Transfer question US to UK..carry over?

I am currently in a community college here in the states..maybe halfway done my AA degree in network technology. Most the classes ive done so far have been my major computers, just started taking my academics.

Question is if i completed my AA, or came close to finishing...would there be some way to transfer what ive done here to the UK. For instance instead of doing all 3 years would i be able to do Uni 2nd year or 3rd year..or start all over. Id hate to have done so much over here, to  have to re start in the UK. I say this because my gf lives in london and may jump across the pond at a point and want to finish.

Any information on this, or degress and jobs, or IT related ...would be appreciated!

also like to mention i am working getting on certified in a few things which i know may help and carry over

Credits do not transfer over to the UK, but at many of the institutions that I applied for, they would consider you for second year entry upon your request. As far as I know and as far as I'm told, they take a look at your transcripts and decide if you have enough of a foundation in the courses that you took to be able to handle second year or third year work.

I asked for second year entry as well, I have about 54, or almost two years of credits, most of them done at a community college. I don't know how far off I was from being in second year, but I'm not too upset about it. The problem is though, when you choose your 'major' at a UK school most of the courses or modules will be done in relevance towards that degree, so no general education. The issues with transferring an AA degree is that the degree is mostly comprised of general education courses, math, science, writing, speech, etc. I say go for it though, call them up and ask, because you never know.

If you do try and get rejected for second year entry, don't be too bummed out about it. If you don't get second year entry, it is because they believe that you would not be able to keep up in second year with the foundation that you have. Also, take into consideration that there is what is considered a 'foundation' year to be added to the three year degree and many students have to take that extra year simply because they are not ready.

Have you considered applying through clearing? Also, if keeping your credits are very important to you, have you considered doing a one year exchange with an American university in London or a school that has certain arrangements with a US university? If you have any questions, feel free to pm me. I have been in your boat before

With UK degrees, you choose your major before you begin the degree and you study in just one department for the entire 3 years, with no option to take classes in other subjects unless you are offered the chance to take an elective module in a different department. The first year of the degree does not actually count towards your final degree classification, so although you must pass the first year to continue on to the second year of study, your actual grades won't mean anything for your final degree results. So, the degree is graded entirely on the second year and third year, often split 50/50 or 40/60. The majority of UK degrees involve a year-long research project and dissertation carried out in the third year, although the project title and supervisor are decided during the second year. I did a 4-year undergraduate degree, giving me a masters at the end, and I had to do a 2-year research project - I chose the project title at the end of the second year and handed in my final dissertation at the end of the fourth year.

When you register for the university, you have to register in the fall for an entire year at once, however, you don't register for individual classes - instead you go to your department and they give you a timetable for the semester. Each class is only offered once each year and is only taught by one professor (so no picking and choosing when you will take the class or which professor you want and no missing out on a class because it is full - everyone on a particular degree programme must take each required class). If you fail a class and don't pass the re-sit in September, then you have to repeat the entire year.

As an example of the UK degree structure, here is what my 4-year MPhys Theoretical Physics with North American Study (NAS) degree at Exeter involved:

Before I started the degree, I took 2-year Advanced Level courses in Physics, Mathematics and Geography in high school (approximately equivalent to US AP classes/Freshman year of college). In order to get onto the degree programme, I had to get at least one A and two B's in those three subjects (if I hadn't got at least ABB, I would not have been able to attend the university and would have studied BSc Physics with Astrophysics at Birmingham University instead, which only required grades of BBC).

Year 1 (0% of final degree grade)

PHY1001    Quantum Phenomena
PHY1002    Thermal Physics    
PHY1003    Properties of Matter
PHY1104    Fundamental Electromagnetism I
PHY1105    Relativity I and Vectors
PHY1106    Waves and Oscillators 
PHY1107    Practical Electronics I
PHY1108    IT Skills for Physicists   
PHY1110    Practical Physics I (2-semester class)
PHY1116    Mathematics for Physicists (2-semester class)
   
Year 2 (25% of final degree grade)
     
PHY2002    Quantum Physics I
PHY2004    Scientific Programming in C
PHY2006    Fundamental Electromagnetism II
PHY2007    Relativity II and Mechanics
PHY2009    Physics of Crystals   
PHY2018    Mathematics with Physical Applications (2 semesters)
PHY2201    Statistical Physics
PHY2205    Analytical Dynamics
PHY2208    Optics
PHY2214    Classical Theory of Fields   
PHY3134    Computational Physics

