Questions to Ask When Transferring Colleges
Transferring colleges is two decisions: whether to leave, and where your credits, aid and graduation date land if you do. These 63 questions to ask when thinking about transferring run in the order the move does. The first group is for you alone, before you decide; the rest are questions for transfer students to put to the new school about how credits are counted, the degree plan, the application, cost and aid, and life as a transfer, ending with a few for a student who has already made the switch. Credit, aid and tuition residency rules are set school by school and state by state, so get each office's answer in writing.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Before you decide
What exactly is not working at my current school, and would that problem come with me?
Why ask it
Write the answer down in one plain sentence before you look at any other school. A missing major, a cost you cannot carry or a campus far from home are things a move can change, while study habits and loneliness tend to travel with you.
Is there a fix I have not tried here, such as a new major, different housing or another advisor?
Why ask it
Changing majors or getting out of a bad living situation is far cheaper than changing schools. If you have tried the local fixes and the problem is still there, your case for leaving is stronger and easier to explain in an application.
What does the school I am looking at offer that my current one cannot?
Why ask it
Name something you could point to in a catalog or on a bill: a program, a price, a location, a team. 'A better fit' is too vague to test, and a transfer essay built on it has nothing to stand on.
Am I judging this school on a full year, or on one hard semester?
Why ask it
A first term away from home is rough for plenty of students at any college, so one bad autumn is weak evidence. If the same complaint holds after a second term with different classes and people, it is more likely about the place than the timing.
Would I still go if the move added a semester or a year to my degree?
Why ask it
Decide your limit before a school gives you its numbers, so the answer is yours and not a reaction to an offer. An extra term means more tuition and a later start to earning, and only you can say what the change is worth.
What would I be giving up by leaving: a scholarship, a research spot, a team, close friends?
Why ask it
List these beside the gains, because none of them shows up in a credit evaluation. Friendships and a place in a lab can be rebuilt in time, but an award tied to your current school usually cannot be taken along.
Can I afford the school I am considering without the aid I have now?
Why ask it
Run its published cost against your current bill before you get attached to a campus. The true figure only arrives with an aid offer, but a large gap is visible from the website today and is better seen early.
Have I talked to my current advisor about what leaving would do to my record here?
Why ask it
Your advisor can tell you how a mid-year exit appears on the transcript and which of your courses other schools tend to take. You do not need anyone's permission to apply elsewhere, and advisors have this conversation often.
Which term would I move in, and what do I need to finish here first?
Why ask it
Fall entry usually lines up with course sequences and housing, while a spring move gets you out sooner but into a smaller intake. Work backward from the term you choose to the courses and grades your transcript needs to show by then.
Who do I need to tell, and when: my family, a coach, a scholarship office, a professor I will ask for a letter?
Why ask it
A recommendation from a current professor means telling at least one person on campus before you have an answer. Raise it early in the term, say plainly that you are exploring a transfer, and hand over the deadline in writing.
If the new school turns out to be wrong for me, could I come back here?
Why ask it
Put this to the registrar before you go, not after. Some colleges readmit a former student with a short form and others make you apply again, and a scholarship or housing spot given up on the way out may not be waiting.
Credits
Which of my completed courses transfer, and can I get that evaluation in writing before I commit?
Why ask it
A verbal reassurance from admissions is not an evaluation, and the office that admits you is often not the one that awards credit. Ask for a written transfer credit report, even a preliminary one, and note who signed it.
Is there a course equivalency database where I can look up how classes from my school have been treated before?
Why ask it
Many registrars publish a searchable table of past decisions, which lets you check your transcript line by line before anyone is assigned to your file. A course missing from the table has simply not been reviewed yet, and that is different from a no.
How many of my credits count toward my major, and how many land as free electives?
Why ask it
This is the question that decides whether you lose a year. A school can accept nearly everything on your transcript and still apply only part of it to the degree, so get two separate numbers: credits accepted, and credits that satisfy a requirement in your major.
What is the maximum number of transfer credits you accept, and how many must I earn here to graduate?
