Transfer Students

In most cases, yes! We want to give you as much credit as possible for your work completed at another institution. And we’ve structured our general education requirements to accommodate transfer students. For example, although most degrees requires 9 semester credits of Social Science, you may instead choose any combination of two disciplines: Business, Communication, Education, Management, and more. With flexibility you can enjoy more of the classes you want while still completing your degree on time. Some programs have prescriptive requirements, like Education and Nursing, so ask an Admissions Counselor to guide you on the fastest path.

NU is transfer friendly, accepting lots of credit! Please contact an Admissions Counselor for an unofficial transcript review. Your unofficial transcript review will approximate the time required to complete your degree at NU, and which classes you need. We will even conduct an unofficial review of your credits before you submit an application! Email transfer@northwestu.edu for more information.

Yes! You may earn credit that is transferrable to Northwest University from a variety of sources. Northwest University offers credit for successful completion of CLEP, AP, IB, and Dantes exams, in addition to military training (provided it is reflected on an official transcript) and prior learning, through the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA).

For detailed information regarding earing credit at Northwest University from these sources, you can consult our Credit Transfer Guide and Standardized Exam Table, or contact an Admissions Counselor at transfer@northwestu.edu.

Northwest University utilizes the semester system, so you can apply for either the Fall (August-December) or Spring (January-May) terms. We also offer on-campus and online classes during the summer. Certain programs only start in the Fall semester. Please contact an Admissions Counselor at transfer@northwestu.edu to find out if this applies to you.

If you have taken college credit after high school graduation then you are considered a Transfer Student. If you completed your college credits before high school graduation then you will apply to NU as a new incoming student with Running Start college credit.

We recommend completing your application as soon as possible because financial aid is awarded when you are accepted to the University and after completing the FAFSA. Submit your current official college transcripts from all colleges previously attended with your application. Once you finish your term, send a new transcript reflecting your completed courses.

This is very common among transfer students, and Northwest University can recommend a few options for you. An Admissions Counselor can work with you to make a plan for completing the Nursing prerequisites: transfer@northwestu.edu. Take a look at the Nursing Admissions page for more details.

The Northwest University Admissions Committee considers students holistically and decisions are made after reviewing each part of the application. If you are concerned that your grades do not match your academic abilities, consider submitting a supplementary essay describing your academic history and your plan for success at Northwest University. Please provide your essay to your Admissions Counselor.

Note: All credits accepted by Northwest University are converted into and reported in semester credit hours. One quarter credit is equal to two-thirds of a semester credit. Semester credits are calculated by dividing the total number of quarter credits by 1.5.

Please contact our VA Coordinator at veterans@northwestu.edu.