Is It Easier to Transfer To a College Then Get Admitted as Freshman

Approximately 31% of community college students transfer to 4-year institutions to pursue a bachelor’s degree. Unfortunately, some colleges and universities accept only a small number of transfer applicants.

Naturally, you may wonder if your chances are higher to be admitted as a transferee than a freshman. Interestingly enough, in some cases, it is true.

Generally, if the college has an articulation agreement with a community college, transfer students have higher chances of being admitted than freshmen applicants. Transfer students are usually guaranteed admission as long as they keep a minimum GPA.

However, transferring can be more complicated than a degree-seeking student would expect.

According to the National Student Clearinghouse, those who get accepted usually lose credits equivalent to a full semester or even more.

This happened to my wife when she transferred from our local community college to an in-state flagship university – only 60 credits out of 80 were transferred.

So, in this post, I want to share some things you need to know to avoid unnecessary money and time spent in school.

What is an Articulation Agreement?

An articulation agreement is a form of guarantee that classes completed and credits earned at one school, usually a 2-year institution like a community college, will be accepted when the student transfers to a 4-year institution, usually one that’s located in the same state or, in some instances, region as the sender school.

In a nutshell, an articulation agreement aims to preserve a student’s academic progress, particularly when switching schools to further one’s educational pursuit — i.e., earning a bachelor’s degree after having an associate degree.

What it does is that, basically, it outlines which courses in which institutions will map toward a specific degree program.

It’s true that the idea of an articulation agreement remains the same across the board. However, the terms that come with it can vary from school to school and from state to state.

And speaking of which, institutions with articulation agreements with each other are usually located in the same state, but there are times when it’s also regionally mediated.

Articulation agreements can be more robust between community colleges and 4-year institutions in some states, while articulation agreements in other states may not demonstrate the same.

Five Types of Articulation Agreements

It’s not enough that you determine whether or not your community college and your target 4-year institution have an articulation agreement with one another — it’s also a must that you research what it is exactly.

Failure to establish articulation agreement terms can complicate and may even hinder transfer.

In most instances, it all begins with knowing the specifics.

For instance, having an idea of whether or not there’s a minimum GPA or degree to meet or whether or not there are certain courses whose credits cannot count toward a bachelor’s degree is of utmost importance.

Otherwise, you could lose some credits or end up having to attend a different college or university.

Articulation agreements come from 3 perspectives — by the student, by the sender college and by the receiving school.

And here are the different types as well as the terms of each one:

Guaranteed transfer

Simply put, this type of articulation agreement guarantees the transfer of earned credits from one school to the other.

Most, if not all, credits earned from a 2-year institution will transfer.

Of course, it’s important for the transferee to meet certain requirements beforehand, such as having a certain grade for each completed course.

Guaranteed admission

As the name suggests, a guaranteed admission articulation agreement guarantees the admission of the transferee, provided that minimum requirements are met, such as completing an associate degree program or having a minimum average GPA.

Program-specific

This particular type of articulation agreement specifies how the program from a community college aligns with that from a 2-year institution and what additional courses, if any, the transferee has to take at the receiving school so that he or she can earn a bachelor’s degree.

Students in some degree programs may not enjoy this sort of articulation agreement.

Dual enrollment

Attending a community college with a dual enrollment articulation program with a partner school is a great time saver — it makes it possible for the undergraduate to work on an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree at the same time by taking courses from the 2-year institution and the 4-year institution simultaneously.

State credit transfer

In some instances, colleges and universities located in different states may have articulation agreements with one another, which makes the transfer of a student from one to the other with as little complication as possible.

Which Colleges Have Articulation Agreements?

In most instances, colleges and universities with articulation agreements with community colleges and other similar institutions are state or flagship schools. However, there are also private institutions with articulation agreements.

As a matter of fact, some selective schools, including a few Ivy Leagues, have articulation agreements.

Fortunately for community college students who wish to fulfill their dream of becoming bachelor’s degree holders after graduation, there are many 4-year institutions with articulation agreements.

As expected, some states have more of them than others.

Always been your goal to head to a 4-year school after earning an associate degree?