Why ask it
A school that grants the degree will want a minimum number of credits earned there, and sometimes the whole final year. Together with the transfer cap, that sets the floor on how long you will be enrolled, whatever you have already completed.
Do my transferred courses satisfy prerequisites, or would I have to retake them?
Why ask it
A course can be accepted for credit and still not unlock the next one in the sequence, particularly in sciences, math, and languages. Name your major's gateway courses one by one, and check whether a minimum grade applies to each.
What is the lowest grade you accept for transfer credit, and do pass/fail courses count?
Why ask it
A C or better is a common line, sometimes with a higher bar for courses in the major, but each school draws its own. Pass/fail marks can be handled differently again, so name the exact courses and the terms you took them in.
Do my AP, IB or dual enrollment credits carry over, or do you look at the original scores again?
Why ask it
Credit your current college gave for an exam does not automatically move with the transcript. The new school may want the score report sent to it directly and may apply its own cutoffs, and for dual enrollment it will want a transcript from the college that taught the course.
How and when will the courses I am taking this term be evaluated?
Why ask it
Classes in progress sit on your transcript without grades, so a first evaluation often leaves them out. Find out whether they are added automatically when the final transcript arrives or whether you have to request a second look.
Do credits expire here, particularly older science, math or technology courses?
Why ask it
This one is for students coming back after a gap. Some departments will not count a prerequisite taken more than a set number of years ago, and the limit can be tighter in health and engineering programs than for general requirements.
How do you convert credits between quarter and semester systems, and what happens to a partial credit?
Why ask it
The conversion itself is arithmetic, and the trouble is in the leftovers. A three-course quarter sequence may cover two semester courses with a fraction to spare, and you want to know whether that fraction is rounded up, pooled or lost.
Do my grades from my current school count in my GPA here, or only the credits?
Why ask it
Many schools take the credits and start a new GPA, which affects honors at graduation and scholarship renewal and makes your first term there count heavily. Graduate and professional programs usually ask for every transcript anyway, so the old grades do not disappear.
Does my current school have an articulation agreement with you, and does it cover my catalog year and my major?
Why ask it
An agreement replaces a course-by-course review with a written list of what counts, but each one is tied to particular programs and years. Get the document itself, not a yes, and check that your intended major and your starting year appear in it.
Does finishing my associate degree or general education block before I leave settle your general requirements?
Why ask it
In some states a completed degree or certified block is accepted as a package, and in others each course is still read on its own. If you are within a term or two of finishing, the answer can decide whether to stay and complete it first.
If I disagree with a credit decision, who reviews it and what is the deadline?
Why ask it
Appeals usually go to a department chair, not admissions, and the window is often short and tied to your first term. A syllabus showing contact hours and topics is the evidence that typically changes an outcome, so find out exactly what the reviewer wants to see.
Degree plan
Is my intended major capped or competitive for transfers, and would I enter it directly or apply again once I am there?
Why ask it
Being admitted to the university is not the same as being admitted to nursing, engineering, business or design. A student placed in a pre-major has a second application ahead, so get the grades and courses that one requires and what happens to those it turns down.
Which courses should I complete before I arrive so that I start on track in the major?
Why ask it
Departments often expect transfers to walk in with the introductory sequence done, and some list it in a transfer guide for the major. Getting that list a term or two ahead lets you pick your remaining courses to match it.
Which catalog year's degree requirements would I follow: this year's, or the one from when I started college?
Why ask it
Requirements change between catalog years, and the version you are assigned decides whether a course you already took still counts. Transfers are usually placed on the current catalog, which can add a requirement that did not exist when you began.
Given what transfers, what term would I actually graduate, and can an advisor map that out with me?
Why ask it
A total credit count hides what a term-by-term plan shows. Laid out on paper, you can see that one required course runs only every other spring, which is the sort of thing that quietly adds a semester.
Is there a course sequence in my major that only starts in the fall?
Why ask it
If the first course of a two-year chain runs once a year, entering in spring can cost you twelve months even though you are otherwise on track. The department's rotation of required courses, in writing, settles it.
Can I make up a missing requirement in the summer, here or at a college near home, and will that credit count?
