How to Transfer Colleges to La Verne

Students working in Citrus HallFor transfer students, the process of applying credits to your new institution can be daunting—if not frustrating and disappointing. The University of La Verne understands these hurdles and works hard with transfer students applying to our school. We have partnerships with over 40 community colleges and have developed a multifaceted transfer credit system that benefits both traditional students and working adults deciding to take courses at our regional and online campuses.

Whatever your educational background, our process for transfer students is designed to support—not hinder—your success. Let’s get started.

Will You Be a Transfer Student?

If you’re a traditional undergraduate student or someone who intends to attend the La Verne campus full time, the distinction influences how you will fill out your application—and how La Verne’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions evaluates it. For incoming freshmen, we require official high school transcripts. For transfer students, we don’t require standardized test scores and, instead, place greater emphasis on the college-level coursework completed so far.

At La Verne, a transfer student is someone who has earned at least 28 semester hours of transferrable credit from an accredited undergraduate institution. Individuals who have not yet reached this milestone should apply as incoming freshmen. Review our requirements for incoming freshmen.

Fill Out a Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) Form

La Verne offers guaranteed admission to students at 17 of our partnering community colleges. Individuals at these institutions are advised to fill out a TAG form before officially filling out their admission application.

Whether you’re transferring to the main La Verne campus as a traditional undergraduate, to an accelerated degree program for working adults at one of our regional campuses, or to La Verne Online, TAG offers California Community College students a multitude of benefits:

  • After you submit your form, a representative from La Verne guides you through the admissions process.
  • Individuals who meet student eligibility requirements are guaranteed admissions.
  • We waive the application fee and provide access to a financial aid advisor and admissions counselor.
  • Individuals may be selected to receive our TAG Scholarship.

Learn more about the benefits of TAG and student eligibility requirements.

Gather Your Transcripts and Finish Your Application

To get started, review our admission requirements for transfer students. In the process, you will need to have all official transcripts from every college or university attended to date sent to La Verne’s Office of Admission for review.

Additionally, because La Verne factors in more than college coursework, we recommend submitting the following for credit evaluation:

  • documentation of military experience;
  • CLEP and DANTES test scores; and
  • documentation for Educational Credit for Training or non-collegiate sponsored programs.

Once your application is sent and received, La Verne will begin the credit evaluation process.

Understand How La Verne Evaluates and Applies Credits

Because every transfer student has their own experiences and educational background, La Verne does not take a uniform approach when applying credits toward your degree here.

In general, students may transfer up to 88 semester hours toward a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution. Credit is granted if you earned at least a C- for the course, and up to the 88 semester–hour minimum, these values go toward your GPA. In the process, your transfer credits assist with fulfilling La Verne’s general education and upper-division coursework requirements, as well as lower-level courses for your major.

What if you can transfer more than 88 semester hours? In this situation, credits count toward subject area fulfillment but won’t go toward your GPA, and you will still need to satisfy La Verne’s 44 semester–hour residency requirement and earn at least 128 semester hours for your bachelor’s degree.

Students who attended a California Community College may have finished an Associate of Arts for Transfer (AA-T) or an Associate of Science for Transfer (AS-T) degree. For Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) Students, your completed associate degree automatically meets all general education requirements and some subjects for your major, provided you follow the same course of study you declared with your advisor.

Along with college-level courses, La Verne assigns credit for:

  • Advanced Placement (AP) exams (up to 44 semester hours);
  • an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma (valued at 32 semester hours, for 30 points completed);
  • General Certificate of Education Advanced-Level exams (four semester hours for each successfully completed exam);
  • CLEP and DANTES (DSST) exams (up to 44 semester hours);
  • dual-enrollment college coursework completed during high school (up to 32 semester hours with official college transcripts);
  • vocational/technical classes;
  • military experience (up to 44 semester hours);
  • Servicemember Opportunity Colleges (SOC) coursework;
  • military and corporate training meeting American Council On Education/Program On Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction (ACE/PONSI) standards; and
  • challenging a course by examination.

Learn more about ways to earn college credit.

In determining credit and course values, La Verne assigns equivalencies based C-ID, the California Identification system. However, transfer students are advised to keep the following points in mind:

  • La Verne won’t assign credit for duplicate coursework: for instance, credit will not be assigned for subjects in which 50% or more of the course content overlaps or for coursework that is less advanced than a subject you already completed.
  • Although transfer credits assist with getting through the general education requirements, departments use their discretion and may have limits in terms of applying previously taken coursework toward your major.

What to Do After You’ve Confirmed Your Spot

If you’ve been accepted, we ask you to confirm your spot and follow our next-steps checklist.

Transfer students also need to be aware of the following:

  • If you’re starting La Verne as a junior, you must declare your major before selecting courses for the upcoming semester.
  • Incoming students should have taken a college-level math class, be it a calculus course from an accredited institution or the AP Calculus AB exam. Individuals who do not have equivalent transfer credit will be tested for math placement.
  • Even if your transfer credits fulfill most, if not all, of your general education requirements, incoming traditional students must complete the La Verne Experience (LVE).