{"id":43606,"date":"2019-08-08T14:31:37","date_gmt":"2019-08-08T19:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/?post_type=advice&#038;p=43606"},"modified":"2025-07-25T16:57:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T21:57:06","slug":"will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer","status":"publish","type":"advice","link":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/","title":{"rendered":"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you go back to school to finish your degree, it\u2019s only natural to want your previously earned credits to transfer to your new university. Whether you started at a community college or took some years off, you\u2019re definitely not starting from scratch! The chances of your credits transferring are pretty good, but it truly does vary from school to school.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t be discouraged! There are people in reach and policies in place to help you finish your degree. You just have to keep a few things to keep in mind as you begin the process. No matter what, the first step you should take is to meet with an admissions counselor to understand what you need to show for your previous experience. They may recommend that you contact your former institution to get a transcript. From there, the counselor can outline a clear process to get the most out of the credits you have already earned. Generally, most credits will transfer, but it ultimately depends on several factors: time, type, grade, and system.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udd0e <em>Learn how to combine transfer credit with life experience credit in our full <a href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/finish-degree-credit-transfer-pla\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">guide to finishing your degree without starting over<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Time:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> We understand that the path to a degree can be complicated and, at times, lengthy. It\u2019s very common to return to college after a few years of work or other commitments, so most institutions accept transfer credits that are up to ten years old. This grace period varies across institutions as well as the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">type <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of credit in question. For example, a nine-year-old credit for a computer science course might not be considered up to date and able to transfer.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Type:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> There are three types of credits: elective, field of study, and general education. General education courses are the easiest to transfer, as they are typically required for any bachelor\u2019s degree regardless of the university. Courses like math, science, and English should easily transfer. Elective courses and courses specific to a major\/field of study can vary between institutions, so check to see which credits are transfer eligible.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Grade: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is fairly obvious, but most institutions will require that you made at least a C in the course you are trying to transfer. The requirement could vary between type of credit as well; you might need a higher grade for field of study or general education credits than elective courses. Some institutions also have varying policies on courses that were taken as pass\/fail. The admissions counselor can walk you through which credits meet the grade requirements.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b>System:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Transferring credits between semester and quarter systems can be one of the more complicated obstacles to overcome. The semester and quarter systems run on two different timelines and are therefore likely to be structured quite differently.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Universities use a conversion ratio to make sure that you receive the appropriate amount of credits on the system you are transferring into. Typically, the number of transferred quarter credits equals the number of semester credits multiplied by 1.5. If you have 5 credits on the semester system, for example, you would have 7 quarter credits. This conversation goes for quarter-to-semester transfers as well. The number of transferred semester credits equals the number of quarter credits multiplied by 2\/3, so 5 quarter credits would equal 3.3 semester credits.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It may seem that you are at a disadvantage with the latter transfer since you would be \u201closing\u201d credits, but keep in mind that the two systems require different amounts of<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> total <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">credits for graduation. You\u2019re not losing any credits, just converting them!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No matter where or when you started, there are ways to finish your degree as seamlessly as possible. Use this guide as a starting point to understand what to expect as you transfer your credits to this life-changing degree. While not all credits may transfer, anything as all is worth it and significant enough to reach your goal. And we\u2019re here to help! <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/\">Abound: Finish College <\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">narrows down your options and gets you in touch with schools that we can confirm are <\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/about\/how-schools-are-selected\/\">Accessible, Affordable, Accelerated, and Advanced.<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Take a look at the schools we trust and find the program that works for you.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you go back to school to finish your degree, it\u2019s only natural to want your previously earned credits to transfer to your new university. Whether you started at a community college or took some years off, you\u2019re definitely not starting from scratch!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43608,"template":"","class_list":["post-43606","advice","type-advice","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","abound_advice_topics-student-success","abound_advice_topics-transfer-credits"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer - Abound: Finish College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Understand what to expect as you transfer your credits to this life-changing degree. While not all credits may transfer, anything as all is worth it and significant enough to reach your goal.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understand what to expect as you transfer your credits to this life-changing degree. While not all credits may transfer, anything as all is worth it and significant enough to reach your goal.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Abound: Finish College\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AboundDegrees\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-25T21:57:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1-1024x683.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AboundDegrees\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/\",\"name\":\"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer - Abound: Finish College\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-08T19:31:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-25T21:57:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"Understand what to expect as you transfer your credits to this life-changing degree. While not all credits may transfer, anything as all is worth it and significant enough to reach your goal.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1.png\",\"width\":6720,\"height\":4480,\"caption\":\"Will My Previously Earned Credits & Coursework Transfer\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/advice\\\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/\",\"name\":\"Abound: Finish College\",\"description\":\"Take control of your future. Finish college.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Abound\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/abound-email-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2018\\\/07\\\/abound-email-logo.png\",\"width\":299,\"height\":56,\"caption\":\"Abound\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/abound.college\\\/finishcollege\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AboundDegrees\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/AboundDegrees\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/abounddegrees\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/abound\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer - Abound: Finish College","description":"Understand what to expect as you transfer your credits to this life-changing degree. While not all credits may transfer, anything as all is worth it and significant enough to reach your goal.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer","og_description":"Understand what to expect as you transfer your credits to this life-changing degree. While not all credits may transfer, anything as all is worth it and significant enough to reach your goal.","og_url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/","og_site_name":"Abound: Finish College","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AboundDegrees","article_modified_time":"2025-07-25T21:57:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1-1024x683.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@AboundDegrees","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/","name":"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer - Abound: Finish College","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1.png","datePublished":"2019-08-08T19:31:37+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-25T21:57:06+00:00","description":"Understand what to expect as you transfer your credits to this life-changing degree. While not all credits may transfer, anything as all is worth it and significant enough to reach your goal.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/adult-casual-checking-1851467-blank-1.png","width":6720,"height":4480,"caption":"Will My Previously Earned Credits & Coursework Transfer"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/advice\/will-my-previously-earned-credits-coursework-transfer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Will My Previously Earned Credits and Coursework Transfer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#website","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/","name":"Abound: Finish College","description":"Take control of your future. Finish college.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#organization","name":"Abound","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/abound-email-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/abound-email-logo.png","width":299,"height":56,"caption":"Abound"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AboundDegrees","https:\/\/x.com\/AboundDegrees","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/abounddegrees","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/abound"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice\/43606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advice"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/advice"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abound.college\/finishcollege\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}