Running Start & Transfer Students

Welcome to your newest academic endeavor as a pre-major student at University of Washington Bothell! Your achievements as a Running Start or Transfer Student give you invaluable experience for pursuing your goals here at UW Bothell. Because of your previous college experience, you may feel like a freshman and a transfer student. The information provided below will help you acclimate, capitalize on your previous hard work, and help you to develop new goals here at UW Bothell.

Please note: Information on this page is intended for pre-major students. Students admitted to a major should work directly with their major advisor.

Academic planning & advising

  • Use your academic goals from Running Start and community college to establish new goals here at UW Bothell.
  • Meet with a Pre-major advisor. As a Running Start or Transfer Student, you are probably used to navigating college on your own. However, bringing a lot of credits into UW Bothell can be complicated, so taking a moment to meet with a Pre-major advisor can help you plan for your school career.
  • Some helpful advising resources include Pre-major advisors, Career Advisors, and the many resources available in the Student Success Center (SSC).

What to know about transfer credit

  • Make sure UW Bothell has the most recent transcripts from your previous community college and high school.
  • Avoid repeating courses at UW Bothell you already took at your previous college.
  • Do a Degree Audit to see what classes transferred to UW Bothell or check your unofficial transcript in MyUW. Transfer courses may show up in Degree Audit as Seattle courses. If you want to know how these classes count towards your degree, visit a Peer Advisor or Pre-major advisor.
  • Your completed community college courses may count towards your intended major or general education requirements. Meet with a Peer Advisor or Pre-major advisor if you have questions about how your credits transferred. A petition process exists for students that believe their prior credits may count for general education requirements, yet were not transferred as such.
  • Fill in Major Planning Worksheets with classes you have already taken to see how close you are to applying to a major.

Key policies to know

  • Your GPA does not transfer from your previous schools. Classes taken at UW Bothell will determine your GPA.
  • UW Bothell’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy expects students to enter a major after completing 90 credits. If a student has completed more than 5 college quarters and 105 credits and not been accepted into a major, a registration hold is placed on their account. A student will need to declare a major or obtain an extension from a Pre-major advisor. Click here for more on credit policies.
  • Students admitted through a first-year application are expected to declare a major by the time they have completed five academic quarters (not including summer quarters) and earned 105 credits. Thus, no matter how many credits a first-year applicant enters with, they will have five quarters at UW Bothell before needing to declare a major, even if the credit total exceeds 105 credits. A student may declare a major sooner if ready.

Explore majors at UW Bothell

  • Many students have ideas of possible majors while participating in Running Start. Use those ideas to connect to possible majors at UW Bothell.
  • Remember most majors at UW Bothell have prerequisite classes, GPAs, and application deadlines to meet before declaring a major. Check Major Planning Worksheets often to stay on track with major requirements.
  • Explore different schools and majors available to students at UW Bothell.
  • Still not sure what you want to study? Have questions? Schedule an appointment with a Pre-major Advisor to discuss your options.

Next steps & getting involved