Community college students interested in being among the first to come to American University in D.C. under its new transfer program need to act fast.
May 1 is the priority deadline to apply if you’d like to start classes at AU this fall through the American Transfer Advantage initiative.
“The idea is really to make the transfer process much more streamlined, affordable, straightforward for students coming into AU,” university President Jonathan Alger told WTOP. “For the first time, we have community college transfer students that can receive up to 50% tuition support, and the ability to transfer up to 75 credits towards their AU degree.”
To be eligible, a student must have earned at least 30 credits at an accredited community college and have a GPA of at least 3.0.
As part of the university’s five-year strategic plan launched in January, the school is offering updated curriculum to better ensure that its graduates are prepared for “meaningful lives and careers.”
The school is also promising to give every undergraduate student access to up to $4,500 toward a paid internship or research experience.
Through the American Transfer Advantage initiative, transfer students will get orientation specifically designed for them. Also, those transferring after the fall 2026 semester will get pre-enrollment help.
“Students will have access to our advising even before they step foot on our campus,” said Evelyn Thimba, AU’s vice president for undergraduate enrollment management.
Eventually, AU plans to create an even more streamlined “direct entry” process for students with two-year associate’s degrees.
“We know that students who begin their studies at a community college and earn their associate degree, and then transfer to a four-year college are more likely to graduate from that four-year college,” Thimba said.
So far, she said, more than 600 students have applied to transfer to AU this fall, and more than 250 of them are eligible for the new transfer program.
Thimba said she expects a bunch of additional applications to come in just before the deadline.
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