How does grading for transfer credits work—do transfer credits affect your college GPA?

• A. Transfer credits count toward degree requirements but are usually not included in your new college GPA; only grades earned at the college affect the GPA.
• B. Transfer credits are included in GPA at the same weight as native credits.
• C. Transfer credits are doubled in GPA.
• D. Transfer credits are ignored entirely when calculating GPA or degree progress.

Answer: (A)

Transfer credits affect your degree progress by counting toward total credit hours and fulfilling course requirements, but your GPA is usually based only on the grades you earn at the new college. When you transfer, the school often accepts some of your previous coursework to apply toward graduation requirements, so you don’t have to retake those courses. The grades from those transferred courses typically don’t pull into your new GPA—the GPA is calculated from classes taken and graded at the new institution. Some schools may show transfer grades on your transcript, or choose to recalculate GPA in a specific way, but the standard approach is that transfer credits count for progress and degree requirements without automatically altering your GPA. That’s why the correct choice emphasizes degree progress with transfer credits, while GPA reflects only the grades earned at the college you’re attending.