Freshmen with College Credit

Cortland will grant credit to incoming freshmen students who have earned college credit through Advanced Placement exams, International Baccalaureate exams, CLEP, or from college courses offered through their high school. 

Transfer Credit and Student Status

Does having transfer credit make me a transfer student?

Incoming freshmen students with transfer credit are not defined by the college as "transfer" students.  Transfer students are students who have attended post-secondary institutions either on a full-time or part-time basis after their official high school graduation date and then matriculate to Cortland.

Transferring Credit to Cortland

Policies regarding transfer of credit are the same for freshmen and transfer students.  See the Transfer Credit Policies for details. 

To earn credit, students must request official college transcripts to be sent to SUNY Cortland.  High school guidance counselors cannot make this request on behalf of the student.  Students must make contact with the Registrar's Office/Student Records Office of the college who sponsored the course to request transcripts.  Cortland will not grant college credit from a high school transcript.  See Requesting Transcripts for details.

Incoming freshmen students are encouraged to request all transcripts to be sent to Cortland prior to their July orientation session.  Receiving all academic records in a timely manner will prevent a student from registering for a course for which they can earn transfer credit.  Students should bring unofficial grade reports or transcripts to orientation to assist in the advisement and registration process. 

Regents Scores and College Credit

NYS Regents Scores in two subjects, U.S. History and Foreign Language, impact general education requirements at SUNY Cortland. 

U.S. History:   The score does not waive a student out of the course requirement but impacts choice.  If a student scores an 85 or higher on NYS Regents, they may choose from any general education category 4 course.  If a student scores an 84 or lower (or does not have a NYS Regents score), the student must complete HIS 200, HIS 201 or SOC 100 to fulfill their U.S. History requirement.

Foreign Language:  A Regents test score of 85 or higher will satisfy the SUNY general education requirement for foreign language.  However, you may need to complete additional foreign language courses depending on your degree and major.