Transfer of college credits

[phtx 1]

My fiancee is actually coming over on a K1, but our question is more about her schooling. She is studying education in the Philippines but has at least 16 months to graduate, possibly up to 2 years. Despite being far from graduation, she has accumulated a ton of college credit. We're ready to get married and don't want to wait that long, so we're weighing all our options.

 

I know that people that already have a degree can have their transcript evaluated before finding a job in the US. But our questions is, can she simply transfer her credits to a university here instead? 

 

This article makes it sound pretty straight-forward, but does anyone have any insight into this?

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Once she gets her GC she could get a re-entry permit. With that she could be out of the US for up to 2 years to finish her schooling, if that's something you guys are interested in. As far as transferring credits, I think each college/university has their own specific rules about that.

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

8 minutes ago, phtx said:

My fiancee is actually coming over on a K1, but our question is more about her schooling. She is studying education in the Philippines but has at least 16 months to graduate, possibly up to 2 years. Despite being far from graduation, she has accumulated a ton of college credit. We're ready to get married and don't want to wait that long, so we're weighing all our options.

 

I know that people that already have a degree can have their transcript evaluated before finding a job in the US. But our questions is, can she simply transfer her credits to a university here instead? 

 

This article makes it sound pretty straight-forward, but does anyone have any insight into this?

Depends entirely on the university involved. She’d need to specifically ask the colleges she is interested in attending. Most colleges will also have a maximum amount that can be transferred /minimum credits that must be done at the college before it will award you a degree.

Edited August 12, 2018 by SusieQQQ

[phtx 1]

16 minutes ago, EM_Vandaveer said:

Once she gets her GC she could get a re-entry permit. With that she could be out of the US for up to 2 years to finish her schooling, if that's something you guys are interested in. As far as transferring credits, I think each college/university has their own specific rules about that.

 

I hadn't even thought of that - it might be a good option. Thank you!

[phtx 1]

13 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Depends entirely on the university involved. She’d need to specifically ask the colleges she is interested in attending. Most colleges will also have a maximum amount that can be transferred /minimum credits that must be done at the college before it will award you a degree.

I see. We've begun contacting some universities. Is there a credit evaluation service that's more widely accepted? I'd rather not have to do that multiple times.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

22 minutes ago, phtx said:

I see. We've begun contacting some universities. Is there a credit evaluation service that's more widely accepted? I'd rather not have to do that multiple times.

Probably WES' but best bet is to ask the colleges themselves when you are talking to them, you’ll soon pick up if there is a favored evaluator.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

24 minutes ago, phtx said:

I hadn't even thought of that - it might be a good option. Thank you!

Bear in mind that s a very general observation, ,if it’s something she’ll need licensing for in the US (I’m not sure what you mean by “education”, if she’s studying to be a teacher or something more general or like a educational psychologist or something ), a US degree may give her an advantage in prep or even doing those exams while she’s at college. Some foreign degrees need further courses done before they are even allowed to apply for US licensing. And a US degree will always be an advantage over a foreign one in the jobs market. Again I don’t know specifics of what she’s doing but you should consider these factors as well. 

[Hypnos 6,576]

If she wishes to attend a US college or university she would likely have to have a paid assessment performed of the courses she has taken. 

 

There is an group called the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, whose members do things exactly such as this. I had my British degree evaluated through International Education Research Foundation, or IERF, who are a NACES member. Sometimes a college or university will want an evaluation performed through one specific company; sometimes they are fine with any NACES member. 

 

The issue you may run into is that your fiancée hasn't graduated. That may impact their ability to have such an evaluation performed. The individual college or university to which she is interested in applying would be the best people to ask. Specifically, the International Admissions Office would likely be able to offer guidance. 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Hypnos

[Kiolas 103]

3 hours ago, phtx said:

My fiancee is actually coming over on a K1, but our question is more about her schooling. She is studying education in the Philippines but has at least 16 months to graduate, possibly up to 2 years. Despite being far from graduation, she has accumulated a ton of college credit. We're ready to get married and don't want to wait that long, so we're weighing all our options.

 

I know that people that already have a degree can have their transcript evaluated before finding a job in the US. But our questions is, can she simply transfer her credits to a university here instead? 

 

This article makes it sound pretty straight-forward, but does anyone have any insight into this?

