First Time Freshman or College Transfer

[Miss Marple]

This is becoming the question of the month :)

 

DS#3 graduated high school May 2013.  He applied to and was accepted at our state university as a first time freshman.  Since that time he decided to take a year and attend a Bible school in England instead of entering the university straight from high school.  The Bible school is accredited by an agency in the UK that accredits other programs such as pet grooming, etc.  This accreditation will not be recognized by our state schools, but might by another Bible school in North America.  We don't anticipate that he will be getting credit for any of his work there.  He is, however, transferring credits he earned as a dual enrolled high school student.

 

So my conversation the past month with our 2 main state schools (OU, OSU) has yielded mixed suggestions.  One young lady insisted that ds apply as a transfer student.  The school where he was accepted last year also said he should apply as a transfer student.  However, upon pressing the issue I was transferred to an older gentleman who said that he would recommend using the FTF application. He indicated that if there was a problem, he could always convert the application to a transfer application.

 

Here's my question:  is there any advantage (other than merit scholarships) to either designation?  This son won't be in line for any merit scholarships (based on ACT scores), but could possibly get a transfer scholarship based on his dual enrollment grades.  

 

Any experience?

 

 

 

[Lori D.]

DS#3 ... applied to and was accepted at our state university as a first time freshman.  Since that time he decided to take a year and attend a Bible school in England instead of entering the university straight from high school.  The Bible school is accredited... this accreditation will not be recognized by our state schools, but might by another Bible school in North America.  We don't anticipate that he will be getting credit for any of his work there.  He is, however, transferring credits he earned as a dual enrolled high school student....

 

... is there any advantage (other than merit scholarships) to either designation?  This son won't be in line for any merit scholarships (based on ACT scores), but could possibly get a transfer scholarship based on his dual enrollment grades.  

 

 

 

The big advantage/disadvantage between freshman/transfer student status in the U.S. is that the majority of full scholarships and renewable scholarships are awarded to freshmen. There are far fewer scholarships for transfer students. Sounds like this may be the reverse for your DS and the overseas school to which he is applying.

 

NO idea about the UK university systems, BUT... in the U.S., if you are entering the university straight from high school, you are a freshman, not a transfer student, because you have no credits to transfer. Even if you do have a few dual enrollment courses, most colleges in the U.S. accept up to at least 12 units and still count you as a freshman. Can you look on the UK Bible school's website for info about freshman vs. transfer student, as far as number of credits allowed to still be considered a freshman?

 

Also, can you contact the financial aid dept. of the UK Bible School and see if a the more rigorous course work and good GPA from the dual enrollment would bump him into merit aid range?

 

You might also check and see if the UK Bible School would accept a post-high school graduation SAT/ACT score, and if they do, try re-taking for a higher score. (Many colleges don't accept test scores after graduation, but some do, so it would be worth checking into.)

 

 

Hopefully one of the UK posters can jump in here with help for you! And again, congrats to your DS! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Miss Marple]

I'm sorry, Lori, I wasn't clear in my post.  He is currently at Bible school in the UK,  but applying for admission to university back here in the states for the 2014/15 school year.  He isn't interested in applying at a lot of schools so we are just looking at the universities in our state.  He applied to and was accepted at one of the state schools already last year (OU) but I would like him to apply to the other large state school (OSU).

 

Neither of these schools will give him credit for the coursework in the Bible school.  That is why I'm wondering if we can just assume he is a FTF.  But then he might benefit as a transfer student because of his dual enrollment grades.

 

 

[Melissa B]

I asked our state schools (UF, FSU) a similar question as my dd will have enough credits to transfer in as a junior, but all through dual enrollment. They told me the same thing - to have her apply as a freshman and they will switch it to a transfer application themselves if necessary.  Their primary reasoning was due to an excess credit law we have in Florida.  I don't know if you have a similar law?  But any credits earned over 132 credit hours are charged at a much higher rate (50% more.)  If the student is accepted as a freshman all dual credits are accepted, but not counted toward the 132 allowed.  But if the student is accepted as a transfer student all of those dual credits will be put toward the 132 credit limit. So we are definitely having her apply as a freshman.

