Associates Degree while in High School

[Lux Et Veritas Academy]

I think I have my plan in place for highschool, but I am wondering if anybody has done an associates degree while in highschool? The University my daughter wants to attend will take the entire degree from our CC and she will not have to submit any highschool grades, transcript, test scores only CC grades if she maintains a 3.6. My niece did this through public school and came out debt free.

 

I am strongly thinking about going this route and starting freshman year with some electives by senior year she could be done and enter as a transfer student-

 

My CC I found out will let her enter in at age 15 as a non-matric student, so I can start. I have done all of the pro's and con's of cc vs. everything else- but the cost value is completely worth it and the first two years, she would only be taking 2-3 classes a semester, mostly things like photography, music and language. I will also heavily monitor the situation and stay away from night classes etc. for safety issues.

 

What do you think?

[farmnwife]

This is exactly what we plan to do with ours. I don't know if they will be done by the time they are 18 but should be very close to getting their assoc. soon after. My plan is to start them out gradually like you. My oldest is 14. Our cc has new students take a placement test for math and english. And can take classes when they are 16, sooner if they get a department okay. So we will see how things go. But I would say go for it.

[Ellie]

I think I have my plan in place for highschool, but I am wondering if anybody has done an associates degree while in highschool? The University my daughter wants to attend will take the entire degree from our CC and she will not have to submit any highschool grades, transcript, test scores only CC grades if she maintains a 3.6. My niece did this through public school and came out debt free.

 

I am strongly thinking about going this route and starting freshman year with some electives by senior year she could be done and enter as a transfer student-

 

My CC I found out will let her enter in at age 15 as a non-matric student, so I can start. I have done all of the pro's and con's of cc vs. everything else- but the cost value is completely worth it and the first two years, she would only be taking 2-3 classes a semester, mostly things like photography, music and language. I will also heavily monitor the situation and stay away from night classes etc. for safety issues.

 

What do you think?

What does "non-matric" student mean? :confused:

 

In California, many hsers do c.c. *instead* of high school. That's what we did.

[4wildberrys]

Sounds awesome to me!! :D If we had a CC close by, we would absolutely take advantage of a program like that! Why spend more $$$ if you don't have to?? Why spend so many more years in college if you don't have to?? My only 'concern' would be are they developmentally ready to move ahead in life at such an accelerated pace, KWIM? I know that my kids are pretty much devastated that they don't have this option because we live in such a remote town......:glare:

[K-FL]

That's what we've done. Dd#1 graduated from our cc w/her AA last month when her age-mates are completing hs. Most of the profs didn't realize she was 15 when she started classes and she'd have classmates from 18-75yo. The good thing about a cc is that the students don't "hang" much. They do their class & move on to work/home/family. Dd#2 has finished her 1st yr now too. In FL, dual-enrolled students can start cc after their 9th grade year with the appropriate test scores. There's no limits on credits/semester. Homeschooler get free tuition & fees while ps students also get free books. You can't beat the price!

[AnitaMcC]

I think I have my plan in place for highschool, but I am wondering if anybody has done an associates degree while in highschool? The University my daughter wants to attend will take the entire degree from our CC and she will not have to submit any highschool grades, transcript, test scores only CC grades if she maintains a 3.6. My niece did this through public school and came out debt free.

 

I am strongly thinking about going this route and starting freshman year with some electives by senior year she could be done and enter as a transfer student-

 

My CC I found out will let her enter in at age 15 as a non-matric student, so I can start. I have done all of the pro's and con's of cc vs. everything else- but the cost value is completely worth it and the first two years, she would only be taking 2-3 classes a semester, mostly things like photography, music and language. I will also heavily monitor the situation and stay away from night classes etc. for safety issues.

 

What do you think?

 

This is basically what we are doing with our twins. The Jr College (CC) will allow them to start at 14yrs old. So we are starting this fall (hopefully). The twins will start with one course and maybe another elective course.

 

For Ds he is hoping to take 1st semester of chemistry course this fall and then in spring take 2nd semester of chemistry and 1st semester of physics.

 

For Dd she plans to take biology this fall with some music courses. And in spring she plans to take 1st semester of chemistry and music courses.

 

They should have their associates degree by the time they are to graduate high school.

[Moni]

This has been one of my plans for ten years now.

