Transfer Tips

How Do You Transfer?

• Plan Ahead
• Get Admitted
• Attend the Transfer Reception
• AttendAdmitted Students Day
• RSVP for the mandatory Orientation Program

Before you transfer, Plan Ahead. Once you've decided that Mount St. Mary's College is where you want to be:

1. Ask for the program information from the Office of Admission
2. Check out the requirements for the program in our Viewbook or program brochure. Check it out online!
3. Visit the Articulation Agreements section and find the equivalent courses at your institution to map your program. For specific questions, contact the Office of Admission.
4. When applying, make sure and request transcripts early.

   NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SENT FROM YOUR INSTITUTION DIRECTLY TO MOUNT ST. MARY'S COLLEGE IN ORDER FOR EXTERNAL UNITS TO BE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

Get Admitted

1. Make sure all of your documents are received by the Office of Admission.
2. Check the status of your application using WebAdvisor. You will need a username and password to use this system

Attend the Transfer Reception

1. Look for an invitation in the mail to our special program just for Transfer Students
2. You'll meet current students, faculty, staff and other students who are transferring to The Mount.
3. You'll come away feeling inspired and ready to continue your dream!

April is the month for our Admitted Students Days

1. Once you're admitted, you'll be invited to attend Admitted Students Day.
2. Here you will enjoy the luxury of being finished with your application, being accepted and mingling with your future classmates. There are special receptions for each entering class.
3. You'll see some familiar faces and hopefully meet new ones.

July is Orientation Time

1. Finalize your journey by attending the Transfer Orientation in July.
2. Come prepared to ask any other questions of other offices like The Office of Student Financing, Business Office, Registar and Residence Life.
3. There's lots of fun involved during your time here on campus to help you transition to The Mount.
4. Get ready for classes in August!

Transfer Terms & Definitions

Academic program

• A program of study, usually involving theoretical knowledge and research, and usually leading to a diploma, certificate, associate degree or bachelor's degree.

Admission

• Being allowed into an institution, faculty or program once the entrance requirements are met. Some admission is limited by spaces available, and by selection criteria.

Application

• The formal way of notifying a post-secondary institution that you want to be a student there.

Applied Degree

• A degree in an applied subject such as accounting, interior design or forest technology.

Articulation

• The system used by post-secondary institutions to determine which courses are equivalent to one another.

Audit

• Taking a course for interest, and not for credit. Auditing students usually don't do assignments or exams, and don't get a grade.

Basis of Admission

• The evidence, primarily academic, on which your admission decision is based, e.g., high school record, college credits and GPA, etc.

Career/technical

• An applied program of study involving theoretical and practical knowledge, usually leading directly to a certificate or diploma in a specific career path.

Certificate

• Recognition of successful completion of a program of study, of varying lengths, often one year.

Chair

• The head of a program or department. "Coordinator" is sometimes used synonymously with "Chair."

College, or Community College

• An institution offering programs in a wide range of educational choices: career/technical, vocational, upgrading, academic/transfer, ESL, etc.

Concentration

• A program of study with a required number of courses in a specific discipline. Similar to a Major or Minor, but with fewer requirements.

Co-op

• The system of having paid work placements, usually four to eight months, as a component of a program of study.

Course outline

• A description of the main content, organization and expected outcomes of a course, normally including the number of credits awarded, hours of class time, how it's evaluated, assignments, and texts (also called a syllabus).

Credit

• The value given to a course. May be related to the number of hours of instruction. The majority of academic courses are worth three credits. Many degrees require 120 credits.

Dean

• Chair of a Faculty. For example, the Dean of Science is the Chair of the Science Department.

Degree

• Recognition of successful completion of a program of studies (usually about 40 courses, or 120 credits, or 60 units), often with a specific Major, Minor or Concentration.

Department

• Faculty and administrators associated with a particular discipline or program (e.g. the Sociology Department).

Diploma

• Recognition of successful completion of a program of study, usually two years in length. Post-degree diplomas are often one year in length.

Exemption

• The waiving of a prerequisite or required course for students who have proven they have comparable learning. The student may be required to replace the exempted course with an alternate.

Faculty

• The teachers at a post-secondary institution. Also a grouping of departments and programs in a similar area (e.g., Faculty of Arts).

GPA or Grade Point Average

• The average overall grade for all courses taken for credit in a particular semester, year or institution. A cumulative GPA (CGPA) is the average of all grades for courses taken to date at one institution.

Lower division (or lower level)

• General introductory courses, usually making up the first two years of a bachelor's degree.

Major

• A program of study in a degree where about 25-50% of the courses are in a single discipline (e.g. Philosophy, History).

Minor

• A program of study requiring fewer courses than a major.

Non-credit course

• A course taken for learning value. A grade may be assigned, but the course is not usually applicable to a credential.

Prerequisite

• A course you must take before you can take a more advanced course in the discipline.

Program plan

• Your informal checklist of the requirements for a program, and how many of those requirements you have satisfied with your various courses (including transferred courses).

Receiving Institution

• The institution to which you are transferring.

Registration

• The process of enroling in individual courses after completion of all required admission procedures.

Requirement

• A course you must take in order to complete a credential.

Residency

• The number of courses or credits (or percentage of the program) you must complete at an institution to graduate from that institution.

Sending Institution

• The institution from which you are transferring.

Student Handbook

• The book of rules, regulations, policies, programs (and requirements), and courses for a particular post-secondary institution. This is not a monthly planning guide!

Syllabus

• See Course Outline.

Transcript

• An official transcript is the original record verifying your enrollment and achievement, and certified (e.g., by signature and/or seal) by the institution. It is normally sent directly, by mail or electronically, on your request.
• TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SENT FROM YOUR INSTITUTION DIRECTLY TO MOUNT ST. MARY'S COLLEGE IN ORDER FOR EXTERNAL UNITS TO BE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL

Transfer

• Consists of the granting of credit (transfer credit) toward a credential by one institution, for programs or courses completed at another.

Upper division (or upper level)

• Less general, more focused courses, usually making up most of the final two years of a bachelor's degree.