OT Question about credits transferring to U of M.

Submitted by billybrown on
I'm sorry if this is too OT but I don't create threads often. My wife is starting at Ball State in the Fall and plans to get a degree in social work. Would there be an issue with Ball State credits transferring to Michigan for grad school? Her goal is to get her master's from Michigan but I Know the university can be selective about what credits transfer. Any help is appreciated.

Alumnus93

May 10th, 2018 at 8:16 PM ^

If they are transferable, I can tell you they will literally count the class hours to determine the credits given, and they will round Down. they did this to me when I took a summer courses at UCLA btw my frosh and soph years. AT UCLA they were 7 credits, and here they were only 3.

MGoBender

May 10th, 2018 at 8:16 PM ^

Wait, your wife is starting a grad. program in the fall and intends to transfer into another grad program at UM?

I would think that is a sticky situation.  Maybe a couple cognate classes or pre-reqs to the UM grad program transfer, but my guess would be that the core courses of any UM grad program are expected to be taken at UM.

coldnjl

May 10th, 2018 at 8:24 PM ^

In 2004, I transferred in from community college and all my credits transferred. As long as they are basic classes and not too specialized, I think they will transfer.

 

ST3

May 10th, 2018 at 11:53 PM ^

I needed 1 credit in my 2nd semester, senior year, to graduate from UofM because in the first semester that year they decided the 11 credits I transferred from MSU* were worth 6 credits at UofM instead of the 7 credits they gave me my freshman year at UofM (trimester going to semester explains the 11->7.) Three years after the fact, they reevaluated MSU's syllabus and found it lacking some core concept and docked me a credit. So I took a 1 credit intro to geology class to graduate and 3 400-level EECS courses. I was able to apply all 9 of those credits towards my Masters degree because I didn't use them to meet the undergraduate requirements. It may be possible to do the same with the Ball State credits as long as they are upper level and not used to meet the BSU undergrad requirements.
I would recommend trying to get things in writing and talk to a counselor, but even then they can change their mind 3 years later and there's not much you can do about it.

*I took 3 courses at MSU while I was a high school senior. Getting an A+ in 300 level Differential Equations at MSU while I was still in high school left me less than impressed with MSU's student body.
#humblebrag #MSUsucks

Brodie

May 11th, 2018 at 1:04 AM ^

My read on it is that he doesn't understand how grad school works... you don't transfer any credits, you just apply again like you did in undergrad. It's essentially exactly the same thing as starting college for the first time, just instead of high school transcripts and SATs you send college transcripts and the GRE

Skiptoomylou22

May 10th, 2018 at 8:46 PM ^

There are transfer sites that tell you what classes transfer and their credit equivalency if they do. When I transfered from CC to University, I was able to create my schedule specifically knowing which classes would carry over, and which did not, so I was able to plan accordingly with the school I wanted to transfer into. Try one of these

http://www.ugadmiss.umich.edu/tce/public/ct_tcesearch.aspx

https://www.michigantransfernetwork.org/

 

jblaze

May 10th, 2018 at 8:50 PM ^

Call the school at Michigan that your wife wants to eventually get a masters from and ask them about admission requirements and transfer credits.

I’d be surprised if they took any/ more than very few transfer credits for a Masters program.

UMgradMSUdad

May 10th, 2018 at 9:02 PM ^

This is the best advice. An advisor in the program your wife wants to transfer into will be able to answer.  The liklihood is that if any credits are transferrable they would be electives, limited to a course or two, and even then would most likely be dependent on someone at Michigan going over the syllabus and course description to make sure they are comparable to something Michigan offers. 

UNCWolverine

May 10th, 2018 at 8:59 PM ^

Not grad school, but I transferred in for undergrad and lost a ton of Credits. I'm guessing it will be the same. Grad school seems even more specific so I'm willing to bet it won't be good news.

Doctor Wolverine

May 10th, 2018 at 9:02 PM ^

If I understand correctly, she is getting her undergrad degree at Ball State, and then applying to Michigan for a grad program. Is that right? If that’s the case, then she wouldn’t technically be transferring any credits, so as long as she gets accepted into the grad program, she is fine.
As an aside, I took physics 1 and 2 at WMU in the summer one year and had no problem transferring the credits to UofM.

robpollard

May 10th, 2018 at 9:13 PM ^

Transfer is only important when you haven't completed a degree (e.g., a Bachelor's) at one school and want to take your credits from one school (e.g., Washtenaw Community College) to another (e.g., U of M) so you don't have to re-take classes.



My advice: talk to a counselor at BOTH schools, write down everything they tell you, and then if you can, talk to a couple other counselors to make sure what they told you is correct. There are horror stories of people who were told something and then when they went to put it into practice, credit were lost, etc.



Good luck!

arrogantblue

May 10th, 2018 at 9:43 PM ^

First off, awesome! Second, don't trust anyone with your credits. Sometimes even the overarching school and departments get their sh*t mixed up. If she is taking graduate courses as undergrad, personally I wouldn't bother unless it is an elective she wants to pursue. I took grad classes as an undergrad and got my masters in the same field...didnt transfer credits...probably cause I'm lazy or just sucked at the class.

Anyways...my opinion is, reference my statement above, that minimal credit hrs transfer as a grad student and I am talking about 6. So unless she wants to wade through the BS with credit transfers it may not be that beneficial.

Cross reference all details and requirements with the grad school and department she is applying to.

BTB grad

May 11th, 2018 at 6:45 AM ^

If she's doing undergrad at Ball State and then trying to pursue a master's at U-M, she wouldn't need to "transfer" her credits... She'd have a degree and transcript which she'd use to apply to the grad school