Myths and Misconceptions
- MYTH
- Students are locked into a specific college track in high school and move directly from high school to university where they finish their degree.
- FACT
- An increasing number of students are co-enrolled in more than one college or university or move around among colleges and universities as courses they need or want to take become available.
- MYTH
- When students transfer from one college or university to another, they lose most of their credits.
- FACT
- Students who are good planners and have obtained information on transfer of credit ahead of time, both from the new college or university and from their current college or university, lose few or no credits in the transfer process. Students transferring from proprietary schools (private technical or vocational schools) should contact the new college for information on how and whether credits will transfer to the new college.
- MYTH
- There isn't any limit on the number of credit hours a college or university can accept from a community or technical college.
- FACT
- No university is required to accept, in transfer or toward a degree, more than 66 semester credit hours of academic credits earned by a student in a community college. Universities, however, may choose to accept additional credit hours.
- MYTH
- Grades do not transfer, only credits transfer. Therefore, even if I make a "D" or an "F" in a course, the new college or university will still accept my credit.
- FACT
- Many colleges will not accept credits for courses when a student has earned a "D" or an "F".
- MYTH
- Courses taken at The University of Texas at El Paso will transfer 100% to The University of Texas at Austin.
- FACT
- Whether the courses you took at your old college will transfer to the new college, even if the transfer is to another college or university in the same system, is determined by the admissions office or transfer committee. It is best to speak with the admissions office or the counseling or advising office ahead of time and plan to take those courses you know will transfer.
- MYTH
- There is a statewide database with information on all of the courses at all of the colleges and universities in Texas.
- FACT
- There is no system in Texas which admissions officers, counselors, or advisors can tap into for information on courses and the appropriateness of the course for transfer.
- MYTH
- I have an Associates in Applied Science degree from a community or technical college or a proprietary school. All of the credits that I earned, because I have a degree, will transfer to a four-year college or to a university.
- FACT
- Credits for courses which are purely technical in nature may or may not transfer. The likelihood that credits will transfer is higher if the majority of the courses the student took were part of the core curriculum and were taken at a regionally accredited college or university. Check with the admissions office or the advising or counseling office to find out if the new college or university has a special agreement (called an "articulation agreement") to accept all of the credits from the sending community or technical college or proprietary school for students who have completed an Associates in Applied Science degree.
- MYTH
- Credits for developmental courses (sometimes called "remedial" courses) transfer just like credits for general academic courses.
- FACT
- Because developmental courses cannot be used to fulfill the requirements of a degree program, most colleges will not accept these credits -- even as elective credits.
