How to Compare jmcomicÂţ»s When You Already Have College Credits but No Degree
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Degree Policies Evaluation Finalizing Example Conclusion
Key Takeaways
- Know what to look for in comparable degree programs and determine which of your credits will apply.
- Learn about the policies that dictate where your credits will go, like transfer caps, residency, course age limits, prior learning policies, and appeals processes.
- Request official evaluations to see what courses remain at each school and get estimates for time and cost to completion.
If you already have credits, the school you choose can change how much of that work applies to your degree. Transfer credits are unique in that institutions often interpret the same coursework differently. Some colleges may deny your credits or only apply them as electives instead of replacing classes you still need.
College students who attempt to transfer credits often end up losing some amount of credit in the process. According to Public Agenda’s 2025 Beyond Transfer survey, 58% of adults who tried to transfer credits said they lost some credit. Twenty-four percent said only some or none of their credits transferred to their new school, while 20% reported having to retake a class because their credits wouldn’t transfer [1].
But even if your credits remain intact, the school’s advertised transfer number doesn’t indicate where your credits go within your degree. To know for sure, you’ll want to compare the degree itself, find out how your credits fit into the program, and request a formal evaluation that lists your remaining requirements. With that information, you can better determine the time and cost to finish at each school.
Start With the Degree Program You Want to Finish
Select which degree you're planning to complete prior to beginning comparisons. Universities don’t evaluate transfer credits collectively. They make evaluations based on your intended degree. Changing your major may alter how they view your classes. If you're looking at more than one degree, do this comparison for each degree independently.
Select Comparable Degree Programs
Look for programs that offer the degree you want to complete. Programs with similar names can vary in graduation requirements such as upper-division minimums and elective courses.
Review each program's:
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Degree type and major or area of concentration
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Total credits and general education requirements
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Upper-division courses and major required courses
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Elective credits
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Capstone course, internship or practicum, or other unique experiences
Room for electives is important if you've already earned credits. A program with more room for electives has more flexibility to use coursework that doesn’t match a major requirement, while a more structured program leaves fewer places for those credits to count.
Separate Which Credits Will Be Accepted From Which Credits Apply
Not all accepted transfer courses will count toward your degree. Some may only apply as elective credit, while others may undergo further review to determine equivalency.
A 2025 study of 796 students who transferred from a two-year college to a four-year college found that a college can accept credits without applying them to specific degree requirements. This can leave students having to complete more coursework than the total number of credits they transferred [2].
Ask each college the following:
- Will my college accept this course?
- If so, what will the course equivalency be?
- Which requirement will it satisfy for my degree or major?
Out of these questions, the last answer will give you the best idea of where that credit fits into your degree plan. A course may only transfer over as an elective, which means your required class may remain on your degree plan even if you’ve already completed a class that could transfer.
Compare Transfer Policies That Affect Completed Credits
Transfer credit isn’t only about courses you’ve previously taken. Colleges have policies regarding transfer limits, residency requirements, the age of courses, prior learning credit, and appeal processes. Read about these policies beforehand to learn what previous coursework will transfer.
Prior learning policies vary greatly. The American Council on Education (ACE) and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) conducted a national study that discovered considerable variation among states and systems [3].
We selected Colorado State University, University of Maryland Global Campus, Arizona State University, and Empire State University as examples of institutions with accessible policies. These schools were chosen because they have concise, publicly available policies on transfer credit and evaluation of previous coursework. Their inclusion is independent of any partner relationship with OnlineU.
Credit Caps by Source
Credits may come from a variety of sources like other colleges, exams, professional experience, and certifications. Your school’s transfer policy may place caps on where your credits can come from. For example, they may allow more credits to transfer from four-year schools than two-year schools.
At the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC), bachelor’s students can transfer up to 70 credits from an approved two-year college and up to 90 credits from an approved four-year college or other combined sources [4].
Residency, Upper-Division, and Major Requirements
Keep in mind that a generous transfer policy won’t override the school’s graduation requirements. Most colleges will require you to complete a certain number of credits through that school. Some schools also have minimums for upper-division or major-specific courses. Here, “residency” refers to where you take the classes versus where you live.
