I am walking away from my first year of college with 12 credits out of the full 32 credits I took over the past two semesters. It was not a good year for me at all because of mental health issues. Is it true that I can apply as a freshman at most universities because of the low amount of credits I have?
It may be easier to look up the schools that interest you individually. Some say any credit at all makes you a transfer, some have the policy you stated…at my school, the rule is that transfers are students who have “attempted or will have attempted 18 or more semester hours of college coursework at a regionally accredited college/university.” “Attempted” makes it sound like they don’t mean “completed,” but I’m not totally clear on that.
“Attempted” usually means that it counts for that purpose even if the student did not get credit due to earning an F grade.
Each college can have its own frosh versus transfer policy, so check each one individually. Some may consider you a transfer after attempting or earning any college credit after high school graduation.