Do Commmunity College GPA's Transfer?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the transferability of community college GPAs to four-year universities, including the implications for students planning to apply to graduate or medical schools. Participants explore various institutional policies and personal experiences related to GPA and credit transfer.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that the acceptance of community college credits by four-year universities is common, but the GPA typically does not transfer with those credits.
  • Others argue that while credits may transfer, the grades associated with those credits are usually not included in the GPA calculation at the new institution.
  • A few participants express concern about how community college grades might affect applications to medical schools, noting that all transcripts must be submitted.
  • There is a discussion about the perceived value of GPAs from different institutions, with some questioning whether a higher GPA from a community college could be viewed as less favorable compared to a lower GPA from a four-year university.
  • Some participants highlight that different schools may have varying grading standards, which could influence how admissions committees evaluate transcripts from multiple institutions.
  • One participant notes that while transfer students may start with the same number of credits, their GPAs from previous institutions are generally not carried over.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that community college GPAs do not transfer to four-year universities, but there is disagreement about the implications of this for graduate school applications and the evaluation of transcripts by admissions committees.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include the variability in policies among different institutions regarding GPA transfer and the lack of consensus on how admissions committees weigh grades from different schools.

Razael
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I should note that I'm not expecting to transfer into any prestigious top schools. I'm thinking 3rd and 4th year classes will kill my GPA without general studies padding.
 
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It depends almost entirely on the institution your transferring to's willingness to accept them, but in most cases yes, they will transfer.
 
No, your GPA from a community college usually doesn't transfer to a 4 year university.
 
Probably best to talk to your school. Looks like you are going to get a lot of conflicting answers.

When I transferred any credits they accepted (which was almost all of them) took my gpa along with them.

I don't know how other schools work, but I think it would be odd if a school accepted your transfer credits but no grades/gpa's with them.
 
Sorry, I obviously misread the post.

I meant the credits will most likely transfer, not the GPA. I've never heard of a GPA transferring between any institutions.
 
fss said:
I've never heard of a GPA transferring between any institutions.

Ditto. When we accept a course for transfer credit, we do not include the grade in the GPA that we calculate.
 
I took a few courses at a CC and the credit, but not the grade, transfered.
 
I have a feeling this won't look good on a medical school application...
 
Razael said:
I have a feeling this won't look good on a medical school application...

Not sure I follow what you mean. When you apply to med school, you have to submit transcripts from all colleges you've attended, not just the one that granted your bachelor's degree. So they'll see your community college grades.
 
  • #10
I'm basing it off the fact that 3rd and 4th year classes are harder and thus my university GPA won't be as good as those who took their general studies at the university. I may be mistaken but doesn't a, say, 3.8 university GPA sound better than a 3.9 CC GPA and a ~3.5 university GPA?
 
  • #11
Razael said:
I'm basing it off the fact that 3rd and 4th year classes are harder and thus my university GPA won't be as good as those who took their general studies at the university. I may be mistaken but doesn't a, say, 3.8 university GPA sound better than a 3.9 CC GPA and a ~3.5 university GPA?

Not really sure what you expect people to tell you. If you're worried about your 3rd/4th year classes being "harder" as in "more difficult", maybe you should prepare yourself to work a bit harder to compensate. Plus, the assumption that you will have a lower GPA in your 3rd/4th year studies compared to students who spend all 4 years at the university seems a bit unfounded, at least to me.
 
  • #12
jtbell said:
Ditto. When we accept a course for transfer credit, we do not include the grade in the GPA that we calculate.

Do they factor in any of the grades people received in those transfer credits?

Say we have two transfer students; one has all c-'s and one has all a's. Do both start at the new university with the same credits and gpa? Maybe it's because my school takes the gpa and it seems so weird to me most transfer schools don't.
 
  • #13
Different schools can have different overall grading levels (i.e. different amounts of "grade inflation"). That's why most schools don't include grades from other schools when calculating their own GPA.

When you apply to grad school or medical school or whatever, you're supposed to supply grade transcripts from each school that you've attended. The admissions committee can then see all your grades and evaluate them as they see fit. They're surely well aware that different schools sometimes give significantly different levels of grades and can take that into account if necessary.
 
  • #14
Razael said:
I'm basing it off the fact that 3rd and 4th year classes are harder and thus my university GPA won't be as good as those who took their general studies at the university. I may be mistaken but doesn't a, say, 3.8 university GPA sound better than a 3.9 CC GPA and a ~3.5 university GPA?

I'm pretty sure admissions boards are smart enough to check exactly which types of classes you were getting A's and B's in, and which types of classes you're getting C's in. A C in an anatomy class would be better for medical school than a B in english 101. If people could just pad out their GPA with easy classes, don't you think they would?
 
  • #15
erok81 said:
Do they factor in any of the grades people received in those transfer credits?

Say we have two transfer students; one has all c-'s and one has all a's. Do both start at the new university with the same credits and gpa? Maybe it's because my school takes the gpa and it seems so weird to me most transfer schools don't.

They will start with the same number of credits, if they earned the same number of credits. But for both, the GPA from the old school is wiped away and they start clean at the new school.

I'll add the same caveat most others in this thread have added: this is true for all the schools I know of; there may be an outlier school somewhere that carries the GPA over from the transfer school.
 

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