Transfer Student Admission Requirements

Holistic Admissions

OSU-Cascades' admission process is intended to promote student success by holistically assessing student preparedness and academic potential in the unique context of each student's personal experience. Admission assessment will consider academic achievements and life experiences to enroll students with a broad range of characteristics and perspectives.

A strong transfer application typically includes:

• Completion of 24 or more quarter hours OR 16 or more semester hours. (Students with less credit will also be evaluated on their high school and college work.)
• Achieved a cumulative GPA of 2.25 or higher.  Note that grades from courses taken more recently are weighted more heavily than grades earned years ago.
• Completion of college-level writing equivalent to WR 121(English Composition) with C- or higher
• Completion of college-level math equivalent to MTH 111 (College Algebra) or MTH 105 (Contemporary Math) with a C- or higher*
• Starting with Summer 2025, transfer applicants wishing to be admitted directly into Engineering must also be prepared to take Calculus / MTH 251 (or higher) in their first term at OSU.  Learn more about this requirement.

Additional transfer admission policy:

• Completion of college-level mathematics is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED for students applying to STEM-field majors to be on track for participation in upper division coursework and timely graduation.
• Students admitted without a college-level mathematics or college-level writing course must complete those at OSU within their first 45 credits.
• Being admitted as a transfer student does not guarantee you have met the pre-requisites to begin coursework specific to your major.
• Students who graduated from high school in 1997 or later must meet a foreign language requirement with either two years of high school level study in the same language or two quarters/semesters of college-level study with a minimum grade of a C- or better. Foreign language taken at an unaccredited high school does not qualify.  For additional information on how to meet foreign language deficiencies, view this PDF.
• Applicants who are ineligible to re-enroll at any college or university that they attended within the last seven years for student conduct reasons will be automatically declined admission at OSU.  Applicants who disclose that the reason for their ineligibility is for academic reasons will be admitted only if they meet OSU’s minimum academic requirements.
• Applicants who are denied admission have the right to appeal that decision, and appeals will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Learn more about the appeal process.

Please note that meeting the minimum admissions requirements and/or an individual’s academic performance does not guarantee them admission to the university.  The university may evaluate a person’s behavior and background to determine their ability to maintain the standards of academic and professional conduct expected at OSU.

Transfer credit / "Pass" grading:

OSU will transfer coursework completed as Pass credit. Spring 2020 term transfer courses completed as Pass credit due to special pandemic grading can be used to complete major-specific requirements for graduation.

Writing and Math courses needed to qualify for transfer admissions may also be considered with a Pass grade.

How will your GPA be computed?

The official policies of OSU regarding academic-record evaluation for purposes of admission and scholarship consideration include:

• Only the highest grade for a repeated course will be calculated in the GPA
• Only transferable college-level credits are accepted and counted in the GPA computation (a course’s grade has no bearing on whether or not it is transferable).
• Academic bankruptcy or forgiveness of low grades is not a policy recognized by OSU. Classes must be repeated to have a grade replaced

How to Apply

Submission of an online application and $65 nonrefundable application fee (some waivers available).

Transcripts from ALL regionally accredited institutions previously attended (including colleges attended while in high school).

• Note that you will have the opportunity to upload unofficial college transcripts to be considered for admission initially, but we must eventually get official current college transcripts in order to do any official evaluation of credits and before any financial aid can be disbursed. We highly recommend requesting these immediately upon submitting your OSU application.
• Transcripts are considered official if they arrive to OSU in an official, unopened, and sealed envelope from the issuing institution, or are sent electronically through an approved third-party company, directly from the college or university.  OSU does not accept transcripts or links to transcripts sent through email. Submitting official transcripts and other documents

If you have completed two or more years of a foreign language in high school with a C- or better, you will need to send us an official copy of your final high school transcript (containing a graduation date) if you would like to use it towards meeting OSU’s secondary language admissions/graduation requirement. 

Submit official AP, CLEP, and IB scores you have to meet admissions subject requirements (Math 111, WR 121) and to award appropriate transferable credits.

Transfer Credit Articulation

OSU provides an official articulation of a student’s transcripts once each of the following has been met:

- Student has paid the Advanced Tuition Deposit or received approved deposit waiver and has registered for START/orientation (Fall term applicants only)

- Student has paid the Advanced Tuition Deposit or received approved deposit waiver (Winter, Spring, and Summer term applicants)

- All official transcripts from all colleges you have attended and/or are attending have been received

-Learn more about doing a self-guided, unofficial transfer credit assessment and get additional details about the transfer credit process.-

Students who completed a significant amount of their education in a country outside the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, English-speaking Canada, or New Zealand may be asked to submit English proficiency test scores. The tests must have been taken within the last two years from the term you are applying for.