[mumto2]

Are you sure the bible school your son is going to is not affiliated with a larger University? Our small local one is affiliated with the University of Chester. Actually holds graduation ceremonies there. I know of a few other bible colleges affiliated with Chester.

[Jann in TX]

Since the Bible College is not accredited (by an OU/OSU standard) I would enter him as a FTF.

Dual enrollment credits earned before high school graduation do not count as transfer credits.

If he had earned 'transferable credits' at the Bible college then those credits would count toward transfer credits...

 

PS-- I personally prefer OU over OSU

 

Jann (1987 OU grad)-- I also attended OBU and what is now UCO.  I was a transfer student to OU-- and I had dual enrollment credits as well.

[Lori D.]

I'm sorry, Lori, I wasn't clear in my post.  He is currently at Bible school in the UK,  but applying for admission to university back here in the states for the 2014/15 school year.

 

 

:blushing:  Oops! How embarrassing... I totally misunderstood!

[Miss Marple]

Jann, I have one OU graduate, one currently there as a junior, and one who is deciding between Baylor and OU.  If ds#3 goes to OSU it will indeed be a house divided!  But we can all see him doing better and fitting in better at OSU.  He's more of a "hands on" kid and, for some reason, that's what our impression of OSU is.  We know more people who have attended OSU than OU so that might be where we are getting that impression.

 

Lori, - no problem!  It is a bit confusing even for me and I've been dealing with it for about a month now.

 

Mumto2 - It doesn't have another affiliation, at least not that I saw on their website.  They are accredited through the NCFE and state that "some schools in North America" may accept their credits.

[Miss Marple]

Jann, I have one OU graduate, one currently there as a junior, and one who is deciding between Baylor and OU.  If ds#3 goes to OSU it will indeed be a house divided!  But we can all see him doing better and fitting in better at OSU.  He's more of a "hands on" kid and, for some reason, that's what our impression of OSU is.  We know more people who have attended OSU than OU so that might be where we are getting that impression.

 

Lori, - no problem!  It is a bit confusing even for me and I've been dealing with it for about a month now.

 

Mumto2 - It doesn't have another affiliation, at least not that I saw on their website.  They are accredited through the NCFE and state that "some schools in North America" may accept their credits.

[mumto2]

I figured you would be interesed in what I learned when I asked dh what he thought. Goes back to Visa type, if ds can work in UK then accreditation higher so ability to transfer credits is too. Local Bible college students receive visa's allowing them to work. Another one that he is familiar with they cannot. This is new, put into effect in the past year.

[Miss Marple]

I figured you would be interesed in what I learned when I asked dh what he thought. Goes back to Visa type, if ds can work in UK then accreditation higher so ability to transfer credits is too. Local Bible college students receive visa's allowing them to work. Another one that he is familiar with they cannot. This is new, put into effect in the past year.

Hmm.....that's interesting how work is connected with the academics on the visa.  The only information I'm getting is off the Bible school's website which lists that specific accreditation.

 

I think the issue is not so much whether he earns the credits but whether the specific university he applies to here in the US will recognize the credits (or crediting body).  When I Googled the accreditation type, other "tech" type jobs were accredited by the same agency - i.e., dog grooming.  So the question becomes, if the school doesn't recognize the accrediting body, is it as if ds never attended a "secondary school"?  Because if he attends a "secondary school" he is automatically a transfer student.  

 

It is interesting to me, though, that the school sends out certain assignments to independent graders who are affiliated with the accrediting body for grades.  That is not something the universities around here do.

[mumto2]

Personally I would not consider him to be a transfer student since he wll not be transferring credits from this years experience. I think I might class it as a gap year and give a description of what he is doing that includes European travel. Dh took one look at things and said he is a freshman. So two votes for first time student.