Transferring Community College Credits to Cal Poly

I'm currently attending a community college and considering transferring to Cal Poly. How do credits transfer from community colleges, especially for general education? Any tips on ensuring everything transfers smoothly would be awesome!

Each university has their own transfer credit policies and Cal Poly is no different. Getting your credits to transfer smoothly involves familiarizing yourself with these policies and working with both your community college and Cal Poly advisors to ensure the courses you're taking can be transferred.

For General Education (GE) requirements, California Community College courses can often directly fulfill these requirements at Cal Poly. They have a system called "GE Area Transfers" where courses can be designated to fulfill certain GE areas at Cal Poly. It's important to research and confirm these courses with your academic advisor ahead of time and have clear communication with both your community college and Cal Poly advisors about your academic plans.

Cal Poly has something called "articulation agreements" with many community colleges which are essentially official understandings documenting which community college courses are equivalent to Cal Poly's for purpose of fulfilling the GE requirements. You should check if one exists for your community college.

Any course from a regionally accredited college or university, passed with a C- or better, will transfer to Cal Poly as at least elective credit. But note, fulfilling core major requirements often depends more on equivalent content rather than just transferrable credit, so that's where articulation agreements become especially handy.

An additional resource is assist.org, a fantastic tool for California students. It shows how courses from community colleges can transfer to CSU and UC.

Once the courses are completed, make sure to send your official transcripts from the community college to Cal Poly. This is a critical step—if Cal Poly doesn't receive your official transcripts, they won't be able to process and apply your credits.

Remember, while this process may seem a bit overwhelming at first, you're definitely not alone and there are numerous resources available to help you. Stay proactive, communicate your intentions clearly, and keep organized records of all your coursework and you should be in a good position to make a successful transfer!