About Me

Boise, Idaho, United States
Greetings! Welcome to the Boise State University transfer student blog! I am here to help you navigate the admission process and make your transition to BSU as smooth as possible. Every week I will post a new transfer admission topic for discussion. Please comment and ask questions (this is a blog after all!).

Friday, May 23, 2008

Quarter to Semester Transfer: Are you losing credits?

Generally, colleges and universities operate on one of two schedules: Quarters or Semesters. A quarter is typically 10-11 weeks in length, whereas a semester is typically 15-16 weeks. Boise State operates on a semester schedule with terms including: Fall (August - December), Spring (January - May), and Summer (May - August). Those of you that are transferring from schools that operate on a quarter schedule, it may appear that you are losing credits that you have already earned, but that is not the case.

Because a semester is approximately 1/3 longer than a quarter, a quarter credit is worth 2/3 of a semester credit. Therefore, 1 semester credit is equal to 0.66 quarter credit. That said, it may still feel like you are losing credits when you transfer from a quarter to semester system. Hopefully this will help: It takes approximately 1/3 fewer total credits to graduate from a semester system college. In most cases, 200 or more quarter credits are required to complete a program on a quarter system. Conversely, most semester system schools require approximately 130 credits to complete.

As you can see, whether you are earning semester or quarter credits, the total time needed to complete an academic program is equivalent. Hopefully this clarifies some of your transfer confusion! In the coming weeks, a quarter-semester credit equivalency table will be posted to this page. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Application Deadline Reminder

This is a friendly reminder from the Transfer Guru: APPLY NOW! The application deadline to be considered for degree seeking admission is June 30, 2008. By that date, the following items MUST be received:

1) Undergraduate application for admission (http://admissions.boisestate.edu/applynow)

2) $40 application fee

3) Official transcripts from each regionally accredited college or university attended

4) If fewer than 14 transferable credits (see May 1 post), then official high school transcript or GED results. NOTE: If under 21 years of age, and fewer than 14 transferable semester credits, then official ACT and/or SAT results must be submitted.

As always, if you have any questions, please post them to the blog, call the Admissions Office at 208-426-1156, or e-mail at bsuinfo@boisestate.edu.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

What is a transfer student?

This is a no-brainer, right? Wrong!

At Boise State, a transfer student is defined in two different ways. The first, and probably the way that you are thinking, is a student who moves from one college or university to another. In certain circles (even at Boise State!), this is the definition of a transfer student. However, if you want to gain admission based solely on your college coursework, there is another definition that is MUCH more important!

To be considered for admission based on the grades that you have earned in college, you need to have completed 14 transferrable semester credits. Now you may be asking yourself: What is a transferrable credit? A transferrable credit is any college-level (generally numbered 100 or higher), academic (not technical) credit earned from a regionally accredited college or university.

If you do not meet this definiton of a transfer student, then you will need to submit your high school transcript (or GED) and, if you are under 21 years old, your standardized test scores (ACT and/or SAT) to be considered for admission to Boise State.