Arizona State University (ASU) requires bachelor’s degree students to complete at least 120 total credits, of which at least 45 must be upper-division. At least 30 credits must be completed at ASU [5]. Empire State University has a similar residency requirement for their transfer students. Students must complete at least 30 credits in residence, and assessed prior learning won’t apply to that 30-credit minimum [6].
For every program you’re interested in, make a note of:
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How many credits you must take through the college
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How many upper-division credits the degree requires
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Whether the major has its own residency or credit minimums
Course Age Limit, Accepted Grades, and Equivalency Policies
A course may transfer to your degree without replacing a required class. Some schools take into account when you took the course, the grade you received, and if the curriculum is still relevant to what the school teaches today.
Colorado State University (CSU) will accept undergraduate-level courses with a grade of C- or higher. Courses older than 10 years will be reviewed further before CSU determines whether the course applies to the student's degree requirements [7]. UMGC requires a minimum grade of C to accept undergraduate transfer credit [4].
Prior Learning and Related Credit Policies
Some colleges will consider learning that happened outside a traditional classroom, including work experience, military training, certifications, exams, or professional development. Schools also differ in where they allow prior-learning credit to count and what they charge to evaluate it.
Empire State University grants individualized Credit for Prior Learning (iCPL) for college-level learning acquired outside of the classroom. Once your request has been approved, undergraduate students pay a $700 iCPL fee [6]. That learning may apply toward your degree, but not the university’s residency requirement.
Make sure to check how the school accepts previous certificates or credentials you may already have. Certificates at Empire State University can be applied to associate’s or bachelor’s degree plans [8].
Focus on:
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Which types of prior learning the college evaluates
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Where that credit counts in the degree
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Any caps or assessment fees
Appeals and Re-Evaluation
Transfer decisions aren't always final. If a college denies transfer credit or places a course differently than you expected, you can ask for another review. The process varies by school, so it helps to know what can be appealed and what documentation you’ll need.
ASU gives students the option to appeal a transfer credit decision if they feel the decision was unfair [9]. CSU also allows you to appeal both whether your course transfers or how the course will be applied to your degree. The school may request additional materials such as a syllabus or expanded course description prior to their final decision [7].
After reviewing the policies at each school on your list, put the details side by side. These are the main points to record for each program:
Confirm the Results With a Formal Degree Audit or Equivalent
Transfer tools can suggest how your credits might transfer, but those results aren't official. Before you make a final decision, get a formal evaluation for the programs you’re considering so you know for sure how the school has applied your previous coursework.
What the Evaluation Should Show
A comprehensive evaluation should show more than the total number of credits accepted. Look for the degree, major, concentration, and catalog year used for the review, along with where the school placed each credit. It should also identify credits that came in only as electives, courses waiting for department review, and any requirements you have left.
At UMGC, the Academic Advisement Report lists completed and remaining degree requirements after admission and receipt of official documents [10]. ASU follows a similar pattern: students use the Transfer Guide for planning, while the Degree Audit Reporting System (DARS) becomes the official record of how their coursework counts toward the degree after admission [5][9].
Both of these formal evaluations are available only after admission. Schools may offer other types of transfer reviews under different names, so check whether the result is a planning estimate or an official degree audit. You may need to reach out to an admissions advisor at the schools you’re considering to ask whether a pre-admission review is available.
Know What a Planning Tool Tells You
Planning tools can help you see how your coursework could transfer before you apply. They're great for sifting through your options, but the outcomes aren't set in stone.
CSU uses Transferology to show prospective students how previous courses could transfer and fit across programs. CSU also offers a Tentative Transfer Evaluation (TTE) for prospective transfer students or second-bachelor’s students, as long as their previous colleges are outside Colorado and their schools aren't covered by Transferology [11]. Despite the name, the TTE is a preliminary estimate, not an official degree audit.
For more on the difference between preliminary and official evaluations, see How to Finish Your Bachelor’s Degree Online if You Have Some College Credit.