Why ask it
Summer is the usual way to win back a lost term, but once you are enrolled a school may want to approve a course elsewhere before you take it. Get the form and its deadline now, since approval after the fact is harder to obtain.
Would I still have room for a minor, study abroad or a co-op without graduating later?
Why ask it
A transfer plan tends to have less slack than a four-year one, because the electives were spent at the first school. Have the advisor show where such a term would sit, and whether credits earned abroad count toward the amount you must earn in residence.
If I change my mind about the major after I arrive, what are my options?
Why ask it
Students admitted as transfers into one program sometimes cannot move freely to another, particularly a capped one. Knowing the rule in advance tells you how sure you need to be about the major you write on the application.
What share of transfer students in my major finish the degree, and how long does it take them?
Why ask it
A department may hold these figures without publishing them, so the advisor is the person to put it to. If transfers there routinely need three years to finish what was planned as two, that says more about credit handling than an admissions answer will.
Applying
What are the transfer application deadlines for each term, and do you admit for spring?
Why ask it
Transfer dates rarely match first-year dates, and some programs take new students only once a year. Get the date for your major specifically, along with the date transcripts must have arrived, which is not always the same day.
With the credits I will have, do I apply as a transfer or as a first-year student?
Why ask it
Each school sets its own threshold, and college courses taken during high school are often treated differently from those taken after it. The category matters because it changes the deadlines, the scholarships open to you and sometimes the housing rules.
What GPA is competitive for a transfer applicant here, as opposed to the minimum to apply?
Why ask it
Published minimums tell you who may apply, and they can sit well below what is competitive. A straight answer separates the two and shows whether one more term of grades would change your chances.
Do you still want my high school transcript and test scores, and at what point do they stop mattering?
Why ask it
Applicants with a term or two of college are often read partly on their high school record, while those with two years are read mostly on college work. Where scores are optional, find out whether leaving them off changes how the file is read.
Which forms does my current school have to complete, and who there fills them in?
Why ask it
Some applications include a college report or a statement of good standing signed by a dean or registrar, and some want mid-term grades signed by your instructors. These depend on other people's calendars, so they are the pieces to start first.
What most often delays a transfer file, and how do I keep mine from stalling?
Why ask it
The culprits tend to be small: a final transcript sent before the last grades posted, a course description missing for an evaluation, an unsigned aid form. Someone who processes these files knows which ones come up at that school, and the published checklist does not say.
What do you want the transfer essay to explain?
Why ask it
The usual prompt asks why you want to leave and what you expect to find. Specifics about the program you are moving toward serve you better than complaints about the school you are leaving, and the admissions office will often say what a useful essay covers if you ask.
How should I explain a withdrawal, a weak semester or a gap on my record?
Why ask it
Applications generally have an additional information box, and a short factual account there beats leaving a reader to guess. Check whether the school also wants documents, and whether a question about academic or disciplinary standing goes to your current dean.
I am on a student visa: what has to happen with my immigration record, and by when?
Why ask it
Talk to the international student office at both schools before you withdraw from anything. In the United States your current school has to release your record to the new one on an agreed date, other countries handle it differently, and a mistake in timing here is harder to undo than a late transcript.
When will I get a decision, and will the credit evaluation and aid offer reach me before the deposit is due?
Why ask it
The three can come from three offices on three schedules, and the deposit deadline does not wait for the slowest. If the dates do not line up, request an extension in writing; the worst that happens is a no.
Cost and aid
What is the full cost of attendance for a year here, and what does a typical transfer aid package look like?
Why ask it
Compare total cost against what you pay now, including housing, fees, and health insurance you may currently be waiving. A sample package for a transfer at your family's income level tells you more than the published average for all students.
Would I be charged in-state or out-of-state tuition, and how is residency decided for someone transferring in?
Why ask it
At a public university this single line can move the bill more than any scholarship. How long you must have lived in the state, and whether time spent there as a student counts, is set state by state, so ask how it works there and get the form.
What aid is available to transfer students, and are your merit scholarships open to me or first-year students only?