@phtx Well, as others stated, each university is different. However, universities do not like to transfer many credits. The reason is that the more credits you transfer, the less credits you need to get their degree, and, therefore, the less you will pay them.

 

If she wants to transfer as much credits as possible, then, as other suggested here, the best way would be just to finish her degree in Philippines and apply for the next degree here. As an example, she can get Associate Degree in Philippines and apply for Bachelor's Degree here. Or she can get Bachelor's Degree in Philippines and apply for Master's or PhD here. 

[Hypnos 6,576]

1 hour ago, Kiolas said:

she can get Associate Degree in Philippines

Associate's degrees are predominantly an American thing, and don't really exist much outside of this country. There are scattered pockets, such as one province in Canada, parts of Australia and Europe, but it's not generally something that gets much traction on an international basis.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

21 hours ago, phtx said:

My fiancee is actually coming over on a K1, but our question is more about her schooling. She is studying education in the Philippines but has at least 16 months to graduate, possibly up to 2 years. Despite being far from graduation, she has accumulated a ton of college credit. We're ready to get married and don't want to wait that long, so we're weighing all our options.

 

I know that people that already have a degree can have their transcript evaluated before finding a job in the US. But our questions is, can she simply transfer her credits to a university here instead? 

 

This article makes it sound pretty straight-forward, but does anyone have any insight into this?

No, it's not that simple.

 

Each university will have its own criteria for transfer credits.  You will need to ask each one what is their specific policy.  

How far along are you in the K-1 process?  What is her major?  Is her university well known?  Would a degree from the PI be held in regards by US employers?

 

Have you considered going to the PI to marry and file for a spousal visa?  She can stay and finish up school while the spousal visa is processing.

 

It would be a considerable mess for her to get a Re-Entry Permit to return to finish school in the PI.  First, there is the wait for AP which can take 5-6 months after filing for AOS.  Then waiting for a green card before she can get a Re-Entry Permit.  With a green card, claiming a PI resident for tuition purposes may make it difficult for her.  

[Lucky_Mimi 87]

22 hours ago, phtx said:

My fiancee is actually coming over on a K1, but our question is more about her schooling. She is studying education in the Philippines but has at least 16 months to graduate, possibly up to 2 years. Despite being far from graduation, she has accumulated a ton of college credit. We're ready to get married and don't want to wait that long, so we're weighing all our options.

 

I know that people that already have a degree can have their transcript evaluated before finding a job in the US. But our questions is, can she simply transfer her credits to a university here instead? 

 

This article makes it sound pretty straight-forward, but does anyone have any insight into this?

Hi @phtx We are K1 Filler too from May 2018 and positively waiting for our second letter. I am a licensed teacher in Phils. You need to evaluate her credentials or units to www.wes.org. It is online and it's free. You can check her school and her degree there. Wes will evaluate if her Bachelors Degree is equivalent to US based standards. If yes, you can send her Transcript to them and they will evaluate her curriculum. After that, they will send the US transcript to you and pass it to the college or university she wants to study in then she can continue her education in America. 

[phtx 1]

8 hours ago, Jojo92122 said:

Have you considered going to the PI to marry and file for a spousal visa?  She can stay and finish up school while the spousal visa is processing.

My understanding is that the spouse visa takes longer, so if she decides to stay in school, it might be an option. If nothing else, it will save us some money on fees.

 

The calculus is quite complicated, so I appreciate the response as I soak it all in. At the end of the day, we might just be overthinking it 🙂

8 hours ago, Jojo92122 said:

It would be a considerable mess for her to get a Re-Entry Permit to return to finish school in the PI. 

Yeah, that's much too complicated, I agree.

[phtx 1]

8 hours ago, Filipina_2018 said:

you can send her Transcript to them and they will evaluate her curriculum.

Even if she doesn't complete her degree?

 

Congratulations, by the way! I hope everything works out for you.

[Lucky_Mimi 87]

3 hours ago, phtx said:

Even if she doesn't complete her degree?

 

Congratulations, by the way! I hope everything works out for you.

Yes. When she is about to go to America, you can ask her school registrar to make Transcript of records for her and explain to them that she needs it because she'll transfer to America. 

 

Thank you. Good luck to the both of you too!