Apparently my general chemistry 1 credit won’t transfer because they say it would a big jump from a Communtiy college chemistry to college chemistry. I told them that I would have organic chemistry 2 done by the time I would transfer. They say it’s not recommend because the level of study will be higher than a community college class. They would also not recommend me taking the CALCULUS BASED PHYSICS at my Communtiy college because they say I won’t be prepared for physical chemistry etc. oh and the guy told me they rejected a student from Berkeley because it wasn’t as rigorous as the Cornell course is. Oh and here is the funny part of this, if I want to get a credit I have to take my chemistry in a four year certified school.
I guess My best option is Penn State because they accepted all my credits expect for the lab portion, which I have to take over there.
Colleges I’m applying to
Penn state - accepts all credits
Stony brook - will have to call on Monday to see if my chemistry credits can be transferred
UAblany- not sure because the school seems like a business school more than a science school
Michigan state U: applied when I was a senior in high school
My major is meteorology but I love chemistry so I chemistry is my backup major. If I love meteorology I would double major in both, if meteorology doesn’t work out I have chemistry
Many people on this site hold two (seemingly) contradictory opinions. They simultaneously claim that the top schools are more rigorous and that there is no problem going from community college to a 4 year highly competitive school. I disagree with that second point. If there is no discontinuity between courses at community college and those at the highly competitive schools, then what makes those so called elite schools elite?
I’ve encountered highly educated adults who view those “elite” schools as offering better accoutrements (access to “high end” (read wealthy) peers, fun social activities, prestige to academics but similar classes as those you’d get anywhere. If that is what you think, send your kids to a high end summer camp. The important difference between a community college and a competitive college like Cornell should be the academics. It should not be an easy transition from courses in a community college and higher level courses at a place like Cornell. If it is, then the elite schools are simply shams.
That is why I believe the so called “advantage” programs (and those similar) which mandate that students spend a year or two at a community college before being allowed to enroll in the university’s classes are so destructive to students. They take less rigorous classes at the foundation level and then are dumped into the much more rigorous courses at the higher levels. No difference in rigor between community colleges and courses offered by schools that promote themselves as “premier” or elite would suggest deception on the part of those 4 year schools.
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My GPA is 2.88 cumulative. my goal with the chemistry degree is to do research in the area of atmospheric science, I’m going for chemistry and meteorology. I can minor or major in chemistry.
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Is that your GPA at a CC? If so, then you need to really strategize to end up with a GPA that would be grad-school worthy.
Transferring to a top school may mean that your GPA will sink further. I don’t think Cornell would accept you anyway, but don’t know what PSU, MSU, and other schools’ policies are for transfers.
What are your Chem grades so far? What are your Calc I and Calc II grades?
Some community colleges offer courses that go beyond general ed. but 4 year universities don’t always accept the credits. The universities that are accepting transfer students have experience with students who are well prepared and not well prepared for advanced study.
@NASA2014 - Unless your CC has a formal transfer agreement with the target college/university, you will not get the final transfer evaluation for your CC credits until you have applied and been admitted. In many cases, the final evaluation won’t be until after you have enrolled. Cornell has given you their own best estimate of what will and won’t transfer. But it is still only an estimate.
Even if a course is initially rejected for transfer credit, you can appeal once you are enrolled. You will need to be able to demonstrate to the satisfaction of that college or university that your original course was substantially the same as the one that you want to get credit for or place out of. Keep all of your textbooks, course syllabi, notebooks, and graded assignments. Yes, every single laboratory exercise. They will be necessary if you choose to appeal.
If you seriously think the courses are the same, I’d recommend asking to see if you could look at a recent exam. You probably will change your mind.
This isn’t just Chem, it’s also Bio, Calc, and other STEM courses. (I’m a STEM person, so not as knowledgeable about other classes.)
Many colleges, including community colleges, teach basic info in their courses - all things students with a credit in the course should know. Research Universities (this tends to include the elites) expect students coming in to already know that info (from AP or DE) and go deeper in the majority of their courses even if they still call them Chem 101. It’s rare for any of them to offer credit, esp if the courses are in the student’s major. They can be more lenient if they aren’t courses in the major.
You can attend Penn St, of course, but you might still find your classmates within Chem have had a deeper foundation if they had to take Chem 101 for majors rather than Chem 101 for the masses.
To give an IRL Bio example - both from Bio 101 classes, my youngest sat in on a research U class after having taken a CC Bio class while in high school. He explained the difference as something to the effect of the CC class telling students “An enzyme helps with this process,” vs the research U class teaching about “multiple enzymes involved in the process - by name - and function.” He forever called his CC Bio class “Bio Lite” afterward, but in reality, that same class is offered at many schools - just not top research schools (for majors) that aim higher.
Why the difference? Well… the research schools are training students for research. They need to know more. Again too, they often enter already knowing the basic info.
