Transfer Center
Do You Know?
Debunking Transfer Myths
Myth 1: Students cannot transfer to a university that Mesa does not have an agreement with.
NO: A student can transfer to any university. An agreement does not have to be in place.
Myth 2: Online courses do not transfer
DEPENDS: California public universities such as UC and CSU do not limit the type of delivery of the course, therefore, online courses will transfer. Private universities can limit transferability of online courses. Currently, USC will not accept online courses for foreign languages and science labs as meeting their general education requirements. Courses will still transfer. USD will not accept any online courses, however, it is not notated on our transcripts. If you are concerned, contact the university you wish to attend prior to enrolling in an online course.
Myth 3: You cannot go over 70 units if you want to transfer
NO: Some universities limit the number of units that can transfer. California public universities state that only 70 units from community colleges will be applied to the Bachelor’s degree. This means that students can exceed 70 units, but only 70 will transfer. In this case, 70 is referring to 70 TRANSFERABLE units. Please note that it is not the first or last 70 units, they assign 70 and then go through to see if you have met course requirements. However, all transfer units will apply to the GPA. For universities which restrict senior status students (90 units or more) from applying, they are looking at 4-year university units in addition to the community college units, so if a student has 20 units from a 4-year university and has taken more than 70 units here, they are restricted from applying.
Myth 4: Once you transfer to a 4-year university, you start all over again and you will be there for 4 years.
NO: The benefit of attending Mesa College is that you generally complete your freshman and sophomore years prior to transfer at a lower cost. Once you transfer, you will be focusing on completing your upper-division junior and senior level coursework towards your bachelor’s degree
Myth 5: If a student did poorly at a certain college, he/she can disregard that college and start over.
NO: You must report all colleges attended even if you did not finish or did poorly. If you did not indicate that you did attend a college and it was found out later, you are guilty of fraud and your admission or degree could be rescinded.
Myth 6: Records that are more than 10 years old are no longer valid.
NO: Records from any regionally accredited institution are valid, regardless of the length of time since taking the courses; however some majors may require recency of at least five years for certain courses (e.g. sciences).
Myth 7: If I repeat an equivalent course at a different college, the grade will be replaced.
DEPENDS: It depends on the policy of the college you originally took the courses at. For example, if you took a course elsewhere and then came to Mesa College to take the same course, the original college would make the decision to replace the grade or not. There are some institutions that are very strict with this rule and state that only the same course taken at the same institution will be used to replace the grade.
Myth 8: When I transfer, only my units will transfer, not my grades, therefore, I will start with a clean slate.
DEPENDS: Each university has its own policy on how courses will be accepted. Some universities accept only the units, while others accept both units and grades.
Myth 9: It is better to pass a class with a “C” than to receive a “D” or “F”.
DEPENDS: If the student is pursuing a major or career that requires that course and builds on it, then it might be in his/her best interest to receive the lower grade and repeat the course, rather than getting a "mercy C." Also, C's drag down the GPA.
Myth 10: The only way to overcome a low GPA is to take as many units as possible and pass.
NO: One of the mistakes we frequently see is students trying to take too many units in order to improve the GPA. The number of units taken is related to the GPA, but the best way to determine whether it is going to work for you is to understand how to calculate your GPA. You will understand that simply passing a course will not raise your GPA. GPA calculation sheets are available in the Counseling Department (I430) or in the Transfer Center (I3-202). Additionally, students can repeat a course in which they received a “D” or lower or consider an academic renewal petition. For more information, please see a counselor in the Counseling Department.
Myth 11: UCLA will only accept Honors courses for transfer
NO: UCLA will accept any UC transferable course for transfer. These courses do not have to be honors courses. HOWEVER, if a student takes 15 units of honors courses and has a minimum 3.25 transferable GPA, they are eligible to participate in the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), which will give students consideration for priority admission. Students can go to the Honors Program Office for information on this program. Please note that this is not a guaranteed admission program.
Myth 12: UCLA will not accept courses taken in the summer for transfer
NO: UCLA will accept courses that are UC transferable regardless of the semester taken. The best way to determine whether a course is transferable is to look in www.assist.org, select San Diego Mesa College, and go to the bottom where it says, UC Transferable Courses. If you are applying for the Fall semester, all requirements must be completed by the end of the spring semester and you may not use any summer courses to meet the admission requirements.
Myth 13: Students cannot transfer to SDSU without the transfer guarantee contract (TSDA)
DEPENDS: In the Spring admission cycle, SDSU has traditionally limited applications to students with contracts with the exception of the Nursing major. There have been years where they have opened it up to students without contracts, but the determination for each Spring is made in June of the prior year. The Fall admission cycle is open to students with and without contracts.
Myth 14: Students cannot transfer to UCSD without the transfer guarantee contract (TAG)
DEPENDS: A student will need to have the Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) agreement to transfer in the Winter or Spring quarters. For the Fall quarter, students can apply with TAG or with other general education patterns such as the 7 course pattern, UC eligibility and IGETC. Students applying with the other patterns are not guaranteed admission. Note that TAG guarantees admission into the university and college of your choice, not the major.
Myth 15: You must be a Biology major to be pre-health sciences (Pre-med, pre-dental, pre-PT)
NO: As long as you complete the core Pre-health requirements, you can select any major. The core requirements are in place to prepare you to take the standardized exams for the fields you wish to enter and may include Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Calculus and Physics. Please check with the counseling department for details on the courses.
Myth 16: If a student is unable to obtain a transcript from previous college(s), a student can disregard the school.
NO: You must report all colleges attended. If you did not indicate that you did attend a college and it was found out later, you are guilty of fraud and your admission or degree could be rescinded.
Myth 17: The community college GPA won’t affect future admission to graduate school.
NO: Graduate schools will look at all courses attempted if GPA is part of their admission criteria. Even though the community college is not where you received your degree, the courses will still count towards overall GPA.
Myth 18: Management Science at UCSD is just like a Business Administration major.
NO: Management Science builds on a set of related quantitative methods commonly used to solve problems arising in the private (business and finance) and public (government) sectors. While students will gain some familiarity with the traditional functional fields of business management, this program is more tightly focused and more quantitative than a traditional business administration major.
Myth 19: Transfer students at SDSU can’t get the required classes and will not be able to graduate in two years after transfer.
NO: Transfer students to SDSU complete their degree in a timely manner comparable to the native SDSU students.
Myth 20: If a university does not enforce a prerequisite for a course, then Mesa College should not require a student to take the prerequisite.
NO: Each college/university sets its own curriculum. If Mesa requires a prerequisite, it has been determined that the prerequisite course is a necessity for a student to succeed in the following course. The prerequisite cannot be waived based on university criteria.