Lawrence welcomes applications from qualified students who are attending or have attended other colleges or universities. As an institution that prizes individuality and values diversity, Lawrence knows that transfer students often bring with them new or different perspectives that enrich not only their own educational experiences but those of other students. Each fall, between 15 and 25 transfer students enter Lawrence; smaller numbers enroll in the winter and spring terms.
Application Deadlines
Fall (Term I) May 1
Winter (Term II) November 1
Spring (Term III) February 1
Because many colleges have semester calendars, September and January entrances are most popular. However, we discourage applications for Term II (January) from students who have completed only one semester or term elsewhere.
You can expect to be considered seriously by our admissions committee if you have a 2.75 grade point average or higher (on a 4.0 scale) in your previous college work.
Our registrar will make a formal transcript evaluation of your transfer credit only after you have been offered admission. If you would like an informal evaluation, however, you may send our admissions office a copy of your college transcript with a letter requesting an assessment.
Freshman Admission at Midyear
Lawrence typically discourages applications for Term II or Term III from students who have completed only one term of coursework elsewhere or who have not previously enrolled at a college following high school graduation. (This is due to the unique nature of Freshman Studies, a two-term course for first-year students, and because new student orientation is offered only in the fall.)
If I Applied to Lawrence Before, Must I Reapply?
If you completed an application to Lawrence within the past two years, you may reactivate your previous application folder by writing or e-mailing the admissions office. There is no application fee required for reactivation. Refer to the checklist to see what items you anticipate we will still need to complete your file. Otherwise we will notify you of any outstanding documents.
Do Transfer Students Qualify for Financial Aid and Scholarships?
More than 90 percent of Lawrence students annually receive a total
of more than $20 million in merit- and/or need-based financial aid.
The average need based aid award currently exceeds $25,000 per year.
To apply for financial aid, please submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the Lawrence Application for Financial Aid, signed copies of your and your parents’ federal tax returns, and all W-2 forms and schedules. You need not wait to receive an admission offer from Lawrence to apply for financial aid.
Your application for admission is also an application for scholarship. If you are awarded a merit-based scholarship, you will learn about it at the time you receive your admission offer from Lawrence.
Transfer of College Credit
Lawrence awards credit for courses taken at accredited colleges and universities, provided you have earned a grade of C- or better and that the course is similar in content and length to a Lawrence course. You can use transfer credit to fulfill Lawrence General Education Requirements, except for the writing and speaking general education requirements. Individual departments will determine if transfer credit fulfills major requirements.
If you are transferring credit from an institution outside the United States, please submit your transcripts/documents to Educational Credential Evaluators, Inc., for evaluation. (You will be responsible for any fees incurred.) Lawrence’s registrar will use your evaluation report in awarding transfer credit.
At Lawrence, a standard course is valued at 6 units. A normal course load for a Lawrence trimester is three standard courses (18 units). For purposes of transcript evaluation, 6 units at Lawrence may be considered the equivalent of 3.3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours at other institutions. A 6-unit Lawrence course that includes extra class or laboratory sessions is the equivalent in content to courses valued at 5 semester hours or 8 quarter hours at some other institutions.
For your credits to be reviewed by our registrar, your transcript must be official (i.e., your registrar must send it directly to our admissions office in a sealed envelope). Lawrence offers official evaluation only after making offers of admission. At that time we will provide an evaluation report that includes a list of credits granted toward a Lawrence degree, along with a statement of the class to which you have been admitted. (If you are in the process of completing an academic term while you’re applying to Lawrence, we will only be able to give you an official course evaluation on the courses you have completed. We will send you a revised evaluation after we receive your final transcript and our registrar has reviewed it.)
In some cases, the registrar may ask you for further explanations of course descriptions from your prior institution. We may also ask that you meet with a Lawrence department chair of a specific department to receive approval for credit in that academic discipline. Before receiving credit in the areas of mathematics, music, and foreign languages, we may also ask you to take a placement test after enrolling.
When Will I Be Notified?
In most cases, we will notify you of our admission decision within two weeks after the application deadline.
To secure enrollment and course registration, please submit your $200 deposit as soon as possible after you receive your final transcript evaluation or (if you’ve applied for financial aid) your financial aid package, whichever comes later. The deposit is refundable at graduation but will not be refunded if you later decide not to attend Lawrence.
Residence Requirements
To qualify for a Lawrence University Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of
Music degree, you must have a minimum of six terms (two years) in residence and earn 108 units (approximately 18 courses). Nine terms in residence and 162 units are required for the five-year B.A. and B.Mus. double-degree program. Enrollment in courses held on campus, at Lawrence off-campus study programs, ACM programs, and other special arrangements under Lawrence sponsorship contribute toward fulfilling the residence requirement.
Residential Life Policy
Lawrence is by design and policy a residential college, and students are required to live on campus. Exceptions are granted only to fifth-year students (including those starting their fifth year after high school), married students, students with a docmented domestic partner, and/or students with dependent children.