Then make sure that you check whether or not the 2-year institution you are planning on attending has some articulation agreements with colleges and universities in the state or region to make your transfer in the future as trouble-free as possible.

Successful transfer of earned credits is the ultimate goal, which will keep you from having to start from scratch when you transfer, thus allowing you to save time and money.

Without further ado, here are some 4-year institutions with articulation agreements per state:

Alabama

Faulkner University
Huntingdon College
Talladega College
Troy University
University of Alabama
University of Montevallo

Alaska

University of Alaska

Arizona

Arizona State University
Prescott College

Arkansas

Arkansas State University
Lyon College
University of Arkansas

California

California Baptist University
California State University
San Jose State University
Scripps College
St. Mary’s College of California
University of California
University of La Verne
William Jessup University

Colorado

Colorado State University
University of Northern Colorado

Connecticut

Charter Oak State College
University of Connecticut

Delaware

University of Delaware

Florida

Florida International University
Florida State University
University of Central Florida
University of Florida
University of South Florida

Georgia

Agnes Scott College
Albany State University
Columbus State University
University of Georgia

Hawaii

University of Hawaii

Idaho

Idaho State University
University of Idaho

Illinois

Governors State University
Illinois College
Millikin University
Southern Illinois University
University of Chicago

Indiana

Indiana State University
Indiana University
Purdue University
Valparaiso University

Iowa

University of Iowa

Kansas

Benedictine College
Sterling College

Kentucky

Berea College
Kentucky State University
Kentucky Wesleyan College

Louisiana

Louisiana State University
Loyola University New Orleans
Tulane University
University of Louisiana
University of New Orleans

Maine

Bowdoin College
University of Maine

Maryland

Morgan State University
Salisbury University
University of Maryland

Massachusetts

Boston University
Framingham State University
Harvard University
Mount Holyoke College
Northeastern University
University of Massachusetts
Williams College

Michigan

Central Michigan University
Ferris State University
Michigan State University

Minnesota

Concordia University
Minnesota State University

Mississippi

Alcorn State University
Mississippi College

Missouri

Maryville University of St. Louis
Missouri Southern State University
St. Louis University
Truman State University
University of Missouri
Washington University in St. Louis

Montana

Montana State University
University of Great Falls

Nebraska

Peru State College
York College

Nevada

Nevada State College
University of Nevada

New Hampshire

Granite State College
Keene State College

New Jersey

College of New Jersey
Kean University
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

New Mexico

New Mexico Highlands University
St. John’s College

New York

Cornell University
CUNY
New York University
Skidmore College
SUNY

North Carolina

Davidson College
Duke University
University of North Carolina

North Dakota

Mayville State University
North Dakota State University

Ohio

Antioch College
Cleveland State University
Kenyon College
Ohio State University

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City University
Oklahoma State University

Oregon

Portland State University
Western Oregon University

Pennsylvania

Allegheny College
Bucknell University
Duquesne University
King’s College
Swarthmore College

Rhode Island

Brown University
Bryant University

South Carolina

Clemson University
South Carolina State University

South Dakota

Black Hills State University
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tennessee

University of Memphis

Texas

Baylor University
LeTourneau University
Rice University
University of Houston
University of Texas at Dallas

Utah

Southern Utah University
University of Utah

Vermont

University of Vermont

Virginia

Marymount University
University of Virginia
Virginia State University
William and Mary

Washington

University of Washington
Washington State University

West Virginia

Bluefield State College
Fairmont State University
Glenville State College
University of Charleston

Wisconsin

Beloit College
University of Wisconsin

Wyoming

University of Wyoming

Just Before You Transfer to a 4-Year Institution

Applying to a college or university as a transfer student can be more stressful and complicated than applying to it as a first-time, first-year student.

Other than the fact that the acceptance rates for transferees are usually lower than for freshmen applicants, losing earned credits is also a possibility, which can flush invested time and money down the drain.

It’s a good thing that articulation agreements exist between many 2-year and 4-year institutions within the same state or region, which helps make the process of transferring less nerve-racking for community college students.

Is It Easier to Transfer To a College Then Get Admitted as Freshman

What is an Articulation Agreement?