As an online student, you may find your transfer process easier because it involves no physical moving and possibly more flexible start dates. Without the worry of planning your move to a new campus, you may have more options for when you can transfer colleges. Once you complete an online course, you could transfer to a new college and begin online courses as soon as available.
If you are currently attending community college online or in person, the best time for you to transfer may be after you complete prerequisites toward your desired undergraduate degree program or after you have completed an associate degree.
Credits Can Affect When You Can Transfer Colleges
Credits do matter in the transfer process. Certain schools may not accept you as a transfer student if you have too few or too many credits. For some schools, transferring after two academic years is standard, but the number of credits you have completed can impact your transfer process and your graduation date. GCU will accept transfer students with any number of credits up to 90. You can utilize the GCU Lopes Unofficial Credit Evaluation tool to help you plan when to transfer.
Research tip: Check both the academic calendars for quarter dates and the credit transfer policies for the universities you are interested in transferring to.
Alternatively, if you are at all interested in switching majors or are ready to declare a major, this would be a good time to consider a transfer. This may help alleviate certain issues that might arise with credit transferring.