Homeschool or high school?

[8filltheheart]

The 150 hour rule in Texas and the 180 financial aid limit are two separate issues.

 

In Texas, a student exceeding 150 hours (for most programs) who has not attained a bachelor's degree must pay out-of-state tuition for further undergraduate coursework. Dual credit and AP credits do not count toward this hurdle.

 

The 180 credit hour rule refers to the federal aid limit that kicks in when a student attempts 150% of the required undergraduate hours for a degree. This is part of the "Satisfactory Academic Progress" requirement to be eligible for federal financial aid. Exactly what a school considers in this calculation varies from school to school. It is my understanding that some schools (even in Texas) count AP and dual credit toward these numbers

Thank you for explaining that. When I read that thread last night, it was an issue I was completely unfamiliar with. I can see how it could cause problems for kids graduating high school with a lot of unapplied hrs.

[Mike in SA]

??? I'm not sure what you took from that thread, but the point is that FA cuts off at 180 credit hours. If a student transfers in a lot of hours that are not used toward his/her degree and then changes majors or has trouble with some classes and has to repeat courses, etc, there is the potential to run out of FA. I didn't know that. For some kids, that might mean an inability to complete their degree. That is information that some might need to consider. It doesn't even apply to your situation since someone posted in that thread that in TX credits from high school don't count.

 

I'm not aware of any college that requires you to accept AP credit.  Maybe there is a state that does, but I did not catch that.  Much like DEs, a student needs to be careful about what to claim, as it can limit your options going forward.

[8filltheheart]

I'm not aware of any college that requires you to accept AP credit. Maybe there is a state that does, but I did not catch that. Much like DEs, a student needs to be careful about what to claim, as it can limit your options going forward.

Glad you are already aware, but this thread isn't directed toward you and others reading this thread might not know everything. It was not something I was aware of. It isn't something that would impact my kids directly bc we refuse to take out loans, but I am still glad I now know so that I can now share the info with others.

[Laura Corin]

That is really unbelievable - I can't see how that makes any sense at all!

 

I know that I'm talking about a different system, but that's definitely not the case everywhere in the UK.  At most universities I applied for I had an interview with academics prior to getting an offer.  Although in most cases it wasn't a very academic interview, as the course I was applying for does not require high grades for entry at most UK universities.

 

The real exception is Oxford & Cambridge, where all students are interviewed multiple times, by the people who will be teaching them one-to-one, and the academics definitely are in charge of admissions decisions - and my DH has been an interviewer at Oxford, so I've seen the process from both sides.

 

I just heard very confidentially about a UK university where the academic departments are in charge of admissions for UK and EU applicants, but have no say in the admission of overseas applicants - the admissions department rubber-stamps those.  This leads to a common mismatch between the backgrounds of overseas and local students, failure and disappointment.  I can only guess (!) why those paying the higher fees have a less rigorous selection process....

 

L

[maize]

Glad you are already aware, but this thread isn't directed toward you and others reading this thread might not know everything. It was not something I was aware of. It isn't something that would impact my kids directly bc we refuse to take out loans, but I am still glad I now know so that I can now share the info with others.

The university I attended charged graduate tuition rates after a certain number of credits were achieved (to motivate students to graduate and move on). Loans are not necessarily the only issue at stake.

[8filltheheart]

The university I attended charged graduate tuition rates after a certain number of credits were achieved (to motivate students to graduate and move on). Loans are not necessarily the only issue at stake.

Thanks for the reminder. I do remember jdahlquist sharing that as well as Fair Prospects pointing out that some kids are forced out. :)

[Mike in SA]

Glad you are already aware, but this thread isn't directed toward you and others reading this thread might not know everything. It was not something I was aware of. It isn't something that would impact my kids directly bc we refuse to take out loans, but I am still glad I now know so that I can now share the info with others.

 

Yeah, I get that.  :). It takes a ton of research to understand the nuances.  I'm just trying to pitch in where I can add a salient point.

[SeaConquest]

Not rose-colored glasses!  At least from my anecdotal n=1.  I went to a state school and lived at home for undergrad. This gave me a chance to be a big fish in a small pond, I got a ton of research opportunities, and scholarships, and graduated with zero debt and money in the bank. And due to the amazing research opportunities I participated in as an undergrad (at a Cal State, there are no PhD students to suck up all the good RA positions!) I got accepted to MIT for a PhD.  I honestly do think that for a kid on a path that involves a PhD, this can be a totally valid path.  It matters so much more where your PhD is from than where you did your undergrad! And a school like MIT literally didn't care where I had done my work - they were interested in the fact that I had done interesting research as an undergrad.  And, full circle, that was an opportunity I had specifically because I was at a Cal State - a lower tier uni where there were no grad students to compete with.

 

I have to remind myself this, and just put my fingers in my ears and la-la-la at the rat race/feeding frenzy.  Neither of my kids are showing a temperment to compete in that kind of environment, and I'm fine with that.   There are many paths to an excellent destination.  And the excellence of the destination is really, truly determined by goodness of fit, rather than prestige.  IMHO.

 

While I think that the above is generally true, there are certain professions that are extremely hierarchical from early on. The vast majority of my law school classmates went to extremely selective undergrads (and many came from very selective/rigorous high schools). While it is certainly possible to "trade up" along the way, those candidates face an uphill battle, and are IME usually even more extraordinary in some way.

 

See. e.g., http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm

 

You will note that there is not a single Cal State alum in the bunch. And, as you know, that is a lot of students!

[Dmmetler]

How much of that is West/East coast, though? My experience is that many people who go in-state for college plan to stay in-state, and in a field like law, that means going to somewhere that prepares you for that state's bar exam. Out of the people I went to high school with, those who went to the in-state schools are, for the most part, still in state. Of those who went out of state, we're mostly still out of state. There are a few exceptions (mostly those who had to move to get jobs at all in their field or went to a service academy or the military under ROTC), but that's generally the case.

 

My DD goes back and forth on whether she wants to stay in-state or go farther away. In her case, where she goes really depends on what animals/projects she wants to do, because there are a lot of schools, both big name and less so (but often the less so schools are the ones that actually have a lot of field research opportunities because they are in geographically interesting areas). Cornell is a BIG name in biology, but not the best choice if you want to research sea turtles.

 

[madteaparty]

While I think that the above is generally true, there are certain professions that are extremely hierarchical from early on. The vast majority of my law school classmates went to extremely selective undergrads (and many came from very selective/rigorous high schools). While it is certainly possible to "trade up" along the way, those candidates face an uphill battle, and are IME usually even more extraordinary in some way.

 

See. e.g., http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm

 

You will note that there is not a single Cal State alum in the bunch. And, as you know, that is a lot of students!

I agree that it is hard, and rare, but it happens. It happened to me and I am not at all extraordinary, I assure you :)

I actually found law school admissions pretty straightforward, in that it really just involves scoring very high on the LSAT.

[Chrysalis Academy]

While I think that the above is generally true, there are certain professions that are extremely hierarchical from early on. The vast majority of my law school classmates went to extremely selective undergrads (and many came from very selective/rigorous high schools). While it is certainly possible to "trade up" along the way, those candidates face an uphill battle, and are IME usually even more extraordinary in some way.

 

See. e.g., http://www.law.yale.edu/admissions/profile.htm

 

You will note that there is not a single Cal State alum in the bunch. And, as you know, that is a lot of students!

 

Good point.  I only have experience in science, where not only is it extremely non-hierarchical, but where if they want you as a grad student, they pay your tuition and give you a stipend to cover living expenses.  I realize that pre-law, pre-med, and other disciplines don't work that way.