To earn a bachelor's degree from a university, you need to take about 60 units of lower division coursework and about 60 units of upper division coursework. Instead of taking all 120 units at a university, you can take your lower division courses at a community college and then transfer to a university to take your upper division courses.
Each university requires their own set of courses they want you to take at your community college before you transfer. Usually universities and community colleges have documents called articulation agreements, that list the courses you need to take at your community college. These articulation agreements are different for every university, major, and community college, so unless you only want to transfer to one university from one community college with one major, you will have to keep track of multiple agreements. These agreements can be confusing to understand and they take a lot of work to follow.
The good news is many universities like the California State Universities (CSU’s) and some private, online, and out-of-state universities (like Los Angeles Pacific University and Hawaii Pacific University) agree on a common set of courses. This common set of courses is called an Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT). It allows you to follow a simple pathway, so you don’t have to follow multiple articulation agreements. Students who earn an ADT transfer at higher rates because they have a clear path to follow. An ADT is a 2-year degree, which means you will earn a degree in community college that you can add to your resume even before you get to your university. If you attend a California community college, following an ADT is a great way to go!
1. First, you will choose your ADT. Do you want to study business or psychology? English or math? Choosing your ADT is like choosing your major. On EdVisorly, you can plan for multiple ADTs if you haven't narrowed down your decision.
2. Once you choose your ADT, you will take your ADT major specific courses. These are classes that have to do with the subject of your ADT. For example, if you chose a Business ADT, you will need to take Accounting and Economics classes because these are subjects that are important to business.
3. Along with your ADT major specific courses, you will need to take General Education courses. Unlike the ADT major courses which are centered around one topic, these courses cover a landscape of topics. Universities want you to know a little bit about a lot of things, and your general education courses allow you to learn about topics outside of your ADT major. For example, you will need to take English, Math, Science, Humanities, and Ethnic Studies courses.
When you are at a CA community college, you might hear about the different types of General Education patterns. The two popular patterns are IGETC and CSU GE. If you are transferring to a University of California you will need to follow the IGETC. If you are transferring to a CSU, private, out-of-state or online university that accepts an ADT, you can follow the CSU GE pattern or the IGETC pattern. The state of California is currently in the process of creating one singular pattern, but for now there are two.
On EdVisorly, you can choose the universities you want to transfer to and which Associate Degrees for Transfer (ADTs) you want to focus on, and then create a Transfer Path with the exact courses you need to take. We will tell you the ADT major specific courses you need to take and we will show you the general education courses you need to take. EdVisorly does the work for you and gives you confidence that you are taking the right courses 😊. All you need to focus on is working hard in your classes!
If you want to earn more than one Associate Degree for Transfer (for example: if you want to study business and English) you can even plan for multiple ADTs and we will show you the courses that will count for both ADTs. Also, if you change your mind, you can always update your Transfer Path and swap out your courses. EdVisorly will always be there for you to plan and pivot!