What 4 yr schools have articulation agreements with your CC? Start there. It seems that a chemistry degree can be obtained at a number of schools, possibly several local to you.
How are you going to pay for Penn State, Cornell and the other schools on the list?
My state forces public university to take in-state community college credits.
This despite the fact that for some courses, the chapters covered, in the same textbook, can be 50% of those covered in our “identical” course. Like our course has 10 chapters in the physics textbook, and most community colleges cover 5 chapters. And I’m teaching at a low level public university, not an Ivy. I have students who I have to tell to read 15 chapters instead of 10 when they are in my second semester course.
I’ve taken courses at an Ivy and at community colleges. Let’s just say if Cornell takes ANY community college courses at all, he is lucky. Or just go to Penn State and shush up.
look at the syllabus for your community college course
look at the syllabus for the “same” course at Cornell
If they are not identical, you can’t get credit for it. If they are, there can still be reasons that Cornell would not accept credit. Cornell’s chemistry department might have accreditation that the community college doesn’t.
I’ve reviewed credits for transfer at my college, many of us do it, and again and again students don’t understand why they don’t get credits when “the name is the same”. The key is the syllabus, and accreditation. And possibly a university policy.
“To be eligible for Cornell credit, a course must be substantially equivalent to a comparable Cornell course in terms of content and rigor. This will be determined using criteria such as content hours, assessments and textbooks.”
Your chemistry instructor at your community college might help you understand why the credits would not be accepted.
ive used the Ohio State University general chemistry 1 final to prepare my final. The final packet was a joked to me because it was just the same but different numbers.
@lostaccount, it really depends on the uni and the CC. In some states (like CA, for instance), the preparation at CC’s can’t be too bad if students from them who then transfer in to UC’s typically pull GPA’s around or even above the average. Various Cornell departments/schools have articulation agreements with a handful of CA CC’s and a bunch of CC’s/SUNY’s in NYS.
“Chem Lite” and other similar descriptors of CC science classes are why many med schools will not accept those courses, or will expect that the student has taken high level courses at his uni.
Now, I know that you’re not premed. This is just further info as to why Cornell (and others) might believe that the CC science courses are inadequate.
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My gpa was NOT the factor [for Cornell not accepting credit]. They say it was the course itself.
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I didn’t say that your GPA was a factor, at all, in the news from Cornell. They may not have even known your Chem grades, or cum GPA.
I was saying that your GPA will mean that you won’t likely get into Cornell…and unless you really boost your GPA, you won’t get into a decent grad school.
Grad school admittance is quite competitive. There’s a reason for that. Those who will be going into research should be the cream of the crop…not those who got thru with a so-so GPA.
Masters programs are often NOT funded, so you will have that issue then as well. Right now, it is highly doubtful that you could get into a funded program.
What were your Chem and math courses/grades and why is your cum so low?
I think that if you try for a top 100 school, like PSU, or MSU (which likely will not be affordable), then you’ll find yourself in courses with students who are much stronger than you are…and your GPA will further sink.
If your career goal is dependent on getting at least a masters degree, which it sounds like…then you need to choose an undergrad where you can really improve your GPA to at least a 3.6. That won’t be easy.
i have been in contact with an Undergraduate Program Staff Assistant at penn state who works at the chemistry department. She has been really nice and very pleased. I told her to review the course outline for general chemistry 1 and 2 plus orgo 1 and 2. After sending her the course outline I was notified that both GC 1 and 2 will be transferred. So how come penn state accepts them? But not Cornell??? Besides GC, I was told to take orgo 1 and 2 both lecture and lab to get a full credit. They won’t accept my lab for 1 and 2 because it doesn’t satisfied the course outline (CH213W). CH213W is the organic chemistry lab intensive writing course. This course is hard to be transfer from another school.
“So how come penn state accepts them? But not Cornell”? – because every school is different, and has its own criteria. That’s especially true of privates, by the way. Accept it and move on.
Penn St generally must take courses from our community colleges. It’s a formality. It doesn’t mean the content of the courses is identical even if they are supposed to be (see the post about Physics coverage above, though I’ve no idea if that was in PA). Whether that ends up being true or not will depend upon your cc courses and instructors.
If they aren’t the same, then YOU will need to make up for anything not covered on your own time. Students can do this. They just need the work ethic to do it.
Why doesn’t Cornell accept them? Why should they? They’re private. They don’t have to and many times the equivalent cc courses are simply substandard by their metric - what they want to see to get a diploma with their name on it. It doesn’t help their reputation or the student when floundering occurs because the student thought the courses would be the same.
FWIW, it’s pretty common for those starting at CC and wanting higher level colleges to be advised not to take courses in their desired major (or pre-med courses if applicable) at the CC. Wait on those for your transfer U. Take other courses at CC (those needed, like English, but not directly in your major).