Why ask it
Merit awards are often reserved for entering first-year students, which can make the same school cost a transfer more than a classmate who started there. Get the list that is open to transfers and its deadlines, which can fall before the admission deadline.
Can any of my current scholarships or grants move with me, and which end when I leave?
Why ask it
Put this to the aid office at the school you are leaving as well as the new one. Awards funded by a college generally stay with that college, while some state and outside scholarships can follow you if the sponsor is told in time.
What do I need to change on my financial aid forms so that your office receives them, and by what date?
Why ask it
In the United States that means adding the new school to your FAFSA, and to the CSS Profile if it uses one; elsewhere the process differs, so ask how it works there. Aid does not move between schools by itself, and after a mid-year transfer the new school works out your award for the remaining terms.
How do the credits I have already attempted affect how long federal or state aid will cover me?
Why ask it
Some limits follow the aid you have already used, wherever you used it, and others are measured against the length of the new program. The rules differ by type of aid and by country, so have the aid office work out what you have left instead of estimating it yourself.
How much is the enrollment deposit, and is it refundable if the final credit evaluation changes my mind?
Why ask it
A deposit paid before you have seen how your credits apply is money put down on an unknown. Some offices will move the deadline or refund on request, but generally only when the request arrives before the date has passed.
What would I still owe my current school if I left: a balance, a housing contract, a scholarship I have to repay?
Why ask it
Read the housing agreement and each award letter for what happens on withdrawal, then get a single figure from the billing office. An unpaid balance can complicate the release of records the new school is waiting for, depending on the school and the state.
Transfer life
Who would advise me, a transfer specialist or a department advisor, and when would I meet them?
Why ask it
Transfer advising is where the credit report becomes a schedule, and a general advisor may not know the major well enough to catch a missing requirement before your final year. Get a named contact in the department, not just the office's address.
Do transfer students get registration priority, or would I register last in my first term?
Why ask it
Registering last means the required courses in your plan may be full, which undoes the timeline you were just shown. Where that is the rule, find out whether an advisor can place a transfer into a closed required course, and who to contact.
Do transfers get on-campus housing, and what is the deadline to apply for it?
Why ask it
Transfers may be placed after returning students, which can mean finding a room off campus at short notice. Check too whether the housing deposit comes back if the transfer falls through.
What support exists specifically for transfer students in the first semester?
Why ask it
Listen for concrete things: a transfer orientation, a cohort, reserved advising appointments, a named staff member. Transfers arrive without a first-year class around them, and a school that has thought about that will have something to point to.
Do my disability accommodations carry over, or do I register again with your office?
Why ask it
Accommodations are usually arranged with each college's own disability services office, so an approval letter from your current school is evidence and not a transfer. Find out what documentation they want and how long review takes, so that extra time or a housing adjustment is in place before your first exams.
Can transfers join the honors program, research labs, teams and student organizations in their first term?
Why ask it
Some of these recruit only in fall or only from first-year students, and an athlete may face eligibility rules set by the sport's governing body. Pick the two or three you would most want to join and check each one's calendar.
When does internship and job recruiting start for my class year, and will I have grades here by then?
Why ask it
A junior transfer can arrive to find employers already interviewing, with no GPA at the new school to show them. The career office can say whether your old transcript is accepted in its system and which fairs fall in your first weeks.
Could you put me in touch with a current transfer student in my major?
Why ask it
Staff describe the policy, and a student describes what happened to them. A small program may have few transfers to offer, so a general transfer ambassador or a student club is a fair second choice.
As someone who transferred in, what happened with your credits that you did not expect?
Why ask it
Put this to a student, not to staff. Listen for the gap between what they were told before paying the deposit and what the degree audit showed afterward, and for how long any correction took.
How long did it take you to feel settled after transferring, and what helped most?
Why ask it
Friend groups have often formed by the time a transfer arrives, so expect an answer in months and not weeks. The second half is the part to write down, since a club, a campus job or a transfer hall is something you can sign up for before you get there.
Looking back, what do you wish you had asked before you committed to transferring here?
