Transfer Guide for International Students
at Seattle Central Community College

Admission to public universities in Washington is competitive which means that there are more applicants who meet the minimum qualifications than many colleges or universities can accept. This is strikingly true for admission to the University of Washington, which receives many more applications each year than can be admitted. While admission to private universities may not be as competitive in some instances all universities require transfer students to demonstrate their ability to complete an academic course of study.

Transfer applicants are evaluated on three principal criteria:

• Successful completion of basic skills proficiency and general education requirements
  at Seattle Central.
• Academic performance as measured by Grade Point Average
• English proficiency as measured by the TOEFL test

Proficiency requirement:
Although this is technically a graduation requirement rather than an admission requirement students should plan to complete these courses early in their college studies since they are considered basic studies. Proficiency requirements generally include a course in English composition and a course in Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning (courses that have a strong mathematics component). Foreign language is also counted as a proficiency requirement although this requirement is often satisfied for students from non-English speaking countries who have entered the United States educational system at the eighth grade or later.

General Education requirements:
The general education requirement, sometimes also called distribution requirements, includes courses taken in the three major subject divisions of the College: Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. While there are differences between colleges and universities as to this requirement, students will generally be required to complete 45-60 credits in these three areas of study for university entrance at the upper division level. Students should contact the international student counselor for assistance in discovering the general education requirements for the college or university they are planning to attend; this information will then help the student plan their courses accordingly.

Grade Point Average (GPA) requirements:
It is sometimes the case that international students as well as other non-resident students who apply for admission to state-supported universities must achieve a higher GPA at the community college than other students. The reason for this has to do with the economics of public education. Since the tax-supported universities are required to hold a majority of places for citizens of the state of Washington there is stiff competition for the relatively fewer positions available to non-resident students.

A case in point is the University of Washington, which historically has required that non-resident students achieve better than a 3.5 GPA at the community college in order to gain admission to the University. Different universities have different GPA requirements for transfer international students so it is important to keep in touch with the international student counselor at SCCC for specific information. Your counselor will also help you meet representatives from Seattle area colleges and universities who will have up-to-date information on transfer issues.

Note: A word about "options" is in order here. Many students are strongly motivated to attend a particular university, typically the University of Washington. While this idea is useful for motivating a student to study hard at SCCC it also may set the stage for disappointment if the student is not successful in achieving his or her goal. That is why it is important to keep in mind that there exist many options for higher education in the United States and that failure to gain admission to a particular college or university does not at all close the door on a opportunity to enter another fine college or university.

Degrees offered at Community College:

The Associate of Arts Degree:
International students who are pursuing an academic course of study--as distinguished from a vocational course-- have the option of completing an Associate of Arts or an Associate of Science degree Seattle Central. This degree is a two-year academic degree comprised of 90 credits of college level studies. The AA and the AS are the only academic degrees offered at the community college. The community college does not offer the four-year bachelor's degree. An international student's choice about the AA degree will depend upon his or her career goals and objectives.

For most students the bachelor's degree--a four-year degree--is their goal and is the generally accepted initial degree required for entrance into many professions such as engineering, business, and teaching. If the international student is unable to complete the bachelor's degree due to financial, time, or other constraints it may be beneficial to complete the Associate degree as this indicates completion of an academic course of study--an accomplishment which may be important for future employment. Students who don’t intend to complete the bachelor’s degree in the United States should also consider completing the Associate of Applied Science Degree, which is a professional/technical course of study.

Important Terms and Concepts

Community College:Community colleges such as SCCC were formed in the 1950s for the purpose of increasing opportunities for higher education.
In addition, the community college is unique in providing options for both professional/technical and academic courses of study.

AA (or AS) degree: This is the academic degree offered by the community college and is designed to prepare students for transfer to a four year college or university. The community college does not offer the bachelor's degree, a four-year course of study that is generally required for entrance into one of the professions such as engineering, business, or teaching. The AA degree includes 90 total credits of studies in Humanities, Social Science, Natural Science, and Basic Studies (English and Math).