Will it happen, depends on the kid ;)

 

I would be leaning more toward internet/telecourse/independent study type of CC coursework, and would prefer night classes over day classes.

 

Night school around here attracts less of the college-age-youth-culture mentality and students tend to be working people "actually interested" in furthering their education.

 

And they are on campus less over all. One night for 3 hours, as opposed to MWF for a hour each day.

 

Night classes, indy/study, internet coursework are more like homeschooling anyway. Our plan is to start with that. English, Spanish, History, some Sciences, psych, soc, etc., are all available in these more at-home formats around here.

 

:seeya:

[LoriM]

My dd is 20 and will finish her BA in December. We graduated her from high school in July 2007 at age 18 (she chose 07/07/07 as her graduation day--math nerd. GRIN!). She finished her AA in August 2007, and transferred to the university two weeks later. Here in NC, we have free tuition for high school students at the CC. We live only 6 miles away from an outstanding local campus. I checked out her college bill a couple of weeks ago, and realized that we'll have given her a debt-free college education very affordably, thanks to the AA in high school and her choice to live at home while attending the local university.

 

She typically did school at the CC from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. three days a week. She took as many as 18 hours in one semester, but usually 13-15 semester hours. Once she started fulltime at the CC, we did courses at home that were in harmony with the coursework she chose there. So, when she took math, science, English and Spanish at the CC, we did history, rhetoric, art and music at home. When she took music, speech, psych and literature at the CC, we did more history and science course work at home.

 

Honestly, I found our "home" side of hsing to rachet down considerably during the last two semesters of CC. Once she had 40+ hours of college coursework under her belt, it seemed silly to be giving her more than general suggestions of area of study she might do for balance at home. She spent her free time on physical fitness and free reading. I did push quite a few "last minute" reads about life, the universe and everything in front of her while I still had some authority and her attention (ha!), but by then, she was quite responsible, and well on her way to managing her own academic career.

 

I highly recommend an AA in high school if it fits the needs of your family and your student. It was an incredibly smooth transition for my dd, and is working well for my younger dd also.

[Mama Lynx]

How did y'all make this decision?

 

I can see that this is likely the cheapest way to do college. My student could come out of college debt-free. That's worth a lot.

 

OTOH, I'm used to the traditional idea of working to get a scholarship to a four-year university, etc. I lived in a dorm at college, and it was a good experience for me. (Though I well understand the pitfalls.)

 

Do the kids lose anything by going the AA-during-high school route?

 

Would I have time to do my lovely great-books education plan, or would his time be taking up by jumping CC hoops? Are the hoops less time-consuming if classes are taken online, or at night?

 

In Virginia, students with an AA from the local CC are guaranteed to be accepted into the four-year colleges/universities around here. But then, we'll have to pay for those without scholarships, correct?

[ConnieB]

We're just starting to explore this (eldest will be 13 next week). We have been looking into CLEP as well as doing an AA at the local community college. I've attended a half dozen workshops focusing on "preparing your homeschool student for college while they're in junior high". Either it's a hot topic, or my radar is high as it seems everywhere I turn this is being discussed.

 

There were lots of things I cam away with but one I was surprised to learn.....if your student is a transfer student, even if they're the same age as the other students entering university.....there are few if any scholarships that they can receive. Of course, since they'd be transferring in most likely as a junior, that would cut down on the university expense significantly and maybe a scholarship wouldn't matter. I just know that I've got a HUGE file that I've collected for several years about local organizations/companies/etc that do scholarships....and now it appears that may have been a waste of space in my file cabinet, lol.

 

Just thought I'd throw that out in case someone else didn't realize.

[Mama Lynx]

I do realize, and that's exactly why we're having trouble with this decision. Choosing to go the AA route cuts off those scholarship opportunities. OTOH, waiting and trying for a scholarship might lead to nothing.

 

I went to an excellent university on scholarship. If we do the AA route, my dc will simply have to go wtih the college we can pay for, after the AA. Their choices will be very limited. OTOH, they'll have a BA two years out of high school.

 

I'm trying to work through the pros and cons, because I honestly don't know which is the better decision.

[LoriM]

There are also scholarships for transfer students. My daughter won merit scholarships. We did not apply for aid.