Year 3 (at University of New Mexico, US) (35% of final degree grade)

PHY3201    Advanced Quantum Mechanics (US: 492 Intermediate Quantum Mechanics II)
PHY3202    Advanced Electromagnetism (US: 405/406 Electricity and Magnetism)
PHY3203    Advanced Statistical Physics (US: 505 Statistical Mechanics and Thermodynamics)
PHY3204    Solid-State Physics (US: 430 Introduction to Solid State Physics)
PHY3205    Project: Background Report (5,000 word report for final year project)
PHY3208    NAS Study Elective I (US: 491 Intermediate Quantum Mechanics I)
PHY3209    NAS Study Elective II (US: 327 Geophysics)
PHY3210    NAS Elective III (US: 101 Philosophy)

Year 4 (40% of final degree grade)

PHY3135    Nuclear and High-Energy Particle Physics
PHY3145    Topics in Theoretical Physics
PHY4401    Solid State Physics II
PHY4416    Project (counted for 50% of year - involved a Powerpoint presentation, 3 oral lab-book assessments, a 10,000 word dissertation and a final oral exam)
PHY4428    General Problems (2 semesters)
PHY4432    Relativity and Cosmology

thanks for your replies! Yea this semester i just started taking academics...the last few have been nothing but my computer related major classes. Id really hope if it came down to it i could be qualified to start in year 2. Ive taken mainly major classes this far.

What sort of academic and non-academic classes have you taken so far? (i.e. what material have you covered?) Just wondering how your classes in the US might compare to computer-related university courses offered in the UK.

It might be best to look at universities around where you want to move to and see what their departments offer. Typically, they'll have a page with the structure of their undergrad programme (e.g. King's College London). Look at what they have for their first year and try to focus your current studies on those areas (e.g. dump your electives and such towards those). That way, when you request to skip the first year, you do have a good portfolio to support your case.

yeah good idea. As stated this was my first semester with academics, english and sociology. So far ive taken lot quite few computer major classes. In introduction to computers, few networking classes , information security, pc repairs, and should have few more under my belt by the time id get over there.

What would be your course at a UK university? Err-rather which one would you apply for?

The following link has some relevant information - http://www.britishcouncil.org/usa-education-study-in-the-uk-how-to-apply.htm [nofollow] .  I would ask the university for a professor's email address in the major that you are looking to transfer over.  They will most likely be able to tell you which courses/credits will transfer and which ones won't.  Some may transfer as credits, but not for the major as well! Hope this helps!

Great thread! This has been really helpful since I'm planning on starting over again next year (I have mostly Gen Ed classes completed, that's why I say starting over).

Question on tuition (not to change the subject) but I'm entering the UK on a Spousal Visa.  If I wanted to pay resident tuition fees, instead of international tuition fees, would I need to be a Citizen? Or have ILR?

Nevermind... answered my own question in the Home Fees thread....

Nevermind... answered my own question in the Home Fees thread....

For anyone else interested who hasn't seen the Home Fees thread - in order to qualify for home fees, you need to have been ordinarily resident in the UK/EU for 3 years before starting the course and hold permanent residence (ILR) in the UK. Even UK citizens have to fulfill the 3-year requirement (so if they have been outside the EU for more than 3 years and did not maintain ordinary residence in the UK during that time, they also do not qualify for home fees until they have been back in the UK for 3 years).

Well it seems like your questions have been answered. But being as you show interest in Information Technology, I have provided a few Universities in the UK that you might be interested in applying to.

- University of Wolverhampton (School of Computing and IT): Subject areas include; IT security, mathematics, games development, web and mobile technologies and IT management.

- Middlesex University (in London): Information Technology degree with honors. Courses will range from Database Management System to Object Oriented Analysis and design.

- Lancaster University (Management School): Management and Information Technology degree- designed to give you the ability to apply IT to business situations.

- University of Exeter: Creative Media and Information Technology, and teaching and research in the field of Digital Arts and Humanities.

These are just a few Universities in the Uk, all of which have great programs. I hope this was of interest to you. Good luck with applying!