Why ask it
A student has no brochure to defend, and the reply is often a small practical thing: a parking permit, a lab fee, a course that fills in minutes. Take whatever they name straight back to the office it concerns.
Making a Transfer Work
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
When You Are Still Thinking About Transferring
Separate the school from the semester
Before you contact another college, write down what is wrong in terms a stranger could check: the major you want is not offered, the bill is more than your family can carry, home is too far away. Problems of that kind belong to the place, and a move can solve them. A hard first term, a difficult roommate or one poor grade may clear up without a move, and they deserve a second term before you decide.
Research quietly, and keep your grades up
Looking commits you to nothing. You can request a preliminary credit review, read the transfer guide for your major and visit a campus while staying fully enrolled where you are. The grades you earn this term are the ones a transfer application is read on, so the worst preparation for leaving is to stop trying in the classes you have now.
Set your own limits first
Decide in advance how much extra time and money the move is worth to you, such as one added semester or a set amount of new borrowing. Then hold each school's written credit evaluation and aid offer against that line. A limit chosen in a calm week is easier to keep than one invented with an acceptance letter in your hand.
Staying is also an outcome
Some students who work through these questions find the fix was a change of major or housing, and some find the numbers do not work this year. Neither means the effort was wasted. A transfer application you decide not to send has still told you what you want from a college.
Protecting Your Credits
Get the evaluation before you accept the offer
Ask for a preliminary credit evaluation in writing while you still have the option of staying where you are. Schools sometimes only produce one after you deposit, and by then the decision is made and the leverage is gone.
Keep every syllabus you can find
Appeals on credit decisions are usually won with a syllabus showing contact hours, topics covered, and assessments. Download them from your current school's course system now, since access often disappears once you are no longer enrolled.
Ask about credit for the courses you are taking right now
Courses in progress are evaluated last and sometimes not at all until final grades arrive. Confirm before you register for your last term at your current school that the courses you are about to take will transfer, because that term is the easiest one to waste.
Distinguish accepted from applied
Two different numbers are in play: credits the institution accepts, and credits that satisfy something in your degree. Ask for both figures explicitly, because an office can quote the first while you hear the second.
Who to Ask, and About What
- Transfer admissions: deadlines, required documents, articulation agreements, and how the file moves
- The registrar or transfer credit office: which specific courses transfer and which catalog year applies
- The department advisor in your major: what counts toward the degree, prerequisites, and course rotation
- The department chair: appeals of credit decisions and substitutions for a required course
- Financial aid: transfer scholarships, remaining aid eligibility, and the full cost of attendance
- Housing: whether transfers get a place on campus, deadlines, and deposit refundability
- International student services, if you hold a visa: how and when your record moves between schools
- Disability services: what documentation the new school wants before accommodations start
- A current transfer student in your major, who will tell you what the first semester was actually like
Sequencing the Move
Do not withdraw until an offer and a credit evaluation are both in hand
Withdrawing early can complicate transcripts, aid, and in some cases visa status. Stay enrolled and in good standing until the new school has confirmed both admission and how your credits land.
Check the financial aid deadline against the admission deadline
Transfer aid deadlines can fall before transfer admission deadlines, which means a student admitted in time can still miss the money. Write both dates down the day you decide to apply.
Order final transcripts the week grades post
A final transcript that arrives weeks late, after registration has opened, can hold up your credit evaluation and your schedule with it. Request it as soon as grades are official and confirm receipt rather than assuming it arrived.
Register as early as you are permitted
If transfers register last, your carefully mapped first semester may not be available. Ask your advisor which courses matter most and whether they can place you into a closed section before you accept a worse schedule.
Warning Signs at a Prospective School
- A refusal to put a credit evaluation in writing before you deposit
- Assurances that everything transfers, with no distinction between accepted and applied credits
- Nobody who can tell you which catalog year's requirements you would follow
- An articulation agreement referred to but never produced
- No clear answer on what aid a transfer can get, paired with encouragement to apply anyway
- A department that cannot show you the course rotation for required classes
- An admissions office that discourages you from speaking to a department advisor