 

Initially, we did not expect our daughter's AA to actually shorten her stay at the university, because she was double majoring in art as well as math. The art school was a four-year program, regardless of her AA in general education requirements. But now she is marrying in January 2010, so she opted to change her art degree to a minor, and major in mathematics...a much easier thing to finish since she'd laid all the right groundwork.

 

Honestly, college is a PATH, and it's unique to each person and his or her needs. So, if your child keeps the path wide at the beginning (taking a great liberal arts/great books high school route), then stays "wide" at the CC (filling as many of the general education courses as s/he can) there is still plenty of time to become more focused but have general skills like any well-educated person. And my daughter plans to focus more narrowly at graduate school. :) Which she may finish by the time she is 22 or 23...LOL!

[AnitaMcC]

There were lots of things I cam away with but one I was surprised to learn.....if your student is a transfer student, even if they're the same age as the other students entering university.....there are few if any scholarships that they can receive. Of course, since they'd be transferring in most likely as a junior, that would cut down on the university expense significantly and maybe a scholarship wouldn't matter. I just know that I've got a HUGE file that I've collected for several years about local organizations/companies/etc that do scholarships....and now it appears that may have been a waste of space in my file cabinet, lol.

 

Just thought I'd throw that out in case someone else didn't realize.

 

But there are scholarships and grants available for upper classmen. It isn't just limited to freshmans. There are some that are only for upper classmen. These are less common but they are there.

[K-FL]

Also there's scholarships for Phi Theta Kappa (the cc honor society) along w/regular merit aid & FAFSA based aid. Even my dd that just might apply to a service academy will take as many cc classes as possible. Even if they don't transfer, she'll be well prepared for the work load at a high level college.

[Mama Lynx]

So from your POV, there is no downside?

 

My kids are considering a service academy as well.

[AnitaMcC]

So from your POV, there is no downside?

 

My kids are considering a service academy as well.

 

From my POV... a AA or AS degree while in highschool benefits out weigh any negatives. Yes some scholarhships and grants would be unavailable but there are others that open up to them. Also showing such motivation and ability at a young age may make their applications stand out.

 

There are plenty of paths to take. I do not feel that any educational path slams a door shut. A person can only go forward as long it is what the individual wants and chooses to do. The path may end up more winding with turns but still the end result is whatever goal is desired and can be achieved.

[K-FL]

So from your POV, there is no downside?

 

My kids are considering a service academy as well.

 

In regards to a service academy, I don't think so (I don't have the experience to be 100%.) Remember that not all 1st yr academy student's are 18yo; they'll accept students into their 20's. If you've followed Sebastian (a Lady)'s posts, she can give the inside scoop to USNA, but I doubt it's much difference for any of the others. Even if my dd will still have to re-take a course, she'll be much better prepared than I could do & there's always the possibility she'll test out of a level. Here's Sebastian's post regarding this:

 

Sebastian (a lady)

Hive Mind Queen Bee

 

A clarification

Quote:

Originally Posted by TraceyS/FL

I'm going to guess that at the Academy that you must do their classes even if you have taken them prior. I wouldn't be surprised about that in regards to an Academy education.

 

Actually, I did some research within the USNA website. I think that they make a distinction between validation and transfer. An academic department can determine that you've met the requirements of a certain class using tests, college level coursework or interviews.

They do not at all accept transfer students, in the sense that you always begin with freshman standing. But you might get credit for some of the typical freshman requirements.

 

I am both a USNA alumna and admissions liaison officer so I did want to make the distinction. We strongly encourage students to reapply if they aren't accepted the first year and recommend that they take college courses similar to the required freshman load. Depending on how they evaluate the college courses, you might end up in a higher level course or with validation credit.

While my personal experience is now rather dated, I validated 15 credits of coursework through validation tests, AP scores and interviews with the foreign language department.

[Mama Lynx]

Thanks, all of you - you've put this in a good perspective for me.

[Janet in WA]

What does "non-matric" student mean? :confused:

 

 

I assume she means "non-matriculating", meaning enrolling in classes without seeking a degree.

