I took these courses years ago — do they still count?

I took these courses years ago — do they still count?

That's a completely fair thing to wonder about, and it's a common enough situation that the school has a specific answer for it — old coursework doesn't just get thrown out, but it also isn't automatically treated the same as something you finished last semester.

Here's how it actually works, per Five Branches' own transfer-students policy page (Five Branches transfer-students policy):

For TCM coursework specifically, transfer credit is awarded only for courses taken at a TCM college that is nationally accredited and approved by the California Acupuncture Board, with a letter grade of C or above. A regionally accredited institution on its own isn't sufficient for TCM coursework — that route applies to the five natural science prerequisites, which are a separate matter.

Even when a course does qualify, there are caps on how much can transfer in: up to 25% of clinical training courses and 50% of academic courses may be eligible for transfer. Credit earned through assessment or achievement examinations at other TCM schools is not transferable.

The challenge exam itself is straightforward: you're given the course syllabus to study from, you take it before the start of the term that course would normally be required in, and you need a 70% to pass. You may only challenge a given course once — if you don't pass, you'd take the course at full tuition, but nothing is lost by trying first. Keep in mind, too, that a transfer fee applies to evaluation of all transferred courses except the five natural science courses, and taking a challenge exam carries its own additional fee.

Two things worth knowing underneath the mechanics: transfer credit is never awarded for work or life experience (only actual coursework), and if any of your transcripts are hard to track down after all this time — old schools that have closed, records offices that don't answer — that's genuinely common, and Admissions can start a pre-qualification review on whatever unofficial transcripts you do have, in parallel with the rest of your application, so it doesn't have to hold you up.

Curious whether it's the science prerequisites, TCM coursework, or something else you're wondering about?