What's with GEN ED? Do you have to complete ALL of it to transfer?

Transfer Students
1

<p>I applied to my local Community College, and I saw what's called General Education Requirements.</p>

<p>Do you need to take ALL of the required courses to be able to transfer?</p>

<p>What I mean is, I can get 60 credit hours but without completing just one class, let's say a Speech class (gen ed), then will I still be able to transfer?</p>

<p>I see that in order to get AA degree you have to complete the Gen ED. Well, I am wanting to transfer without getting an AA.
Let's say I have met the transfer requirements of the school I am transferring to, but haven't completed the gen ed requirements of my CC.
How do these work?</p>

2

<p>It depends on whether you’re trying to transfer as a sophomore or a junior. It’s usually much easier to transfer as a junior, after completing all of your gened requirements. Most schools are much more apt to accept a transfer applicant that will be able to devote their time to their major, instead of still needing to devote a significant amount of time to their geneds. Completing your geneds at a CC has a lot of benefits too as far as finances go. CC’s usually cost roughly a fourth of the price per credit hour of a state public. You also have the advantage of being able to get more of your lower level major coursework completed, so you can go right into higher level classes after transferring, rather than having to spend time in the “intro” type classes.</p>

3

<p>Thank you for your message!</p>

<p>I was also just wondering if Gen Eds are required? ever? </p>

<p>I don’t see how not taking a history or a speech class can impede you from getting a degree in computer science. </p>

<p>If I fulfill the Gen Ed requirements for the school I am applying to as a transfer student, then I am all set to go then?</p>

4

<p>I’ve never heard of a college degree that didn’t require geneds. Contrary to popular belief, college is not about “job placement.” It’s an institute of higher education, and part of that means a well rounded education in rhetoric, the sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences. It may not seem relevant to your major, but all of these classes help you to learn how to think and solve problems…rather than just knowing what to think. If you research your options for your geneds, I’m sure you’ll be able to find some that you will truly enjoy. I’ve enjoyed some of my gened classes more than the classes in my major at times.</p>

<p>It depends on the specific schools, and different matriculation agreements, but usually by completing all of the geneds that are required for the associates degree, you will also be completing the gened core at the institute you transfer to. Sometimes there are certain upper level geneds at universities that have to be completed on campus(advanced composition etc), but for the most part you will have completed all of your geneds before transferring. You also have the advantage of getting the lower level intro type classes within your major out of the way before transferring. This allows you to focus almost completely on your major studies after transferring, and allows you to go right into upper level classes. </p>

<p>Like I said, take some time to research your options for geneds. You just might find that anthropology or sociology piques your interest. Humanities classes come in many forms; philosophy, art history, music appreciation, film studies and numerous other types of classes depending on the school.</p>

5

<p>Thank you very much! </p>

<p>I’ve checked out the Gen Ed transfer requirements and most of the schools were rather very simple. Just take one subject in areas of English, Sci, Humanities… so on. UCLA, U of Michigan, UIUC.
I am guessing Community Colleges kind of require more stricter courses to get AA.
I won’t get AA, will transfer before that.</p>

6

<p>I can’t speak for UCLA or UMich, but UIUC’s gened requirements are fairly extensive. You have to have 6 hours(2 courses) each in the humanities, and the social/behavioral sciences, 1 composition 1 course, and an advanced composition course, 3 hours in natural sciences(biology, botany), 3 hours in physical sciences(physics, chemistry), a quantitative reasoning 1 course(physics, computer science, math), and a quantitative reasoning 2 course(more advanced physics, computer science, math). You also have to take a western culture studies class, and a non-western culture studies class…plus 2 years of a foreign language(the amount of foreign language differs depending on the major though). Altogether, there are about 35-40 hours of gened courses at UIUC. The requirements are usually fairly similar at most schools. </p>

<p>Here’s the UIUC gened requirements page; you can go to each category and see what courses are available in each category. </p>

