Transferring to TMU: How and why I did it

Coming to TMU was a sudden plan. When the pandemic started, I was back home in India and already enrolled into the local university I had aimed for when in high school. But the lockdown meant that everything shifted online. I couldn’t go into physical classes and have the college experience I had always dreamed of. It wasn’t just about being able to make friends and have new experiences, I also felt that I was missing out on crucial growth that happens in university when one is exposed to a different world altogether. 

After a few months of online classes, I started to look into the Fall 2022 intake in Canadian universities. The lockdown had started to lift all over the world and I was reconsidering my career options. While I still wanted to stay in a business program, I wanted to go somewhere where university would be about more than just academics. So when I started to shortlist universities, I gave importance to aspects such as extracurriculars, career development opportunities, school culture, scholarships and things to do in the city. 

The wait for admission updates was when I continued my research more intensely. I was still enrolled in university back home so it felt like I had only one foot in the door for both scenarios. I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I reached out to students from the universities I had applied to on LinkedIn. I had virtual coffee chats and meetings with international student ambassadors to determine where I could truly see myself for the next four years.

After receiving my offer of admission to TMU, everything started to feel more real and promising. I made the decision to actually attend this university, but a big thing I had to consider was finances. While university back home was much more affordable, I had also spent some time studying courses that were very similar to what was offered in the Ted Rogers School of Management Business Management program. So I decided to look into how I could transfer some of the credits I had to avoid repeating what I had already learned. It would also give me some financial leeway, since I would be able to save on tuition fees.

The transfer credit process for college and university students begins after you’ve been admitted and you accept your offer.  As an international student  you will need to use the Manual Transfer Credit Application.

Each course is evaluated by the appropriate teaching department. You will need to provide a detailed course outline including information about learning outcomes, a weekly list of topics, an evaluation scheme and more. The course title and course code on the course outline must match the ones on your transcript.

After applying, you can check whether your credits have been assessed or not on your Transfer Credit report on MyServiceHub. Once you are matriculated into your program (this is when you can enrol in courses), the credits appear in your Advisement report.  This is where you can track your undergraduate journey and see what courses are left in order to graduate. Most of my credits were approved, however some were rejected because they didn’t match the criteria of any TMU courses. 

Your transfer credit journey will be unique to your situation. Once I came to TMU, I was so confident that I had made the right decision because everything fell into place. I was able to use transfer credits to my advantage, saving on tuition fees and choosing courses from other programs such as Creative Industries, Philosophy, Geography and more to learn about subjects I have always been interested in. 

My university experience ended up being closer to what I had imagined, and I learned so much about myself and my capabilities in a completely new country and environment. I am glad I took this route because I was able to get more from my degree by learning beyond what I thought was even possible!