Credits: The" quantity value" given to courses at college. Courses are measured in terms of credits, like dollars, yen, francs, and rupees measure financial value As a rule, courses which involve five hours of class per week are assigned a value of 5 quarter credits. College students earn credits for college level courses--credits that accumulate on the student's record to be transferred to a university for further study. It is important to note that international students are required by the United States Department of Homeland Security to maintain a full course of study each academic quarter and that this translates into a minimum of 12 credits per quarter. Failure to complete the required minimum credits may result in loss of student status which will mean that the student will be required to apply for reinstatement of status with the U.S. Immigration Service.

Distribution requirements: Also called general education requirements, the distribution requirement refers to the fact—true for all universities and colleges in the United States-- that students must complete studies in several areas of knowledge during their first two years at college or university. These areas include the humanities (art, music, literature, philosophy), the social sciences (psychology, sociology, geography, etc.), and the natural sciences. (biology, chemistry, physics, etc.)

Electives: Courses chosen by students outside of the distribution and proficiency areas. In terms of the AA degree, elective courses total 25-30 credits. Care must be taken in choosing elective courses that count as transfer credit. At SCCC courses numbered 100 and above are transfer courses.

Government control of college education: Education in the United States differs from some other countries in that there is no direct federal control of public education. State governments administer public education. Thus, instead of one system of education as in many countries, the United States. has fifty separate systems corresponding to the fifty states. What this means for students trying to understand and negotiate college study in the U.S. is that plans to transfer to university in the same state is less complicated than transfer outside the state, since transfer agreements between community colleges and universities within the same state often apply. This is the case with SCCC, which has transfer agreements with most of the four-year universities in Washington State. It also means that individual universities have unique features and policies of which students must be aware when planning to transfer.

Academic versus Professional/Technical (Vocational) study: Academic study refers to studies leading to college transfer and /or completion of the AA or AS degree. Professional/Technical --also called Vocational-- study, in contrast, is usually not designed for university transfer but is focused on specific skills and knowledge which leads to employment in a specific career field. Examples of professional/technical study at SCCC include Graphic Design and Illustration, Business Information Technology, and Culinary Arts--to name just a few. It should also be noted that for international students professional/technical study sometimes requires a different visa status (M-1) than the more common F-1 visa required for students pursuing a university transfer studies. For students considering a change of course of study it is important to speak with the International Education Programs Coordinator.

Transfer credits and articulation agreements: Many universities have direct transfer agreements with local community colleges. Also called articulation agreements, these agreements allow students to transfer to the university all the credits earned under the degree program at the community college. Since Seattle Central has articulation agreements with the universities in Washington and with some universities in other states, students can count on the fact that the AA degree or the AS degree will count as the equivalent of the first two years at the university and all credits earned with the AA will transfer to the university.

Choosing a University in the United States

What are your options?
Before considering options for higher education, it might be useful to remind ourselves of the purpose and value of a liberal arts education.

In his poem Ulysses, Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote:

I am part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’
Gleams that untravelled world…,

As you venture into world of higher education you are guided not only by your own experience, but also by the collective experiences--and reflections on those experience of innumerable fellow human beings that have explored the world of the mind before you.
The liberal arts comprise the collected, enduring reflections of those fellow travelers,
a sort of conceptual arch, which helps organize and support research and inquiry into the human condition.

Liberal comes from the Latin word liber which means, “to free.”
An art (from the Latin root ars) is a skill or ability. The liberal arts, then, are those skills or abilities that set us free. The Liberal Arts College is the ancestor of all modern colleges, universities, and professional training programs. Pythagoras, an ancient Greek mathematician and philosopher, can be considered the founder of the liberal arts.
He taught music, astronomy, geometry, and numbers theory as the four core subjects that every educated person should know.

Three more supplemented these subjects in the Middle Ages -- logic, grammar, and rhetoric -- to comprise what were then accepted as the seven liberal arts. On this foundation of subjects was built the modern university with its curriculum of the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. Only in recent times has training in law, medicine, engineering, and business administration been separated from a broad liberal arts environment.