[Nan in Mass]

This is why we decided not to go for associate's degrees in high school. It was something we thought about. I still haven't entirely ruled it out for my youngest, of course, because he is only starting 9th grade. In general, though, it doesn't mix well with some of our other educational goals. Maybe goals isn't the right word. Perhaps methods would be a better one. The engineering transfer program is a possibility for our youngest, but like you, I'm not sure I want to shorten his education by two years, even if it is an expensive two years. I think I want him to go into college as a freshman with other like-minded freshman. At the moment I do, anyway GRIN. And for high school, instead of rushing through the classes he will take in college, I think I want him to do things he won't do in college, because engineering programs don't have much room for electives. I want his education to be more than just math and science. If he doesn't go full-time at the CC, or doesn't aim for finishing the transfer program without going full-time (doing it over more than two years), then he has time to do things like more great books, more languages, more peacewalking, figure out how to sail his little sailboat, do more self-directed homeschooling like messing about with his robotix kit or programming, go work with his grandfather, etc. If he were to get his associate's degree, I'm not sure I would encourage him to do it in engineering. I think I might encourage him to do it in something other than engineering. I have a feeling, though, that he can do history and great books and geography and other non-technical things more comfortably here at home or on his own travelling. I think we can tailor his studies to cover more of the aspects that interest him, or have him so some of his learning in ways that are less school-ish. He's going to have tons of school-type learning in engineering school. I think I would rather he did his other studies in a more leisurely, informal way? Maybe? I may also still change my mind GRIN. But these are things I mulled over all fall and winter. And then suddenly in Feb. my son himself began to make some of the decisions. He said what is the hurry, can't we keep doing things the way we have for things like great books, yes he does want to do math and science at community college eventually but he wants to travel more first. So that is that, for now. His brother did two classes a semester at the CC his last two years, and we all know that it is a fantastic bridge to college but it has a big impact on our lives when we are doing it. Among other things, one has to be home to do it, not walking around a foreign country. There is driving time taken out of our school day. There is homework that gets priority over home school assignments because the CC classes get graded and will affect college entrance. And that is another thing. Ungraded as we are at home, my children are free to try to tackle things that are beyond their capability, things that if graded, would receive a bad grade. They are free to say, "I want to learn something about blank," and then abandon the project when their curiosity is sastisfied (hard to determine beforehand) or if life shuffles that curiosity around to a lower priority than something else. They are free to not finish things. It means that I don't have to judge whether something is going to work out correctly. They can learn on their own terms, in a more adult manner.

 

Anyway, we decided not to do an AA for the first one, and i think we probably won't for the second either. Hopefully we won't regret it. If I had a child who was headed for a liberal arts degree, I might be more inclined to have him get his AA or AS in something practical, something that would free him up to study whatever he pleased in college. Or if I had a child that was advanced enough that he outgrew the educational opportunities available to him at home and didn't want to teach himself, I might consider it. Maybe. Or maybe I would make the same decisions for the same reasons. Homeschooling is so special, with its freedom. It seems a shame to stop doing it before we have to.

-Nan, just htinking aloud here...

[Ellie]

I assume she means "non-matriculating", meaning enrolling in classes without seeking a degree.

But are the students earning college credit? or what?

[Guest Katia]

There are a lot of things to think about when looking at an AA degree while still in high school. My ds did this, and earned his AA degree one month before I graduated him from our hs. He had just turned 18yo.

 

Since he was in Phi Theta Kappa he got academic scholarships and other scholarships and grants for the 4 yr college. However, he didn't qualify for those nice half or full-tuition scholarships that Freshman qualify for since he was considered a transfer student.

 

And don't assume that because your dc earns an AA in high school that they will finish 4 yr univ in early (or in two more years). That can happen, but in the case of our ds, it didn't. He didn't like the first univ. he went to so transferred; in which he lost credits; and in that transfer also took a semester off.....so......then it took longer to earn more credits......and then he decided to study for a semester at a Japanese college in Japan.....and he actually ended up graduating 4 1/2 years AFTER he got his AA. :001_smile:

 

You just never know what path your college dc will take. But the AA did not cost him anything (scholarships), and his total college debt is not overwhelming for him.

 

My middle dd did not take any cc classes, even tho big brother did. It just wasn't her 'thing'. She still had no problem getting accepted in all the univ. she applied to....PLUS she qualified for those wonderful Freshman scholarships! :D

 

This dd needed the higher level academics that the cc didn't offer, and she needed to get away and have that dorm experience. It's been good for her. HOWEVER......I think she'll have some really nasty college debt....but we've weighed that and it's worth it for her.

