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I transfer to a different school and have like 30 elective credits. What are these credits used for?, they seem useless because they dont count towards my major and i have to repeat similar classes that the school refuses to transfer over
I had a similar problem. They are accepted as "earned" credits but for one reason or another are not applied to anything specific. The credits are added to the total credits earned, so perhaps they are there to hold your standing in college (junior, senior, etc.).
I went to the department chair with the syllabi in hand for those courses in question. I was able to have two of those electives applied towards my degree and a few others counted as a pre-req for another course.
I transfer to a different school and have like 30 elective credits. What are these credits used for?, they seem useless because they dont count towards my major and i have to repeat similar classes that the school refuses to transfer over
Maybe you can use them towards a minor or more of your transferred courses would count towards another degree. Ask an advisor or go to the university's webpage and do your research. Good luck
I transfer to a different school and have like 30 elective credits. What are these credits used for?, they seem useless because they dont count towards my major and i have to repeat similar classes that the school refuses to transfer over
They are not useless because you need elective credits to earn a degree.
I transfer to a different school and have like 30 elective credits. What are these credits used for?, they seem useless because they dont count towards my major and i have to repeat similar classes that the school refuses to transfer over
Go see the chair of the department in question and/or your advisor - they may be able to help you get credit. It might help if you have kept the syllabus and exams from the old courses, to show that you actually did study that material already.
all of the elective classes need is part of the major requirements and based on the school catalog i dont see anything about needing electives for the degree
Marie5: i do not have any syllabus from the previous college/courses, should i call up the school and request one?
At most colleges, you have to fulfill a major, and you have to fulfill gen. ed. requirements, then you have electives. So the elective credits aren't "wasted."
EG say your major requires 40 credits, gen. ed. requires 36 credits, and you need 120 credits to earn a bachelor's degree, so you need 120 minus 40 minus 36 = 44 elective credits. In many cases it would be worth it to complete a minor or even 2nd major. At my college many minors are just 20 credits, so if you have 12 credits in that discipline already, it often makes sense to use 8 more elective credits to complete that minor.
all of the elective classes need is part of the major requirements and based on the school catalog i dont see anything about needing electives for the degree
Marie5: i do not have any syllabus from the previous college/courses, should i call up the school and request one?
Talk to the people responsible for major credit first (usually your advisor or the department head). Ask why you didn't get credit toward the major for those courses, although they are identical to ones offered at the new school. Then ask if that can be changed. It's possible there is simply a limit on how many transfer credits can be put toward a major, and thus they were awarded as "electives." Then you can ask if you can have permission to take different courses and put those toward the major in place of the ones that you have already taken at the old school. At least then you won't have to retake the same stuff.
I'm assuming the problem is that they gave you general credits toward the degree, but not toward the major. If the problem is that some courses simply didn't transfer at all, as electives or otherwise, then you should speak to whoever is in charge of determining transfer credit and find how if you can appeal that decision and what you need to do.
By the way, when I say "talk to," I mean go in and see someone in person and make an appt if you have to. Don't just call and speak with whoever answers the phone, and don't just ask whoever is sitting at the desk when you walk in. Make sure when you speak with someone that you are actually speaking with a person in authority, not a receptionist, secretary, student worker, etc.
The Courses You've Taken May Earn Elective Credit Only
Most colleges will award you credit for the courses you've taken. However, for some courses you may find that you receive elective credit only. In other words, you'll earn credit hours towards graduation, but the courses you took at your first school may not fulfill specific graduation requirements at your new school. This can lead to a situation in which you have enough credits to graduate, but you have not fulfilled your new school's general education or major requirements.
Advice: As with the first scenario above, be sure to have a detailed conversation with the school you plan to transfer to about the credit you will receive for your completed course work. The Five or Six Year Bachelor's Degree
Because of the above issues, the majority of transfer students do not complete a bachelor's degree in four years. In fact, one government study showed that students who attended one institution graduated in an average of 51 months; those who attended two institutions took an average of 59 months to graduate; students who attended three institutions took an average of 67 months to earn a bachelor's degree.
Advice: Don't assume transferring won't cause disruptions in your academic path. For most students it does, and your decision to transfer should take into account the very real possibility that you will be in college longer than if you don't transfer.
Which is in the same problem am i in right now where it might take me longer to earn a bachelor degree at this school...Urggh!! (Atleast the new school is cheaper and closer to home then the previous school i went to)
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