Transfer Services

When you transfer, the GPA from your original institution isn't carried over to the new one. Courses that you’ve completed generally transfer if you have a grade of ‘C’ or higher in the course, and it’s consistent with courses offered at your new school. The credits for that course transfer, but not the grade.

Your GPA will essentially get wiped clean, and your new GPA will be determined by your level of success in your new classes at the new institution. 

The answer is NO and YES.

NO – A student may always apply to another college/university for admission but if that student has too few completed college credits, then their application will not be given the same consideration as is given to a TRUE transfer applicant. The applicant will be considered with all the other freshman applicants and at that competitive level, high school grades and SAT scores strongly affect the answer. If the student is accepted to another college and has earned college credit, those completed colleges credits will be evaluated by the receiving college/university for transferability.

YES – A TRUE transfer applicant does need to have a minimum number of completed college credits at the time an application is filed. The number of completed credits will vary from as few as 12 to as many as 60 credits. Applying for admission under transfer status affords the student certain additional considerations not offered to freshman applicants. If earning a degree is not your goal, you should plan to attend long enough to complete at least 30 college credits before you apply to transfer. This does not include basic skills coursework. Most four-year colleges will waive the SAT requirements for transfer students who have earned more than 30 college credits. And some (though not all) will not require high school transcripts either. The admission decision will be on your college work alone.

You can transfer without an Associate’s Degree, but colleges and universities prefer applicants who have earned a degree. Colleges want to admit students who show the potential to succeed and to graduate.

Not only will you save money by completing two years at Bristol before you transfer, but many scholarships are only available to students who have an Associate’s Degree.

Please do not wait until you graduate from Bristol to apply to the 4-year institution.

Yes, you can transfer in the Spring semester. Many Bristol students complete their associate degree in December and transfer in January. The turn-around time is short, so you will need to apply to the 4-year institution in late September/early October for January admission.

Fall Admission: apply in late January/early February in your last semester at Bristol.

Spring Admission: apply in late September/early October in your last semester at Bristol.

Yes! Some colleges offer guaranteed housing for transfer students, while other colleges have limited housing. Reach out early!

There is no magic number, but ideally a 2.5 GPA is a place to start. However, some colleges/universities will accept a 2.0 GPA. Do your research!

• Common App help for transfer students.
• Transfer applicant tutorials.
• The Common App for transfer Help Center.

• The average number of credits that students transferred was 57.
• The average transfer student GPA was 3.21.
• 58% of our transfer students graduated prior to transfer.
• Students transferred to 109 different transfer institutions.

• 25% transferred to Bridgewater State University.
• 25% transferred to UMass Dartmouth.
• Other transfer institutions include:
  • Rhode Island College.
  • UMass Amherst.
  • Southern New Hampshire University.
  • New England Institute of Technology.
  • Laboure College.
  • UMass Boston.
  • UMass Lowell.

...and more!