Transfer students and adult learners (students age 25+) must complete online Orientation. Transfer students are those that have attended at least one semester at another college or university and are transferring credits to VCU. While we know you have been in college before, we want to ensure you understand how things work at VCU. Whether you are transferring from a two-year school, another four-year school, from in-state or out-of-state, or returning from some time away, we are excited to welcome you to the RAMily!
If you haven't already, please review the Transfer Student Checklist for more details on the need-to-know information to prepare for Orientation and your first semester at VCU!
Summer Orientation: New transfer students will register for one virtual Orientation session based on your school or college and complete the Ram Ready online modules at your own pace within two weeks of your Orientation session. These virtual sessions will be four hours in length with several breaks and will be held throughout the summer as follows:
- June 17th, 1-5 p.m. (Arts, Business, Humanities & Sciences, Engineering, Life Sciences, Wilder)
- June 24th, 4-8 p.m. (Education, Humanities & Sciences, Social Work, Undeclared, University College)
- July 15th, 1-5 p.m. (Arts, Business, Engineering, Health Professions, Humanities & Sciences, Nursing, Pre-Health)
- July 29th, 4-8 p.m. (All schools/colleges including Pre-Health, Undeclared)
- August 12th, 4-8 p.m. (For late acceptances; all schools/colleges including Pre-Health and Undeclared)*
*Last-chance Orientation will take place on August 12th from 4-8pm for ALL students regardless of student type or major.
There will be no upfront cost for the Orientation program. The cost for the program is covered by the New Student Transition Fee on your student bill and will be paid alongside tuition and other fees or covered by your financial aid package.
Please note: Fees are subject to change from semester to semester.
In addition, for Fall 2021, there is no fee for family members or guests to participate in Orientation but they must be registered in order to gain access to Orientation materials. To register a family member or guest, make sure you add them to your orientation registration.
Advising and course placement
Advising and registration takes place in tandem with your Orientation session. Advising and registration varies by your student type (first-year or transfer) and your academic college/unit. Expand the options for more details based on your student type and the semester you are enrolling.
For more information on general Academic Advising, visit VCU Advising.
New transfer students can make appointments with their academic advisors as early as May 13 using the Navigate App. Prior to this appointment, please review the Accepted Student Checklist, and complete your Advising Registration form. Be sure to check your VCU email often for more information from VCU Advising and your Academic Advisor.
Course Placement Options:
VCU determines your entry-level math, chemistry and foreign language courses based on your academic background and course placement. All first-year students are required to complete Math placement, and may also need to complete others based on your major. Transfer students are encouraged to complete the math placement if they will not be transferring a college level algebra class or higher. Review the information below for more details.
The math placement test determines the highest-level math course you can initially register for. First-year students are required to complete the test online before registering for orientation. Transfer students are strongly urged to complete the test online before registering for orientation. If you don’t have a test score or AP/IB/dual enrollment recorded on your VCU transcript, you will not be able to register for a math course. Take the test without any help. Receiving a score that doesn’t accurately reflect your math level could place you in a course where your success would be limited.
The chemistry placement test is an online test used to place students into an appropriate general chemistry course based on their background knowledge. All students, current or incoming, planning on registering for General Chemistry I (CHEM 101) are required to take the test. This includes first-year and transfer students who have taken AP Chemistry. The Chemistry Placement Test is a prerequisite for CHEM 101.
Those earning a passing score on the test will be eligible to register for CHEM 101. Those not earning a passing score have two options:
- enroll in CHEM 100 – Introductory Chemistry and earn a B or better, or
- complete the ALEKS online unit. (Additional information is available by exploring the ALEKS Frequently Asked Questions.) After successfully completing one of these options students are eligible to register for CHEM 101.
The study of additional language(s) increases mental acuity and global cultural competence. Please refer to the Foreign Language Website for more details on whether or not you may need to complete a foreign language placement test.
If you took AP or IB classes and you are advised for classes before your scores are available, your advisor will ask for an estimate of your scores. If your estimate is incorrect, your classes will be adjusted once scores are available. Generally, VCU requires scores of 3 or higher to receive AP credit, and a score of 4 to 6 to receive IB credit.
You can also earn credit through dual enrollment. If VCU does not have the final transcripts from the community college by the time you are advised for courses, you’ll need to inform your academic advisor about the classes you completed and the grades you earned.