 

Youngest dd is taking some cc classes, but not going for an AA degree. She is still getting the college credits, but she is doing music and PE classes (non-academic). It's what works for her and where she is heading.

 

And if she decides to go the cc AFTER she graduates from our hs...that will be fine too, but right now she is looking at just going right to a 4yr univ.

 

Each kid is so different, but after our experience with dc and cc, even though it was good and right for him, we decided that our dds didn't need to rush through high school to get to college. And it's been the right choice for them. We aren't in a hurry to get them out of the house and they aren't in a hurry to leave, lol!

 

Good luck with your decision. There is a lot to think through.

[jibaker103]

I live in TX and just found out some exciting information. When my ds turns 16 he can attend the local cc for free. He can take 2 classes per semester until he graduates earning dual credit and still be considered a high school student. The CC will also accept up to 30 credits of AP and/or CLEP passing scores. So when he is ready to graduate from high school he can have 30 credits in AP/CLEP and 30 dual credits and still be considered a Freshman when applying to TX 4 yr universities. Therefore he will be eligible for all grants and scholarships as any other entering freshman.

 

TX also guarantees that the 42 credit core courses will be accepted by any TX university. The other credits depend on what your major is and that dept. policies on how many transfer/CLEP/AP credits they will allow. ALso some universities such as UT encourage you to take as many courses by exam as you can especially in the Liberal Arts Dept.

 

So last night I sat up half the night figuring out what courses he would test out of after I tought them to him (English, history, Foreign Language, Business), which courses he would take dual enrollment (art, computer, science), and what I would strictly teach him (Bible, Life Skills, Geography, Logic). After doing this I realized that I was only giving up art, computers, and science! I feel extremely satisfied that I will be teaching him his foundation for school and life and leaving the areas I don't have expertise or confidence in to teachers who do.

 

The best part being that Noah and I will save a ton of money and I will be giving Noah a jump start in life to focus on the areas that really matter to him (whenever he figures out what those areas are, lol)!!!

 

Mother to Noah Age 13

[Julie in CA]

So from your POV, there is no downside?

 

Ok, I haven't read the entire thread. In my opinion, there is the possibility of a downside for some kids. First, depending on the personality of the kid, they may find it difficult to feel at ease in some of the educational situations they will encounter in community college. One thing that comes to mind is the group projects that some professors insist upon. If your kid is used to asserting themselves tactfully, they will be fine. If your kid is younger and a bit less equipped to stand as an equal with an adult, they will have trouble in that situation, and may not gain the benefits that are intended with a project of that sort. Some of the professors place a lot of emphasis on those projects, and I've seen some of them count for up to half of the grade points for the class. It's probably not a *big deal*, but I'm just tossing out some of the things that could be considered downsides to early community college.

 

Another thing is that some students completing their AA early on, intending to transfer to a state university for their BA/BS, get to the point of needing to decide about their major before they're really ready to do so. Obviously, this doesn't apply to all kids, and it may not even be something that matters much to you. Some families solve that with a gap year of travel or work experience. Some just forge ahead, making their best guess about the best fit major-wise, assuming that either it will be the right one, or that they will have time for a "false-start" or two, since they're theoretically ahead in the process anyway.

 

My ds graduated from high school about a month ago needing only one more semester of cc to have his AA. His intention has been to transfer to the university after he's completed his AA, but really he has no clue yet what he wants to do. I have taken the path of telling him that although he has a bit of time to decide, he shouldn't discount the idea that if he picks something and later on finds it's not for him, he has time to pick something else. No rush. He's 18, and I think it's hard for some 18's to know what form their final vocation will take, and what degree will serve them best in the long-term picture.

 

Of course, all of this is just from my personal viewpoint, and ymmv. I'm still not sorry that my ds enrolled early, and neither is he. Intellectually, he was ready. He held his own within the group dynamics of the classes that required that, and enjoyed himself doing so. He's avoided some of the expense associated with the first years of college (it was free general ed for him), though we had to buy the exhorbitantly priced textbooks. :cursing:

In the fall, his younger brother will be starting at the cc, and they will be taking a class together, which I think is a nice transition for the younger brother.

