What happens if some of my classes don't transfer?

I'm worried about losing credits if I transfer schools. Has anyone experienced a situation where not all their classes transferred? How does that impact your progress towards graduation?

The experience can vary by school. Generally, the transfer process involves an evaluation by the registrar's office (or equivalent) at your new institution. They review your transcripts and determine which of your earned credits are applicable to their degree programs. This can be influenced by things like the similarity in course description or the accreditation of the previous institution.

In some cases, credits that don't map directly onto required courses at the new school may be counted as elective credits. Other times, unfortunately, some credits may not transfer at all. This can impact your progress towards graduation because it may mean you have to take additional classes, and in some cases, it might extend your time at university.

To mitigate this, it helps to plan ahead and work closely with academic advisors from both your current and prospective institutions. They can often provide some guidance on the courses that will likely transfer over. Also, some schools and programs have articulation agreements which specify how credits will transfer between institutions.

Keep in mind, patience is key in this process – sometimes it can take a bit of time to get a final transcript review.

Example: A biology major at University A decides to transfer to University B. Even though she passed Organic Chemistry at University A, University B may not accept the credit if they feel the course content is not equivalent to their own Organic Chemistry course. In this situation, the student would need to retake Organic Chemistry at University B, delaying her progress toward graduation because she is spending a term retaking a course she had already completed at University A.