Does being a "transfer" student eliminate possibility of Presidential Scholarship?

[J-rap]

My daughter who attends a university in the U.S. was awarded the Presidential Scholarship when she first started as a freshman, which pays for half of her tuition and helps immensely.

 

Another daughter is thinking of working all of next year to earn more money to help with college expenses, and then begin college full-time the year after. However, she would like to start on her generals at least and just take a class or two on weekends/evenings at a community college during the year she is working.

 

In our state, even just taking a class or two beforehand often requires you to enter your full-time university as a transfer instead of a freshman. Does that mean she would not be eligible for the Presidential Scholarship? (this is what the first daughter believes to be true). If that's the case, then the plan of working a year and just taking a class or two in order to save money for a private university the following year seems pointless, if in the end she would then not be eligible for the Presidential Scholarship...

[Gwen in VA]

Call the college and ask the admissions and/or financial aid folks. (I'd start with admissions.)

 

Whether that particular college gives the Presidential Scholarship only to freshmen or whether they are willing to consider giving it to an transfer applicant with just a few classes is totally up to the college in question.

 

Good luck finding the information!

[Buckeye-n-CA]

If you take any courses at or through an actual college/university, yes, most colleges will look at that as previous college work and regard the student as a transfer. I did say "most" though, so it is always a good idea to check with interested colleges for a firm answer. Another possibility might be to have your student take some CLEP exams, assuming the college accepts them for credit. This would be a way to have some college credits to start off with, similar to those HS students who start out with AP credits. Good luck!

[Pammy]

Depends on your state, and college requirements. Here, most universities will still count you as a Freshman if you have less than 23 hours. My dd did dual credit and earned 15 hours and got a Presidential Scholarship.

[Buckeye-n-CA]

Dual credit is completely different as I believe that is limited to highschool-age students who are earning college credit through coursework at the same time. If your student is considered a highschool graduate, decides to put off college to earn some money by working, and then decides to take a few college courses, they may very well be limited to transfer status once they decide to apply to a 4-year.

[J-rap]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. It sounds like every college is different, and that it would pay to do a little research before my daughter takes a class. It seems like a strange system that when doing what should help her earn money for college while taking just a class or two on the side could instead end up costing her more than not working next year and going straight to a 4-year college.

 

Does anyone know if CLEP exams, passed, count as classes taken and therefore she would possibly be considered a transfer with even those?

[QueenCat]

The school ds attends considers anyone with less than 16 credit hours a freshman for the Presidential scholarship. They do have other scholarships that transfers are eligible for but they aren't as good as the Presidential.

[Buckeye-n-CA]

I have only seen CLEP credit under the "credit by examination" category (which also includes IB, AP, DSST, etc., programs). Check to see if the university your daughter plans to attend has a CLEP policy because many do have a maximum number of credits they will award, plus they may also list the specific exams they will allow. These are not counted as "classes" per se, especially in the way you are looking to use them. Your daughter can begin taking these exams at any time without having her scores sent to the university until she is ready to enroll (not usually used at the time of application).

[Barbara H]

Another consideration, if she's going to be applying for financial aid she should understand student earnings will be weighed differently than parents earnings - she will be expected to contribute a much higher percentage. So, in other words, if she is eligible for need based aid she may receive a lot less based on her earnings in that year off.

[J-rap]

Another consideration, if she's going to be applying for financial aid she should understand student earnings will be weighed differently than parents earnings - she will be expected to contribute a much higher percentage. So, in other words, if she is eligible for need based aid she may receive a lot less based on her earnings in that year off.

 

Gosh, sounds like a lose-lose situation! It is at least some comfort knowing that some colleges allow a minimal number of credits and still award the Presidential scholarship.