<p><a href=“https://my.illinois.edu/uPortal/render.userLayoutRootNode.target.u41998l1n6.uP;jsessionid=792FA8ADDF32AB1C8228A1DDD6CE2252?pltc_target=210253.u41998l1n6&pltc_type=RENDER&pltp_action=genedCatView#u41998l1n6[/url]”>https://my.illinois.edu/uPortal/render.userLayoutRootNode.target.u41998l1n6.uP;jsessionid=792FA8ADDF32AB1C8228A1DDD6CE2252?pltc_target=210253.u41998l1n6&pltc_type=RENDER&pltp_action=genedCatView#u41998l1n6&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>You mentioned majoring in computer science, so bear in mind that some of the gened requirements will be covered by your course work. The quant reasoning courses will be covered by courses for your major because of the math and computer science courses, and the physical science courses will be covered because you’ll be taking physics for at least a couple years. </p>

<p>UIUC is my target transfer school, but I’m planning on completing my associates. You really aren’t missing out on anything by staying at a CC, aside from the “college life.” I won’t have to take a single gened after transferring there, aside from the advanced composition course that has to be taken on campus. Keep in mind that it’s a lot easier to transfer as a junior than it is to transfer as a sophomore. You’re going to have to do all of the geneds either way, and it’s quite likely that the geneds at the CC wouldn’t really add up to more courses than you’d have elsewhere. </p>

<p>Here are the UIUC requirements for a sophomore transfer:</p>

<p>[U&lt;/a&gt; of I Admissions: Transfer Requirement Directory](<a href=“http://admissions.illinois.edu/apply/transfer/Guide.aspx?ID=1584]U”>Page Not Found, Illinois Undergraduate Admissions)</p>

<p>And for a junior transfer:</p>

<p>[U&lt;/a&gt; of I Admissions: Transfer Requirement Directory](<a href=“Page Not Found, Illinois Undergraduate Admissions”>Page Not Found, Illinois Undergraduate Admissions)</p>

<p>edit- It is also highly recommended that you have at least a year of foreign language completed as a sophomore transfer. As a junior, 2 years is recommended, but the foreign language requirements are somewhat more flexible than others.</p>

<p>Note also that as a sophomore transfer, you will have to submit ACT scores. If you transfer as a junior, you don’t have to submit them.</p>

7

<p>Thank you very much for all this info!</p>

<p>I now understood what I should take.</p>

<p>Oh and also, it seems like sophomore/junior simply depends on the amount of courses you took and no the year. If that’s right?
My plan is to fit 60 credits into one year with good grades. That means taking it in the summer as well, as well as online version (which my cc offers).</p>

8

<p>60 credits in one year? That’s a lot. That may not be possible, even if it’s allowed. Per semester caps are usually around 18-20 hours without special permission, and people are usually discouraged from taking more than 3 (easier) courses in a summer semester. If you’re taking more advanced summer courses, more than two is typically discouraged. To do 60 credits in one year, you would have to take like 25 credits each in fall and spring, with an additional 10 in the summer, or 22 each in fall and spring with 16 in the summer or something like that. That would be a hell of a workload to take on. As I said, some schools may not even allow that…especially for a first year student. People are usually advised to take lighter workloads their first year, or at least their first semester because it takes a while to get used to how college courses operate. “With good grades” is something that is going to be a lot harder to accomplish if you’re trying to cram that many courses in at one time. </p>

<p>A transfer is usually considered a sophomore transfer if they have completed less than 60 hours of transferable course work. Bear in mind that not all courses will be transferable, depending on your school, and the level of course work. For instance, if you’re taking any remedial math courses(below 100 level) those courses will not transfer, because they aren’t college level courses. A sophomore transfer will also have their high school transcript and ACT/SAT scores taken into greater consideration. A junior transfer has typically completed 60+ hours of transferable course work, and their high school transcript does not carry as much weight. You may or may not have to submit test scores as a junior transfer, depending on the school.</p>

<p>What’s the rush? Why do you need to transfer as soon as possible? I can relate, but it seems like you’re hell bent on transferring after only one year, and as a junior transfer…without regard for how difficult it will be.</p>

9

<p>I’ve seen people do it, although they said it wasn’t easy and it takes time.</p>

<p>I am taking 5 AP classes next year. That should count for about 20 credits (considering I’ll get 4+ on the exam).
Then when I actually get into a full time position, I am just guessing I should have 30 credits already done.
My community college offers online courses, so I can take more of the easier ones through that means additionally.</p>