Pre-College Transfer Credit

Note that St. Olaf uses a credit system in which 1.0 St. Olaf credit equals 4 semester credits or 5.5 quarter credits.  A minimum of 35 credits is required to graduate.  Students typically take 4 credits each fall and spring semester and 1 credit during three interim terms to reach 35 credits after 4 years.

• First-year = 0-7.75 completed credits
• Sophomore = 8-16.75
• Junior = 17-24.75
• Senior = 25+

St. Olaf awards a maximum of 6 St. Olaf credits from all pre-college credits submitted by matriculating first-year students. The Registrar first awards credits for any AP/IB/CAL exams that qualify. If a student has not received the maximum pre-college transfer credits from those exams alone, then the Registrar will divide the total number of earned PSEO/CIS/dual enrollment semester or quarter credits by 4 or 5.5 accordingly to equal a maximum of 4 St. Olaf credits but not to exceed 6 total pre-college transfer credits.

If a student has AP/IB credits only, the maximum is 6 credits. If a student has PSEO/CIS/dual enrollment credits only, the maximum is 4 credits.  If a student has a mixture, the maximum is 6 but only 4 of the 6 can be from PSEO/CIS/dual enrollment.

See the equivalency guides listed above for AP, IB, and CAL exams. Please note that these are updated each academic year. The year of a student’s matriculation is the policy year they will follow.

Up to 6 OLE Core requirements can be fulfilled with pre-college transfer work. See the equivalency guides at the top of this page for how AP/IB/CAL scores will fulfill OLE Core. PSEO/CIS will fulfill OLE Core as applicable.  A max of two OLE Core requirements can be fulfilled with 3-semester-credit or 4-5-quarter-credit courses.  Contact us for specific questions.

Once we receive scores for AP, IB, and CAL in early July, please allow 4 – 6 weeks. You can begin checking SIS toward the end of July. AP, IB, and CAL credits are entered first. PSEO, CIS, and Dual Enrollment credits are entered next.  If by early August your credits have not been posted, contact us to ask if we received your information.

Yes, you may always send pre-college scores or transcripts later, but sooner is better in order to plan your schedule accordingly.

Yes. We post transfer credits to student records as soon as possible. If a credit has not been posted yet, keep that in mind in order to register accordingly.

St. Olaf does not accept CLEP.

The grades earned at other institutions are entered on the student’s St. Olaf transcript but do not factor into the St. Olaf GPA.

Additional AP, IB, CAL exams with qualifying scores and PSEO, CIS, or Dual Enrollment courses can be posted to the student’s record, but no additional credit will be awarded. There is no need to choose which scores/courses receive credit because transfer credit is awarded as a lump sum.

• St Olaf will accept S and P grades for any spring 2020 transfer coursework due to COVID-19.
• St Olaf will accept AP and IB credits if exams are taken from home due to the impact of COVID-19. St Olaf respects the expertise of testing boards, schools, and educational institutions to make alternative assessment plans due to COVID-19 for students finishing their high school coursework in 2020.