits provided that you can present a valid (for them) reason for studying part-time. Others will.</p>

<p>Each institution sets its own policy, so even though the wording looks exactly the same to you as a reader, you cannot expect that those words mean precisely the same thing to the websites’ authors.</p>

3

<p>I called and received an equivocal answer: as long as my application is complete, it will be reviewed. Repeated rephrasings of the question received the same answer. That doesn’t tell me whether credits exceeding 64 render me ineligible for admission (because review->automatic rejection is still a review) or will fail to transfer over; that is, only the first (or a combination of) 64 are granted corresponding credit, and the others will drop.</p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience with Columbia, particularly those who matriculated as juniors?</p>

4

<p>I transferred with 68 credits, and the school I transferred to (not Columbia, a SUNY) accepted 64.</p>

<p>It simply sounds like Columbia expects transfers to complete two years of credit at Columbia.</p>

5

<p>Did you complete 68 within “two academic years?” The meaning of this is still obscure, for September '10->June’12 may be considered two academic years, but if Columbia wants candidates to enter as Juniors or earlier but no later, clearly some students achieve Junior standing within two academic years of the above definition. </p>

<p>Further, were AP credits included in the 68 total (or in the 64 granted)?</p>

6

<p>*Did you complete 68 within “two academic years?” *</p>

<p>No, I started college in 1980, and completed the 68 credits by June 1997. I started at the SUNY in January 1998.</p>

<p>I really don’t think a college is as concerned with the duration, so much as the credits completed.</p>