Freshman Scholarship clarification?

[Heather in AL]

Help!

 

In looking at colleges, most specify that in order to receive freshman scholarships, a student must have no more than XX college credits (varies by Uni).

 

My confusion is what is a "Freshman Scholarship"? For instance, if my kids earn enough cc credits that put them over that mark, would they be ineligible for merit scholarships like those for ACT/SAT/PSAT scores?

 

I have no experience with scholarships (thanks to a no good counselor in high school!), so I'm out of my league here.

 

Can anyone help me? The cc is registering for fall now, and I don't know what to do!! *insert puling hair smiley*

 

Thanks in advance!!

Edited May 13, 2011 by Heather in AL
To tweak a bit. :-)

[Pegasus]

The favorite phrase on the college board: "It depends on the school."

 

Some schools specifically do not count credit hours earned BEFORE graduating high school against a freshman for scholarship eligibility.

 

However, some schools do.

 

You need to contact any potential colleges and ask how they handle it. Also, if it is an outside scholarship, you'll need to contact them separately.

 

I know it's a pain. We plan to extensively use dual enrollment and it would be nice for there to be a simple set of rules that we can rely on.

 

Pegasus

[Photo Ninja]

It depends is really the accurate answer.

 

My dc had cc credits before they graduated, and each college they applied to had a different policy. One school said that for freshman status it didn't matter how many college credits were earned, as long as they were earned prior to high school graduation. Another kept freshman standing with up to 40 college credits. Another allowed freshman standing with up to 24 college credits. One ds had over the number of credits allowed for a first-time freshman, so the university asked him to fill out a different application for a 'freshman transfer student'. They also gave him a very good freshman scholarship and transferred in all his cc credits.

 

So the only way to know is to check with specific colleges. I suggest you register for cc classes so you keep that door open, then do your research. You can always drop the classes before school starts if taking them will somehow be detrimental.

 

Having college credits does not mean there are no scholarships available. They may not be freshman scholarships, but there are still merit scholarships for transfer students, which is what a student with too many credits to be a freshman would be. My dd has over 60 credits and was offered a two year, full tuition scholarship based on her cc GPA. That would not have been offered to her had she applied as a freshman, so all those credits did not harm her at all. She just applied as a transfer student and was given a transfer student merit scholarship. Be sure to check on all the scholarships a school gives. Getting a renewable freshman scholarship may not be as good financially as taking cc courses and transferring those credits to a university and receiving a lower dollar amount transfer scholarship. You need to factor in all the costs and evaluate each situation individually. I am aware of several cases where it was less expensive to forgo the freshman scholarship because it didn't cover as much of the yearly costs as transferring in credits later, even without the scholarship. I hope that makes sense.

[Brilliant]

I will add another "it depends". My dd was accepted as a freshman, with a freshman scholarship, but she will be bringing 36 hours with her which is more than the limit for freshman students. However, some of the classes were taken before she turned 16, which according to the registrar's office won't transfer in and thus won't be counted against her. But before she applied I couldn't get anyone in admissions to answer the question for us as to whether dd should be a freshman or transfer applicant. So we just called her a freshman. We've since submitted her college transcript, so I *hope* the registrar's office was correct about the transferable hours, or that the two departments don't talk!

[newbie]

Many schools wont take transfers, but will take a couple of cc taken during high school.

 

So be careful.

 

If my dd would have went to cc after high school, she would rec. no scholarships from her college.

[1Togo]

Also, some colleges will award Freshman Scholarships if CC or university classes are taken with the designation of high school student rather than college student. Often colleges have a special name for that type of registration; i.e. High School Scholars, etc. Even so, the key is checking with the target university for their criteria.

[K-FL]

We were told w/both dd to call them freshman since their credits were under dual enrollment. This was from both state schools & private (in-state) schools. They were eligible for the freshman scholarships even though they each had 60+ hrs of cc.

[Heather in AL]

I appreciate the info each of you has shared. While I was mostly confused as to the term "Freshman Scholarships", I didn't realize that such matters varied so much from school to school.

 

I did learn from one website what I feared--- Scholarships based on SAT/ACT/PSAT scores are considered Freshman Scholarships (at least for one of my state schools), so my child would be ineligible with too many cc credits.

 

I did contact one of my state schools and my concerns were confirmed. I am so frustrated. Anyone know of an easier way to find out about cc classes and freshman status for various unis other than spending the day on the phone with each school? :confused: The individual uni websites I visited were of no help.

 

Thanks again for the quick replies... I truly appreciate it!!

[Jane in NC]

 

I did contact one of my state schools and my concerns were confirmed. I am so frustrated. Anyone know of an easier way to find out about cc classes and freshman status for various unis other than spending the day on the phone with each school? :confused: The individual uni websites I visited were of no help.

 

 

I fear that you really do need to make those calls. Some of the websites that catalog information from a list of schools cannot be relied upon as policies are subject to change. Whatever they do this year can change next.

 

That said, some colleges do have websites that are more accessible than others. You might want to at least try the web, then call if you feel your questions are unanswered.

[choirfarm]

I did learn from one website what I feared--- Scholarships based on SAT/ACT/PSAT scores are considered Freshman Scholarships (at least for one of my state schools), so my child would be ineligible with too many cc credits.

 

I !!

 

ARe you sure... Baylor, for example, said that as long as the credits were done as dual credit that it wouldn't matter. They would still be considered a freshman. It is looking like my boy will have as many as 45 credits between AP tests and CC dual credit classes. He will still be considered a freshman.

 

Christine

[Yolanda in Mass]

I would agree that you need to call each school to find the up-to-date policy. That's the only way to be certain.

 

Yolanda

[Heather in AL]

Thank you all so much for the advice.

 

Because a college list hasn't even been penciled in yet, we don't know which schools to contact regarding their policies, so we chose to go slow for the fall semester and take the summer to really investigate colleges so we don't have to worry about 'closing doors' yet. Both my state schools operate on similar rules WRT cc credits, so if an out of state school doesn't offer a scholarship, then we would be relying on state schools, and I would hate to have too many credits in their eyes.

 

With fall registration going on now, and with our tight fall schedule, it was imperative that we get certain course sections, so we went ahead and registered for a fewer number of classes than originally planned. We can change if we need to, but I suspect the fall term is set.

 

While we investigate colleges and make a list of 'interesting ones', I will also be placing calls to those possible schools and playing phone tag with everyone in the office (I'm sure you all know that game... five transfers to someone who can help you, and you wind up back at the first person who couldn't help!). There is so much to consider that it makes looking into the future difficult, so we are playing it safe for now.

 

Thanks again for the advice. I really appreciate it.

[Beth S]

It's helpful to have written confirmation of their policies . . . and I hate being put on hold! (Plus I'm usually sifting through these requirements at 10pm at night or on the weekends.)

 

I agree with the other posters about dual-credit hours are permitted for freshmen.

 

But I know that taking a Gap Year makes you ineligible for freshman scholarships here at our local cc. They want you to apply while a senior in high school.