Jump to content

Menu

Transfer Student questions


MerryAtHope
 Share

Recommended Posts

I'm thinking ahead a bit here, because I'm not sure how things will work out.

 

Right now it looks like my son will be ready to transfer (from CC to 4-year school) spring of 2018. Is that a bad time (with regard to financial aid/school grant/scholarship issues) to transfer? I know there aren't as many scholarships/grants for transfer students as for freshmen, but does time of year also matter? Should he consider a gap semester and transfer fall of 2018?

 

Are there any cons to a gap semester with regard to fafsa, taxes, car insurance...other things I should think about? Or are we okay as long as he's a full-time student for "5 months" of the year? 

Edited by MerryAtHope
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mine did a gap semester just to earn some extra money before moving out. No cons as far as we can tell so far.

 

Pending the school, starting up in spring means they miss a lot of the "new student" activities and teachers are going to expect that most students have found their footing, so that is something to consider.

 

Also, if you want a dorm or apt, they fill up really fast and the best deals/locations will be gone come spring.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DD will be transferring from the community college to a state university for spring 2017. Yes, it is awkward timing and can impact eligibility for scholarships, or even if you are technically still eligible, it is already given to fall start students. DD can not take a semester break because the state scholarships that she is eligible for and already receiving require continuous attendance (summers are an exception).  We COULD have her continue taking courses at the CC for another semester but none of them would transfer.

 

What bugs me more, she is following a specific transfer plan at the community college for the university.  Because this particular transfer plan is not designed to earn an associates degree before transferring, she is automatically NOT eligible for the university transfer scholarship. I'm not happy about this because the university designed the transfer plan AND set the rules for the transfer scholarship.

 

Knowing what we know now, we are planning for our second DD to spend two full years at the community college, earn an associates degree, and then transfer somewhere for fall.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The biggest negative that I can think of is one we are hitting in the face right now. :(

 

DD is very close to graduating - she just began her third year and is a senior now. (No gap)

Her (now) finacee is not.  He took a gap year to earn more $$ and hold out.  He isn't thrilled.  It was his family's dream that he would attend an OOS school.  This year he decided to start CC and get his first two years out of the way while planning to transfer to an instate U rather than waiting and trying to save sufficient $$ to cover a chunk of OOS tuition.  

 

He is kicking himself for not going straight out of school and hitting it hard with excess hours.

 

There comes a point where they begin to feel life is on hold. That may never matter for your son.  He might be 28 when he meets the love of his life.  But, he might not.

 

Honestly?  I am beginning to wonder if we (as a society) prolong adolescence for far too long.  I would love to see a move towards graduation being around 16 because, so far, most of the homeschooled kids I've seen are OVERprepared for college.  The ones I'm most familiar with were ready to tackle college by 16.  I know in my own case it was pure fear keeping DD from graduating early.  DS chose not to graduate early because he wants another year of HS mock and he's doing CC anyway, but, still, that's the one thought I'm left with when you ask that question.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well mine start taking CC classes at 16, so we didn't have that issue.

 

But I think either way it's common for these young people to feel their life is forever on hold and in school. Let's face it, they spend 13 years schooling so they can go another 2-6 years schooling elsewhere. That can understandably seem like forever pause mode and they have to be encouraged and cheered through that. For mine, working and having other goals helped.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

For us it's more the actual logistics of transferring that I'm trying to figure out. No regrets about actual high school graduation age or starting at the CC here--it's all been the perfect fit so far, and the process wouldn't have worked well if it had been sped up. Mainly we're just looking at things like--if ds isn't a student for a semester, does that affect our exemptions on taxes, status for car insurance, FAFSA filing, or other things I might not think to consider? Is it better financially and logistically to transfer right away if he can, or to wait for the fall, and why... He may be 3 credits short and have to take a summer class to get his AA in a year--or he could potentially take it spring 2018 (and then the same questions apply as to whether part-time student status affects things I might not think to consider)...

 

I do see that some students are ready for earlier graduation dates (and I even see public school kids achieving that through dual enrollment)--it's a great thing to consider when it's a fit for the student. 

 

My DH took a gap year between high school and college, and he always felt that it was a good experience for him and that he was much better equipped when he went to college. I ended up taking a gap-year in the middle of college--I just wasn't sure what I wanted to do, and that year helped me get my head on straight. (I actually went to college a year early--I was 16 turning 17 when I started--so I kind of experienced both sides, LOL!) There are certainly pros and cons to gap years (or as we're considering now, a gap semester)--but mainly I'm evaluating what the impact might be on us financially as parents, and also the logistics for the student.

 

Thanks, have loved the comments so far! 

