Transfer Agreeement Guarantee (TAG)

Many Universities accept fewer Freshman every year. The competition is so strong it feels like failing any test or coming in with anything less than a perfect GPA equate to a rejection letter. Keeping in mind the importance of where you graduate over where you start, transfer agreements may be your ticket to a good/great college.

Why are the grade requirements for direct entrance to a university so high?
Universities want their primary focus to be years 3 and 4 (Junior and Senior) and the two years of graduate school. With limited budgets, universities don’t want to spend their funds and faculty on multiple sections of freshman and sophomore classes, where drop out rates are higher and alternatives are available such as community colleges.

What are transfer agreements?
Some universities are offer agreements to students willing to complete their freshman and sophomore classes elsewhere. Students who complete two years of college, along with specific courses and a reasonable GPA are at low risk for dropping out and are considered prepared for their Junior and Senior year. Oftentimes the alternative colleges are also less expensive than the universities and class size is smaller (such as 40 rather than 400 in a Math class).

How are students admitted with a transfer agreement?
Universities may have different specific guidelines, however, the general ideas is the order of admittance is:

1. Transfer agreement students
2. Community College graduates transferring without agreements
3. Qualifying incoming freshmen
4. Transfers from other 4-year colleges

Here’s why. Transfer agreement students have met the university requirements and proven their ability to compete and complete. Community College graduates, without transfer agreements, have reached the end of ability to go to college. They are in 2-year schools that do not offer 4-year degrees. Qualifying incoming freshmen come next, there are fewer spots than there used to be, however competition varies from university to university. Transfers from other 4-year colleges are last, the theory being that they want to change, but could realistically finish where they are. Their best chance is to change because they’re switching majors or because they’re moving to a university with an open transfer policy. The goal is to offer a good path for as many people as possible, and stay as efficient as possible.

How can you find out if you qualify for a Transfer Agreement Guarantee (TAG)
The TAG agreement exists in California. All universities and community college admissions office can tell you, or their website will explain what their TAG requirements are. This is the real deal, when they say guarantee, they mean it. You’ll need to check which campuses are available and if there are impacted degrees, however, the course list, GPA requirements, and paperwork are very reasonable. This is, if it’s available in your location, a fantastic way to graduate from a great university, even if you don’t begin there immediately after high school graduation.

I suggest starting with contacting the universities you’re interested in, as well as the community colleges in your area. Find out what your alternatives are. Also, while you’re at it, find out what you can CLEP test through. Check the CLEP article here at 2ude for the details. If there are a couple of universities on your wish list that you’d love to graduate from, and can’t get into now, transfer agreements are an awesome alternative.