Estimate Your Remaining Time and Cost
Your degree audit or evaluation details how many credits you have left in your program. Refer to that program-specific information instead of the school’s overall transfer credit total when comparing time and cost.
Start With the Remaining-Credit Total
Review your evaluation and note any courses that are pending approval or that you may need to repeat or substitute. Also verify whether residency and upper-division requirements are already reflected in your remaining-credit total or listed separately.
Work Out Your Timeline
The number of credits you have left won’t give you an exact number of terms to finish. Consider your course load as well as prerequisites, courses only offered during certain seasons, and required capstones, internships, or practica.
Use this formula: Divide your remaining credits by the number of credits you can realistically take each term.
Then adjust for course sequencing. Two students with the same number of remaining credits could take different amounts of time to complete their degrees.
Estimate Your Cost
Now that you know how much coursework you have left to complete, you can build a rough estimate of how much it'll cost by using the school’s current tuition and fee schedule. Note whether the listed rate changes depending on course level or program. Some schools charge higher tuition rates for upper-division courses, graduate courses, or specialized classes.
Use this formula: If tuition is charged by the credit, multiply your remaining credits by the current per-credit rate, then add any required fees that aren't included in tuition.
Keep a note of the rate you used and when you checked it. Treat the result as an estimate, since tuition and fees may change before you graduate.
Example: A Higher Transfer Cap Can Cost More
A higher transfer maximum or lower tuition rate might not leave you with the lowest overall cost. Instead, look at how many of your credits actually count toward the degree and how much coursework remains.
School A advertises the higher transfer maximum and charges less per credit, but School B comes out cheaper in this example because more of the student’s previous coursework counts toward the degree. The student also has fewer credits left to take at School B, although course scheduling and other requirements could affect the timeline.
Final Thoughts
If you're coming in with college credit, the best program may not be the one with the highest transfer cap or lowest tuition rate. Consider how your credits will apply to the degree, what coursework you'll still be required to take, and how long it might take you to graduate. After you gather that information from each school, you can get a better estimate of time and cost and make your decision based on the work you have remaining.
Research Notes
This article draws on the following sources:
[1] Public Agenda, “” (February 2025). This national survey provides the article’s statistics on credit loss and repeated coursework among adults who attempted to transfer college credits. Respondents were recruited through opt-in, non-probability online panels, and the data were weighted to represent the U.S. adult population. Margins of error are larger for subgroup findings.
[2] Logue et al., “” (2025). This study tracked a targeted sample of 796 students who transferred from Bronx or Hostos Community College to Lehman College. It supports the distinction between credits accepted by a college and credits that apply to a specific degree.
[3] American Council on Education and Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, “” (December 2024). This national review shows how credit-for-prior-learning policies vary across states and systems.
[4] University of Maryland Global Campus, “” (accessed September 7, 2026). This policy supports the examples of source-specific transfer caps and UMGC’s minimum grade for undergraduate transfer credit.
[5] Arizona State University, “” (accessed September 7, 2026). This page supports ASU’s residency and upper-division requirements and explains its Degree Audit Reporting System.
[6] Empire State University, “” and “” (accessed September 7, 2026). These pages support the examples of residency, assessed prior learning, and the current iCPL fee.
[7] Colorado State University, “,” 2026–2027 General Catalog (accessed September 7, 2026). This policy supports the examples of minimum grades, older coursework, transfer applicability, Transferology, and appeals.
[8] Empire State University, “,” 2026–2027 Undergraduate Catalog (accessed September 7, 2026). This page supports the example of certificates being included within associate or bachelor’s degree plans.
[9] Arizona State University, “” (accessed September 7, 2026). This page supports the examples of ASU’s Transfer Guide and transfer-credit appeal process.
[10] University of Maryland Global Campus, “” (accessed September 7, 2026). This page explains UMGC’s Academic Advisement Report and when students receive it.
[11] Colorado State University, “” and “” (accessed September 8, 2026). These pages explain CSU’s preliminary transfer evaluation for prospective students.