Deadlines
- May 1: Deadline to apply for fall enrollment
- November 1: Deadline to apply for spring enrollment
Lafayette offers many opportunities for transfer students to join our amazing community of life-long learners.
Students who have graduated from high school (grade 12 in the United States) and have matriculated in a degree-seeking program at a post-secondary institution will be considered for admission only as transfer students.
There is no minimum number of courses or credits required to be eligible to transfer.
Transfer students must enroll as full-time students and must spend at least two years at Lafayette to be eligible for graduation. At least half the courses applied toward the major must be taken at Lafayette.
The College only awards the bachelor of arts (A.B) or bachelor of science (B.S) degree.
Due to the high volume of transfer applications, we cannot guarantee an evaluation of credit transferability until after a student is accepted and submits the enrollment deposit. All transfer students must complete a credit evaluation, regardless if they want to transfer any or all of their classes/credits.
Students are required to submit course descriptions and syllabi for each course to be evaluated. The Office of the Registrar, in concert with the faculty, will make the final determination on what college credits will transfer to Lafayette College. Additional documentation could also be requested by either the registrar or faculty. In order to estimate which courses will transfer to Lafayette, use the following guidelines:
Lafayette will also accept AP & IB credit earned by admitted transfer students to be used for both academic placement and course credit. AP and IB scores should be submitted to the Office of the Registrar after the student has been accepted to be considered for transfer credit.
There is the possibility that no credits will transfer to Lafayette. Some vocational and specialized programs may not be offered at Lafayette and thus, are not eligible for transfer credit.
To learn more about Lafayette’s transfer credit policy, please visit the registrar’s website.
Lafayette meets 100% of demonstrated need for all accepted students, including international students. If you are applying for need-based financial aid as a domestic student, please submit the FAFSA, CSS Profile, and IDOC forms along with your application. All financial aid documents need to be submitted in order for the student’s admissions application to be complete.
For non-U.S. citizens, need-based financial aid is extremely limited, and the need-aware admission process is highly competitive. All non-U.S. citizens/non-U.S. permanent residents must submit the CSS Profile. Lafayette does not provide CSS Profile waivers.
For students who receive financial aid, a financial aid award letter will be available in your portal shortly after your acceptance letter. Your merit scholarship will also be viewable in your portal if you have been selected for one.
Apply as a first-year student (first time in college for their first year) if you are currently enrolled in high school (grade 12 in the U.S.) and have not yet graduated. Some students will have earned college credits or earned their associate’s degree in conjunction with their high school diploma; they are considered first-year students and thus would apply as first-year applicants.
If you have taken a gap year or have not enrolled in a degree-seeking program, then you are also considered a first-time college student and first-year applicant and thus would submit the first-year application. Gap year students can take a maximum of 2 classes in total during their gap year. Taking more that two college courses during a gap year will make the student a transfer student and thus the student would submit a transfer application.
Transfer students are students who have graduated from a high school and matriculated into a degree-seeking program. Regardless of the type of program–vocational, specialized, technical, etc–the student enrolled in a degree-seeking program will be considered as a transfer student. There is the possibility that no credits will transfer from vocational, specialized, technical, etc., programs if Lafayette does not offer an equivalent course or program. If the student did not complete the degree/course work, they are still considered a transfer student and thus would submit the transfer application.
Lafayette uses the Common Application. Please visit Apply as a First Year for information on first-year admissions and the Transfer Applicants page for information on transfer admissions.
International students will need to submit the Transfer Common App and all the supporting admissions documents listed under the requirements section.
If English is not the first language, the student will need to submit English Proficiency exam scores, either IELTS, TOEFL, or Duolingo, as part of their application. If English is your first language or you have received academic instruction in English for the past 3 years, you may submit proof that you meet these requirements so that the English proficiency test is waived. Please email proof of satisfying the requirements to admissions@lafayette.edu.
While we do offer financial aid for international students, it is very competitive. International students will need to submit the CSS Profile in order to identify financial aid eligibility. Lafayette does not offer CSS Profile waivers.
International transfer students whose academic transcripts are from a college or university located outside the United States are required to have their transcripts evaluated by World Education Services (WES) as part of a complete transfer application. WES is an international academic credit evaluation agency. WES is not required for international high school transcripts. Lafayette College requires the Course by Course Evaluation and does not offer WES fee waivers.
International transfer students are also not eligible to be commuters to Lafayette. International transfer students are required to live in college-owned housing, and if the student receives financial aid, that will be reflected in their College Financing Plan. International transfer students can request private off-campus housing in their senior year, after being approved to live off-campus by residence life.
You do not need to submit a transcript evaluated by World Education Services (WES) as part of your application if you are enrolled in a U.S. institution. Only students attending international post-secondary colleges and universities are required to submit a transcript evaluated by World Education Services (WES). WES is not required for international high school transcripts. WES is an international academic credit evaluation agency. Lafayette College requires the Course by Course Evaluation and does not offer WES fee waivers.
Yes, you will need to send an official transcript from each college or university you have attended, even if you do not want certain credits to be transferred. Please have all official transcripts sent from each school to the admissions office, admissions@lafayette.edu. Transcripts received from the students are considered unofficial and will not satisfy the requirement until the official transcripts are received from the college/university.
We require all students to live in campus-owned housing unless they meet the requirements of a commuters, which is an individual whose permanent residence is within 30 miles of campus and travels regularly from their permanent home to and from campus. “Permanent residence” is defined as the domicile where one or both of the student’s parent/guardians live. A family-owned apartment or house that is not the parent/guardian’s primary residence does not qualify as the permanent residence. Our commuter eligibility outlines more details.
Typically international transfer students will not be eligible for commuter status. International transfer students can potentially request private off-campus housing in their senior year, after being approved to live off-campus by residence life.
You will typically have about 10 days to accept our admission offer. In order to ensure a smooth transition (credentials, advising, housing etc), Lafayette has a shorter turn around time. If you need more time, please contact Jade Halikias (sayboltj@lafayette.edu) regarding an enrollment extension and your reason. To enroll, log into your Lafayette portal, accept your offer of admission, and submit the nonrefundable deposit of $750.
Right after, please send to the admissions office (admissions@lafayette.edu) your course descriptions and syllabi for each course you have taken so the credit evaluation process can begin. Both the course description and syllabi for each course are required for the transfer credit policy. Course descriptions are not enough for Lafayette to determine transfer credit eligibility.
There is the possibility that no credits will be transferred to Lafayette. Some vocational and specialized programs may not be offered at Lafayette and thus not be eligible for transfer credit. In cases where no credits are transferable, a student will enter Lafayette with first-year class standing, even though the student applied as a transfer student. In this situation, a transfer student would need to complete 8 full semesters, as a full time student in order to graduate on time.
To learn more about Lafayette’s transfer credit policy, please visit the registrar’s website.
Lafayette uses the Common Application. Please visit the Transfer Applicants page to learn more.
Read more Frequently Asked Questions about Transferring to Lafayette