 

 

Edited by MerryAtHope
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bumping for you, because I don't know the answer to your questions. 


Also, if you want a dorm or apt, they fill up really fast and the best deals/locations will be gone come spring.

Not disagreeing, but in some places you may be able to find a good deal with someone needing to sublet an apartment for the spring.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My ds tried to transfer for spring semester and was denied because the school he wanted to transfer to was full-up for the year. He took an extra semester @ CC, earned a certificate while doing it, and reapplied for fall semester w/o problem. Scholarships and financial aid were not applicable for us so I can't answer that, except that a 3.75 gpa at CC did not turn into any merit aid at state U he transferred to....but I am not sure how aggressively he pursued it as he was sure he could pay his way by that point, with a little help from Grandma's legacy.

 

We've found that the first (in our family of 4 kids) was the only one who qualified for aid. She got more the years her brother was @ CC (a Pell grant in addition to continuing the amount of the original CalGrant). The youngest will hit college when we are almost @ retirement, which means dh will be @ peak earning capacity. Hope she's interested in a local school!!!

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the bump!

 

Bumping for you, because I don't know the answer to your questions. 

Not disagreeing, but in some places you may be able to find a good deal with someone needing to sublet an apartment for the spring.

 

One of the schools he's considering, he might actually know some students, and we'd definitely consider a situation like that whenever he transfers. We live in small town America, and we can feed our family of four for 9 months for what the "board" plans are at the schools around here! One of the schools, I think it might actually be more expensive to live off campus though...and one school, I'm not sure whether there's actually housing that would be near enough to campus to consider it. 

 

Looks like the pros/cons have us leaning towards him going in the fall (and that's his preference too--gives him a better pace for making some decisions). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bumping for you, because I don't know the answer to your questions. 

Not disagreeing, but in some places you may be able to find a good deal with someone needing to sublet an apartment for the spring.

 

That raises another area to check into:

 

What, if any, policies the 4-year university's has regarding on-campus vs. off-campus living. Some universities require students to live on campus for 1 or more years. Schools that require on-campus living usually only require it for freshmen, and a transfer student usually comes in as a sophomore or an upper classman... BUT -- some schools may require that students new to the school live on campus for their first semester or first year, and "new" may mean transfer as well as freshmen.

 

Loss of access to scholarships was the really big concern I thought of. I'm also wondering what the transfer scholarship policies are... Most transfer scholarships are just for 1 year, and are not renewable -- if DS comes in during the spring, how will that affect his transfer scholarship eligibility? Unless it's a renewable scholarship, might he only get the 1 spring 2018 money, rather than if he waited and then would be eligible for fall 2018 and then be eligible for a full year of transfer scholarship money (fall 2018 and spring 2019)? And if your DS takes a gap semester in the spring, will he still be eligible at all for transfer scholarship money??

 

Previous posters also mentioned missing out on dorm room sign-up and start-of-new year activities. I'm also wondering if starting in the spring, would DS also miss out in being able to sign up for various other things until the following fall -- like, the Honors' program, or on campus clubs, or intra-mural sports...

 

Lots to find out about from the university!

 

Just a few quick thoughts from our DS's transfer experiences:

 

DS was very lucky, as he transferred from the CC to the 4-year university (only needed 2 years at the university) and started in the fall, so no missing out on anything. And he received a renewable transfer scholarship, too! DS's school does NOT require freshmen to live on campus, but the school did require all students new to the school (freshman AND all transfer students) to attend special orientation.

 

DS's second year, he had no room mate in the fall, and then was assigned a roomie for the spring, a new freshman (I'll call him "R") who startedin the spring. "R" had been working for 1.5 years between high school and starting at the university. I don't know if "R" was eligible for, or received, any scholarships or not, but even with tight dorm situations, there were still a few stray rooms with only one student (as with my DS's room) so that may not be a problem -- there are students who leave after one semester, or who graduate at the end of the fall semester, and leave vacancies. "R" also did okay with the social scene, as he had a brother already attending the same school, and who was actually in the same dorm, so that helped "R" transition pretty smoothly, in spite of coming in mid-year. Also, my DS was the floor's Bible study leader, and 1 of the other suite mates was the floor RA, so they were both also extending a helping hand to "R" to help him quickly adjust as a mid-year student.

 

Pretty much all of what I just described is very-dependent on the school. It all worked very smoothly at this particular university, which is very generous with merit aid, and is a medium-small Christian liberal arts college with a strong mission to help students feel welcomed and included. Other schools will have different policies and different attitudes about folding in new students...

 

BEST of luck as you research in finding the best solution to the timing and finances of transferring! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited by Lori D.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...