 

Overall, the positives definitely outweigh the negatives in our case, but obviously each family knows their own kid's capabilities, and I think there's no blanket answer that's right for every kid. :001_smile:

 

ETA: One other thing...be prepared (and prepare your child) for the fact that some cc professors will not be happy to see a very young (homeschooled) student in their class. They may encounter some bias. They also may not, but definitely be prepared for it. In some cases it's difficult to overcome. Honestly, if you run into a professor/class where that seems like it may be the case, I'd drop the class and take it up at a different time with a different professor.

Edited June 22, 2009 by Julie in CA

[Ellie]

Each kid is so different, but after our experience with dc and cc, even though it was good and right for him, we decided that our dds didn't need to rush through high school to get to college. And it's been the right choice for them. We aren't in a hurry to get them out of the house and they aren't in a hurry to leave, lol!

Our dds went to c.c. instead of high school because I couldn't see the point in doing everything twice--once in high school, again in college. We weren't trying to hurry them out or anything; it just made more sense to do c.c. :-)

[TravelingChris]

My dd went to Cc for the first time when she had just turned 15. It was free (FL) and she took honors psychology. Now we are in VA, it costs money (beyond the textbook), but she is still interested. SHe has applied but hasn't taken the test here yet. SHe will do that next week. I am really not sure what she will end up taking although I was interested in one day field geology classes for 1 credit. She needs a 1/2 credit (HS) in science and that may work by taking 2 of those. (They have readings to do before and some type of paper to do after). I am not having her do CC for a AA degree. Currently she is thinking about pursuing careers that take a very long time but also require rigorous educations. I might have had her do it if we were staying in VA and she would be transferring to UVA or W+M but since we will probably be moving either the summer before she graduates or right after she graduates, I don't think that would work. IF she remains serious in her ideas for a career, I don't want to make it harder by relengating her to a AA degree. I just have a feeling that it would make it harder to get into a top notch grad school and I think socially she needs to go away to college.

 

My youngest is only 12 but is currently considering careers like enginnering or accident investigation. I have no idea where we will be living when she is in high school so I won't decide that now.

[Nan in Mass]

There have been a number of complaints about students having to redo high school work their first few years of college. I thought we would do this for my youngest, but now it turns out that like his older brother, he has picked some non-academic ways of educating himself. And his older brother still did this, to some extent. All of his eight CC classes transfered and fulfill general education requirements. He won't have to take composition next year, for example, having done it in high school. And we're trying to do enough intro chem in 8th grade that my son can jump into general chemistry in CC before he graduates from college. I don't know if it will transfer to his 4-year college or not, and he isn't going to have enough credits to transfer into engineering school as a sophmore, but that chem might let him take more electives later. In his case (youngest's), I guess we are balancing electives now on his own with electives with a prof later. They both have their advantages. He just has to choose which way he wants to study something. My older one, for example, didn't want to take the peace studies courses offered at CC or our local universities because he has found a better way to learn about those things than a college class. He does, however, think it might be interesting to take one of the humanities classes because he says that it would be interesting to discuss some of the things we did in great books with more people. My youngest, on the other hand, says he doesn't want to because he likes studying it on his own and knows how to, using TWEM. He hasn't yet arrived at the place where he needs help studying robotics, either, but soon he will want to do that with the resources an engineering department can offer. There are things I don't want to teach at home, either.

 

So Mama Lynx, maybe that is your answer? If you don't have to worry about money, look at each subject and decide how you want to study it and do that for that subject.

 

-Nan

[K-FL]

Another point to consider is this:

 

My niece did 4 yrs of hs Spanish. Now as a college student she still has to do 1 yr of either language or social studies. She would have accomplished the same PLUS covered the 1yr grad requirement by taking 2 yrs hs & 1 yr cc Spanish. She's a science/med major, BTW.

[Nan in Mass]

Ellie, I as confused about this, too. My son did his first year of CC classes (2/sem) as a non-matriculated student. The second year (senior year hs), he began as a non-matriculated student but then a program cropped up that would pay for some of his tuition and the school decided he needed to be matriculated in order to get the money, so we matriculated him. This required that he fill out a short form and that I give the school a copy of his homeschool transcript. The form didn't require you to know your major; he put undecided. We never saw any difference between being matriculated and unmatriculated except for help with the tuition. As an unmatriculated student, he had a student id, got to sign up for his classes with everyone else, and had an advisor who wrote a recommendation when he applied to his four-year college. I'm sure he would have had to matriculate in order to get a degree. The classes he took when he was non-matriculated transfered to his four year college fine. So for us, there wasn't any difference between matriculated and unmatriculated.

