Transferring ACE Science credits to B&M schools?

[Brownie82]

I have about six months before I am able to start finishing up my degree. I chatted with an advisor and was told that the evaluation dept would have to look over my transcript and determine if the classes would count for a science requirement or elective. I haven't taken any courses yet, but I'm going to send the PDF from the Ecosystem in instead. I noticed that SL has sciences with labs, but Saylor (where I'd prefer to use, since I'm on a shoestring budget!) doesn't or its optional.

The advisor told me that NVCC takes an unlimited previous learning credits but I must do 25% of the degree at the school. So I'm eager to get started and knock out as much as I can. I have limited Pell Grant, so I really rather use it on the 4-year school. I know the school has the final say so on what they accept or not, but I was wondering if anyone here could give me any feedback on their experiences.

Also, is there a difference between classes without (or optional) labs when it comes to transferring? Like SL has a Bio 101 course with a lab, but IIRC, Saylor's are optional. Also, on my advising sheet, all of my sciences have (w/lab) beside them, so I'm a little nervous. I'd really hate to spend the time (and money) on completing a course and it transfers over as an elective.

Random thought: If they do transfer and are just counted as the course, I wonder if I could just take the labs at the school? If so, that could make up a big part of my 25% since I have to take 6 science courses. hilarious


My advising sheets: AS Science / AS Science with Math specialization

[dfrecore]

The best thing to do is check with your school to see how the courses are going to transfer over. There is not a lot of sense in paying for classes that you aren't sure will transfer. Your school does accept ACE & NCCRS, so that's good. But it's still not as good as knowing for sure by talking directly to them.

Saylor does not have labs at all. SL has optional labs for most of their science courses.

I would definitely consider taking ACE-recommended courses that your college pre-approves, and then take the labs at the school.

[cookderosa]

I have about six months before I am able to start finishing up my degree. I chatted with an advisor and was told that the evaluation dept would have to look over my transcript and determine if the classes would count for a science requirement or elective. I haven't taken any courses yet, but I'm going to send the PDF from the Ecosystem in instead. I noticed that SL has sciences with labs, but Saylor (where I'd prefer to use, since I'm on a shoestring budget!) doesn't or its optional.

The advisor told me that NVCC takes an unlimited previous learning credits but I must do 25% of the degree at the school. So I'm eager to get started and knock out as much as I can. I have limited Pell Grant, so I really rather use it on the 4-year school. I know the school has the final say so on what they accept or not, but I was wondering if anyone here could give me any feedback on their experiences.

Also, is there a difference between classes without (or optional) labs when it comes to transferring? Like SL has a Bio 101 course with a lab, but IIRC, Saylor's are optional. Also, on my advising sheet, all of my sciences have (w/lab) beside them, so I'm a little nervous. I'd really hate to spend the time (and money) on completing a course and it transfers over as an elective.

Random thought: If they do transfer and are just counted as the course, I wonder if I could just take the labs at the school? If so, that could make up a big part of my 25% since I have to take 6 science courses. hilarious


My advising sheets: AS Science / AS Science with Math specialization

Science labs can be very expensive. When you price shop, check with NVCC and see what "all" the costs are going to be- for instance you *probably* have a text, and online code (even face to faces are using these now- cha ching), and potentially a lab fee. These are on top of tuition. It's possible that your CC science with lab can cost well over $500. You should for sure find all of this out before deciding. If there were ANY classes that you'd save money by doing alternatively, it's probably science, however that's only true if your target 4-year college major isn't in one of the science or health occupation fields. They tend to be pickier. When you wrote that all of your sciences have labs beside them, that makes me nervous- I'm feeling like you're probably going to have fewer options than you think.

On a separate topic, "limited Pell" doesn't limit in years, it limits in money. So, let's say you qualify for $5,000 - you'll get to use that every year until you finish your bachelor's degree (or 6 years). That money is renewed every year. I'm wondering if you already used a few years? If not, then you're good for 6 years. Your award will be distributed in 2 payments to your school - usually half and half assuming you carry the same number of credits both semesters. If you use the example $5000, that means $2500 for fall, and then $2500 for spring. If you took 12-15 credits each of those semesters, you'd have about $150-$200 per credit totally covered. You'd only be responsible for costs after your Pell.

[Brownie82]

Thanks for the replies! I did email the the schools and sent them info on the classes. I'm really hoping they will transfer! I said limited because I have 175% of my Pell left. On top of that, my genius, younger self thought it was a good idea to use my undergrad loan money for living expenses. So, I have about $5-6000 left in loans.

Anyway, I'm just trying to get a lot of the lower-level courses done so I can transfer over to a 4-year. I'm looking to major in Biology or Environmental Sciences. I'm thinking about going the math specialization route because I could do a bulk of those and transfer with no problem.

I'm only going to NVCC because of the guaranteed admission to select colleges and a few of them have free tuition to low-income families. I'm hoping this works out like I think it does!