Transferring a specific course to OSU

• You must earn a grade of "C" or better to be able to tranfer a course to OSU
• You must have an official transcript sent to OSU and petition to have the courses transfer
• You can look up your courses on the Course Applicability System to determine their equivalents at Ohio State.

Starting at a different school and then transferring to OSU

We DO NOT recommend intentionally starting at a different school with a plan to later transfer to Ohio State. Many students have started this way and it costs most of them an extra year to complete their degree.  It is not realistic to plan to graduate in 4 total years if you begin your college career elsewhere and then transfer to OSU to complete the Athletic Training Major.  In all likelihood, you will have some courses that will not transfer and/or your other school(s) may not offer equivalents to our pre-requisite courses.  It will almost always cost you a year to change schools.

If you complete your required clinical observation elsewhere, you also are likely to be less familiar to the AT major's admissions committee.  Each spring, this committee reviews the applications of 50 - 70 students for our 20 - 25 program openings.  The committee works diligently to get to know each applicant through their application materials and through personal interactions during the clinical observations.  The job of the committee is to select into our major the best overall applicants.  If you complete your clinicals elsewhere, the committee is forced to consider your application without having had an opportunity to interact with you first-hand.  Human nature suggests that this may work against you in comparison with a similar student with whom the committee is more familiar.

If you started at a different school and have decided that you want to now transfer to Ohio State, you should ask yourself the following questions:

• WHY do I want to transfer? 
• ...because I'm struggling academically - a transfer to Ohio State is probably a worse choice than staying where you are.  Ohio State's program is very rigorous and struggling transfer students seldom improve their academic standing by moving to our program.
• ... because I want a bigger program - While we are a large program with many resources and opportunities, the level of expectation is also high.  Before you transfer to a Big School, make sure you are the kind of student who will succeed here.  We are not the right fit for unsure students or those who need a lot of hand holding.  Students who succeed here are eager, independent, and competent.
• ... because I want a better program - Ohio State's program has a national reputation for excellence, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we are a better program FOR YOU. We might be, but we just as easily might not.  Our program has a lot to offer, but as a transfer student, these opportunities come at a cost.  You will not be able to just transfer directly into the program, regardless of your standing in your current program.  Instead you will have to go through our competitive admissions process just like our on-campus students.  You will very likely have to complete some pre-requisite courses before you can even apply for program admission. We do program admissions one time per year, so if your pre-req's aren't done or scheduled, you will have to wait a year. If accepted, you begin our program as a sophomre and it takes 3 years to complete... even if you were a junior or senior at your old school.  You can't merely do part of our program, you have to do it all!  We also have a very high level of expectation for your work ethic, professionalism and time committment.
• ... because I want to be closer to home - if this is your only reason, be careful!  This is actually one of the worst reasons to transfer to Ohio State's AT program.  While we may be close to home, location is not a good indicator of potential success by itself.  Make sure you thoroughly examine our program to be sure you fit in with our philosophy and expectations.
• ... because my school doesn't have Athletic Training - There are over 350 schools that do.  Visit http://www.caate.net/ for a complete list.  Before you come to Ohio State merely because we have an accredited program, do your homework and determine if you are a fit for our program and if we are a fit for your professional goals and your personality.
• WHEN do I plan to transfer?
• Earlier is better.  Regardless of when you transfer, you will be at Ohio State for at least 3 years.  If you still have pre-requisites to complete (most students do), then you are probably looking a 4 years at Ohio State.
• Which term? - AT program admissions are seperate from admission to the University.  The AT program only reviews students in the spring (March 31 deadline) and the students we accept begin their major in the summer between the freshman and sophomore year.  If you need to complete any pre-requisites, you need to transfer here in time to be have them complete or at least be enrolled in them for spring quarter.  If you won't have your pre-requisites complete by the end of spring quarter, you will not be considered for program admission.

Transfer students are encouraged to contact the Division directly because it is not possible to give complete and accurate information about your specific situation on a website.  Talking to the Athletic Training Division directly is the ONLY way to be correctly advised about transferring. 

• You must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) to be eligible to transfer into the School of Allied Medical Professions.  Although a 2.5 will make you eligible to transfer, be advised that program admission is competitive and students with GPAs below 3.0 do not typically compete well for admission.  The average GPA of Athletic Training Majors is over 3.45. 
• Because the Athletic Training Division has a competitive admisssion process, it is not possible to transfer directly into the major.  Instead, transfer students have two possible options.

1. OPTION 1 (recommended): Transfer to Ohio State's School of Allied Medical Professions as a Pre-AT student.  Technically, you'd select "Athletic Training" as your major on the application for admission to OSU.  You can transfer to Ohio State at any time by this route. If admitted to the university, you would be listed as a Pre-AT major.  As a pre-AT student, you would complete any pre-requisites you still need and then apply for admission to the major in March just like any other OSU Pre-AT major. Going from Pre-major status to admission to the major itself is competitive. It will take you a minimum of 3 years to complete the major, regardless of previous coursework and clinicals that you may have completed elsewhere. Contact the Division for more information.
   
2. OPTION 2 (more difficult): Apply for competitive admission directly to the major in the spring (March 31 deadline) before transferring to OSU.  This is separate from applying for admission to the university.  You would apply to the major through the normal competitive admission process and then transfer to OSU over the summer if you are accepted.  This option is only open to transfer students who will have completed transfer equivalents for all pre-requisite courses AND the clinical observation by the end of the spring quarter/semester in which they are applying to the program. 
   1. Students pursuing this option may be at a competitive disadvantage for program admission because the admissions committee will be considerably less familiar with you than with similar students who have completed their coursework and clinical observation at Ohio State.  For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you at least complete a campus visit and take the time to meet the program faculty prior to application. 
   2. If you are sucessfully admitted into the Athletic Training major this way, you would enter as a sophomore for program purposes, regardless of the number of credit hours your have completed. It will take you a minimum of 3 years to complete the major, regardless of previous coursework and clinicals that you may have completed elsewhere.
   3. We DO NOT accept transfer of upper level courses in Athletic Training (e.g. injury evaluation, therapeutic modalities, etc) because the program is required to assess and ensure your proficiency in these areas and this is specifically accomplished in our courses and clinicals.  You are transferring to this program because you want to be an OSU educated Athletic Trainer.  To do this means completing the entire program with us, not just a part of it. Contact the Division for more information.