Dean Einstein and April Yandell, Associate Director for Transfer Admission, answered questions about choosing classes for first-year and transfer admission and scholarship in a live chat. Watch the entire video or check out key takeaways and links below for answers to your questions.
Take advantage of what’s available to you and what you’re capable of doing in high
school
At a minimum to apply to TCU, you’ll need to take at least 19 core academic classes
in high school. That includes at least four English courses, three each of math, science,
social science in history courses and two credits in languages other than English.
However, TCU’s Office of Admission looks closely at your choices in high school. Ideally,
plan to take five academic courses in each year of high school and make your curriculum
choices with purpose – aiming toward your desired area of study and career.
To be considered for the highest levels of scholarship, you’ll need to go above and
beyond
To earn the highest curriculum rating and maximize scholarship opportunity, TCU requires
that you take at least five Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate
(IB) courses (or the most advanced curriculum offered at the school). We also require
that you take at least 19 total courses, including a minimum of four years of English
and three years each of math, science, social studies and a language other than English.
For transfer scholarships, we require at least 12 post-high school graded transferable hours and a 3.0 transfer GPA. For the full-tuition Chancellor’s Scholarship consideration, we require a minimum of 60 post-high school graded transferable hours and a 3.85 transfer GPA.
Challenge yourself, but don’t take more classes than you can handle
TCU assigns a rating based on the courses each applicant took in high school. You
are encouraged to take appropriately rigorous courses. That means that we don’t believe
you need to take all Advanced Placement classes to succeed in college. In fact, the
maximum score in our system can be achieved by taking five advanced classes. That
being said, if you can handle more advanced classes and like them, then go for it!
Transfer students should focus on core classes after high school
Students must attend a regionally accredited institution for their credits to transfer
and up to 66 transferable hours can be applied to a TCU degree. We recommend that
you mainly take core classes like English, math, social studies and science, because
they are the most transferrable credits. Technical and vocational classes and developmental
courses may be helpful, but won’t transfer to TCU.
- Is dual credit considered advanced credit? – 23:50
- What years of your high school transcripts are the most important? – 25:55
- Has TCU become more selective? – 32:03
- What should students applying to TCU’s nursing program take? – 35:28
- How does TCU use unweighted GPA for scholarship? – 39:08
- When will transfer students be notified of admission? – 52:12
- When can transfer students visit campus? – 53:26
- For a homeschooled student, how do you assess academic rigor? – 54:12
- Does taking the AP exam matter? – 55:21
- What benefits does TCU offer for veterans, their spouses and dependents? – 57:41
- What is considered for the full-tuition Chancellor’s Scholarship? – 59:31
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