How To Change Colleges After 1 year Or Even A Semester
Are you finding the cost of the college you are attending too high? Are classes and campus too big? Taking online classes and want to save money by living at home? Your first choice college may not be what you stick with, and that’s okay. You can make an easy transition and finish your first two years at a community college with an Associate of Arts Degree and still transfer to finish your 4-year degree.
Electives vs General Education classes
When transferring to Marshalltown Community College or Ellsworth Community College you can apply the courses you have already taken for credit towards your AA degree. They will transfer in as either electives or general education courses. The first two years at a 4-year university are when you will take most of your general education classes and these are the same at a 2-year or a 4-year college.
Students in their first year of college will usually take a writing class, a math class, and a social/behavioral science class such as psychology or sociology.
For your AA degree, you will need 21 elective credit hours. The classes that would fall under this category are usually more program specific or provide an opportunity to explore different areas.
Tools to help you finish your degree
Transfer Plan: If you plan to transfer back to a 4-year university after finishing your AA degree consider using the transfer plan. This is a great way to plan out what courses you not only want to take at MCC or ECC but also what courses you will take once you have transferred to Iowa State University, University of Iowa, or the University of Northern Iowa.
Most 4-year colleges and universities offer similar tools. You can work with your MCC or ECC admissions counselor to contact the school you will be transferring to.
Partnership Program: Sign up to be in if you think you are transferring to one of the Iowa regent schools. You will then be connected to an advisor from this college while you are attending MCC or ECC. Advisors at both colleges will then help to make sure you are on track to get the degree you are working towards.
There are even more great benefits that may include such things as free transcript exchange, using the college’s fitness center, and guaranteed admission if you meet all requirements. These are just a few and they are different for each college. ISU, U of I, and UNI all offer these partnership programs with community colleges.
If you aren’t enjoying your college experience, know that you can make a change and transfer to another college. Contact MCC and ECC admissions to help the transition easier and for assistance in signing up for the classes you need.