[Mama Lynx]

IF she remains serious in her ideas for a career, I don't want to make it harder by relengating her to a AA degree. I just have a feeling that it would make it harder to get into a top notch grad school and I think socially she needs to go away to college.

 

 

This doesn't make sense to me. If a student gets an AA, and then transfers to UVA, the bachelor's degree is *from UVA.* So she'd be applying to grad schools with a degree from UVA.

 

The four-year degree is the same as if she went to UVA for four years. I've got to believe that the CC classes must be fairly equivalent to the lower-level UVA classes, or else they would not have the guaranteed admissions agreement.

[K-FL]

:iagree: The Univ of FL told a friend that they PREFER students to come in w/hours. I imagine it helps keep the numbers down in those pre-reqs everyone has to take, plus weeds out some before it shows on UF's stats.

 

As to the getting into grad school, etc: Anything to shorten the time you have to pay, the better in my book. Plus any "go to college for less" book tells you to take as much as you can at a cc as their $/hr is usually much less than the U.

 

As to changing states: You may not get all your credits to transfer, but if you're transferring from an accredited school, you probably will--esp. if you're going from one state school to another.

[Guest Katia]

Our dds went to c.c. instead of high school because I couldn't see the point in doing everything twice--once in high school, again in college. We weren't trying to hurry them out or anything; it just made more sense to do c.c. :-)

 

First of all, I'm sorry if you felt that my statement meant that all people who choose cc for their high schoolers meant that they are trying to hurry and get the dc out of the house. I didn't mean that at all. For us, in our family, for our younger dc, we have chosen to let them do high school at home and then go to college because we are not in a hurry to have them do college before they need to.

 

I can also see that if a family were to choose a state university, then doing cc first is the better option as far as both time and finances goes. However, having had a dc that took the cc route, and also having a dh that is an adjunct professor at said cc, I know what the classes/content/requirements are....and I know without a shadow of a doubt that what my dds are doing at home for 'high school' far surpasses the academic level of what the cc has to offer.

 

And, because neither dd wants to go to a state university, but a private liberal arts college that has very high, rigorous academic standards and core requirements that you 'have' to take....there is absolutely no point to them taking the cc classes. For our dc, in our family in our situation and their future plans, we are not in a hurry to have them take college classes.

[Corraleno]

I'm planning to have my son start at the CC as a "concurrently enrolled" homeschool/high school student and get most of the core requirements out of the way, but NOT get an AA. Then he can transfer to the state university as a freshman and have 4 years to complete his degree. I'm hoping that would give him maximum flexibility: he could choose to graduate as soon as he has the minimum credits, or he could choose to stay for 4 years and fit in some extra research and internships, or he could do a double major (his current plan) or a combined BS/MS in 4 years, or a variety of other possibilities.

 

I graduated from public HS at 16, got an AA at the local CC when I was 17 (took a double load for a year), and transfered to a small private liberal arts college on a scholarship. However, once I got there, I totally changed direction in terms of my major and had to jump through major hoops to get them to "disregard" my AA and consider me a sophomore at the end of my first year there instead of a junior (otherwise my scholarship would have run out after 2 years.) At that point, I really regretted having done the AA!

 

So I'm curious what people consider to be the advantages of getting an AA, as opposed to just accumulating credits and applying to a 4 year college as a freshman with a lot of concurrent-enrollment type credits?

 

Jackie

[K-FL]

 

So I'm curious what people consider to be the advantages of getting an AA, as opposed to just accumulating credits and applying to a 4 year college as a freshman with a lot of concurrent-enrollment type credits?

 

Jackie

 

I was speaking to a young man who was the assistant in dd's art class. He was transferring to a private school (U of Tampa) for his BA & was told by his adviser there that since he was coming in w/the AA, they'd "ok" all those pre-reqs carte blanche. If he was coming in just with the credits, they'd cherry-pick each one.

 

Since it's not unusual today for kids to apply w/bunches of AP & cc credit, she was told to apply as a "freshman with credit." She did finish her AA & now they've assigned her to a transfer adviser at her next school (private, Christian.)

It's a whole new world from when I graduated hs (1979), Our HUGE hs only had 3 AP classes (Eng, Am History & Calculus).

Edited June 24, 2009 by K-FL