Students who wish to pursue a liberal arts education usually choose a four-year college or university. As stated above, a liberal arts education lays the foundation for more advanced studies and professional work. Four-year college and universities offer bachelor’s degrees (the BA and the BS) in most areas in the arts and sciences, such as English literature, foreign languages, history, economics, political science, biology, zoology, chemistry, and in many other fields. Bachelor’s degree study is also available in professional fields such as business, engineering, education, and nursing, to name a few.

Here are the main differences between four-year colleges and universities:

• Four-Year Colleges: These are post-secondary schools that provide four-year educational programs in the arts and sciences. These colleges confer bachelor’s degrees. Some of these colleges are government sponsored. Many are private colleges that have a religious affiliation.

• Universities: These are post-secondary schools that include a college of arts and/or sciences, one or more programs of graduate study, and one or more professional schools. Universities confer bachelor’s degrees and graduate and professional degrees.

When a student earns a bachelor’s degree it means that he or she has passed examinations in a broad range of courses and has studied one or two subject areas in greater depth. (These or two subject areas are called the student’s “major” area(s) of study or area(s) of “concentration.”) A bachelor’s degree is usually required before a student can begin studying for a graduate degree. A graduate degree is usually earned through two or more years of advanced studies beyond four years of college/university. This might be a master’s or doctoral degree in a particular field or a specialized degree require in certain professions such as law, social work, architecture, medicine. Note that bachelor’s degrees are not available in law, medicine, or architecture. These fields require graduate study.

What are the basics for choosing a college?

There are some basic things to consider when choosing a university and college.

What do you want to study?

One way to approach this question is to figure out what you want to do for a career. There are many tests which are designed to help you decide what personality type you are and match you up to the careers that best meet your needs and qualifications. One of the most often used by counselors and students alike is the Holland Self-Directed Search (SDS), which is an easy-to-use assessment system that you can take online or in person at Seattle Central. Your counselor at Seattle Central can administer the SDS and help you interpret the results.

What can you afford and how can you pay for your education?

The cost of going to university is a major factor in the decision as to what institution to attend. Can you afford the university or college of your choice? Does the university offer any scholarships to international students? Unfortunately, many universities offer scholarships only to resident students. But this is not always the case. International students can sometimes qualify for scholarships; so you should always ask about this when you are considering a particular university.

Where do you want to study?

The USA is a huge country with many educational opportunities. Your choice of university will depend in part on where you want to live for the next two or three years, since you are likely to find a university in several different parts of the country that meets your academic requirements. Do you want to live on the West Coast, East Coast, or inland America? Do you wish to live in a large city, or smaller town, or does the idea or spending a couple of years in a quiet rural area appeal to you? Do you want to live in a warm or a cold climate? Among other factors to keep in mind, you should know that it is generally the case that tuition cost and costs of living are higher in urban areas than in small towns or rural areas. You will also want to consider whether you want to attend a large research university that may have tens of thousands of students; or would you be more comfortable in a smaller university where you’ll find it easier to become part of a community.

Does the university/college offer any special programs/sports you are interested in?

If your dream is to play soccer in college, you want to find a college, which offers that opportunity. If you are interested in photography, does the university have a photo lab?
Does it offer opportunities to pursue your interests? Does the university offer a particular religious affiliation you want to be involved with?

Once you have determined what you are looking for in a university/college, you are then ready to begin a search to find universities that meet your interests and needs and begin the application process. At Seattle Central you will find that there are several offices which can help you with your search. Included among these resources are:

Counselor for International Education Programs South Annex 102
The Career Library 2BE 1107
The College Transfer Center 2BE 1107

You should also be aware that there are Internet sites that feature information about transferring to university. (This site is especially useful for obtaining information about university rankings in the United States.)

• http://www.collegenet.com/
• http://www.petersons.com
• http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php