RubberChickenGirl2 Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 These questions are full of ignorance and are probably cracked, but here goes: If you get a scholarship based on ACT scores / Merit and you want to go to a community college because said college is offering nearly free credits, can you either defer your scholarships or can you reapply again in 2 years and get the same scholarships offered? Or are those scholarships only for freshman? Is transferring out? I know some of you have done a ton of research and I could use some last minute input! Thx much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 The best scholarships are for incoming freshman. Some schools do offer transfer scholarships. Can you do what you describe? Doubtful. Most likely you would have to apply somewhere with transfer scholarships and hope to be awarded on of those. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberChickenGirl2 Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 So, the ACT score is pretty much for the freshman and not something you can hope to ride on later? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 So, the ACT score is pretty much for the freshman and not something you can hope to ride on later? Nope. Pretty much only helpful for freshman admissions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberChickenGirl2 Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Oh, man. We applied to about 5 colleges and didn't do a specific search for colleges offering a full ride for a 30. The schools we found (probably too late now, but I'll revisit that post haste) were out of state. Do you or does anyone know if those merit based scholarships are usually offered to in-state students only? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 "replay" of my response from your x-post on the college board, in case this helps others ;) ______________________ Best to talk to the universities to know for sure, but most likely not. At best, they may defer the scholarships AND admission for 1 year for the student to take a gap year -- and NO college courses may be taken during a gap year (usually for the purposes of travel, volunteering, missions work, or other "broadening" activity OTHER than classes), or the student loses their status as an in-coming freshman, AND then any freshman scholarship awarded to the student. You mention that these scholarships are based on ACT scores -- those are awarded to in-coming freshmen. Taking courses at a community college means the student is now a freshman at the community college, and would be considered a "transfer" student to the university. There are usually transfer student scholarships available, but usually far fewer than the number of freshman scholarships, and transfer scholarships are far more frequently one-time awards, while freshman scholarships are more frequently renewable -- i.e., as long as the student maintains the requirements for GPA and number of credits, and any required volunteer hours or required projects, the student is eligible to re-apply for that scholarship again each year of college, for 2 or 4 years (whichever the scholarship allows). So, you'll have to do some serious number crunching to see if "bird in the hand" scholarship, with *possibility* (NOT a guarantee) of renewable saves enough over 4 years to make it worthwhile. Or, if 2 years at the community college at the reduced tuition rate and being able to live at home saves more than the scholarship will provide, assuming the scholarship can be maintained for all 4 years at the university. Realistically a 2/3 tuition scholarship is a GOOD scholarship these days! Far more common to land a 1/4 to 1/3 scholarship. Due to tight economy these days there are very FEW full-tuition scholarships, and even fewer full-ride,scholarships. So it's best to NOT count on getting a better offer; decide on the basis of how the 2/3 scholarship works/does not work for your family financially. Other important variables to weigh in this equation: - is it a guarantee that the university will accept and transfer the community college (CC) credits? If not, that's wasted time & money for those CC classes, and wasted scholarship offer - and if accepted, will the university count transfer credits actually *towards the degree* (they may accept the credits, but only count them as electives, which does NOT knock off any time on the 4-year degree; or they may accept NONE of the credits at all from the CC) - the degree program is the student interested in -- check to make sure that the university hasn't set up the courses and schedule so that the student *must* take a full 4 years to complete the program (example: pre-requisite only offered in the fall of the freshman year, and the course that builds on it only offered in the fall of the sophomore year, and BOTH are required before being able to take the junior and senior year core courses) - will the student really be able to complete the degree in just 4 years? the majority of students now take 5-6 years to complete a 4-year degree -- so it is VERY important to plan finances to be able to handle MORE than 4 years - if the student has to transfer to a cheaper university partway through, how many credits will be "lost"? that can add another 1-2 semesters at the new university (and so that much more money) to "make up" the new required classes Other expenses to calculate into your plans, regardless of where the student attends: - books -- $300-500 per semester *minimum* for textbooks and online access codes - fees -- $300-500 per semester *minimum* for activity fee, health fee, specific class fees, parking pass…)\ - transportation -- per semester costs for bus pss, or gas/parking/car maintenance if commuting from home to campus; or even more: airfare/other travel options if student attends out-of-town campus - living expenses: room and board $4000-5000 per semester -- or is the student able to live at home? or will the student be on their own? or living in a dorm/other if the university is out-of-town or out of state? meal plans vs make own meals IF that is even allowed... I am NOT a professional, but I would think your best bet is to speak to a financial/investment firm (example: Hefar Group) that specializes in college financial aid to speak for FREE with you and talk through what to realistically expect for costs, what your options are, and how to weigh those options. Congrats on the scholarships, and BEST of luck in deciding how to proceed! Warmest regards, Lori D. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Oh, man. We applied to about 5 colleges and didn't do a specific search for colleges offering a full ride for a 30. The schools we found (probably too late now, but I'll revisit that post haste) were out of state. Do you or does anyone know if those merit based scholarships are usually offered to in-state students only? Every school is different, every scholarship is different. You just have to check each one. Yes, it's insanely time-consuming! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Oh, man. We applied to about 5 colleges and didn't do a specific search for colleges offering a full ride for a 30. The schools we found (probably too late now, but I'll revisit that post haste) were out of state. Do you or does anyone know if those merit based scholarships are usually offered to in-state students only? No, not usually offered just to in-state students. However, even if an ACT score of 30 put your student in the top 5% of another college's statistics, at most you might be looking at a full tuition scholarship (NOT full-ride), so you'd still be looking at about $8,000-$10,000 a year for room and board. PLUS, money for books, fees, and travel to/from the college at semester break/summer break. A full-ride merit aid would also include room & board, books, and fees. And, to be honest, to land a full-ride, a student would most likely need an ACT score of 34-36, AND have some special internships / projects etc. to offer the school... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberChickenGirl2 Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thank-you, Lori. This is all overwhelming to me. I was born into a family that lived in Reno and just auto-pilot went to the University of Nevada @ Reno for about $500 per semester (1980's). It was easy and painless. This is new terrain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thank-you, Lori. This is all overwhelming to me. I was born into a family that lived in Reno and just auto-pilot went to the University of Nevada @ Reno for about $500 per semester (1980's). It was easy and painless. This is new terrain. I feel your pain! Very similar situation for me, too. I was on auto-pilot and just went directly to our state university (in my home town), and lived at home while earnimg my degree -- first semester = $300 tuition, last semester = $600 tuition, used books for about $40/semester, and a $30 semester bus pass to get to/from campus. In-state tuition for fall semester of 2015 for this same university will be $5400. Just . for . tuition. :ohmy: :eek: :svengo: :zombie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubberChickenGirl2 Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Looks like UNR is now $5,000 per year if you live at home. Huge jump from 1985, but nothing compared to the averages nation-wide. Sigh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 If you get a scholarship based on ACT scores / Merit and you want to go to a community college because said college is offering nearly free credits, can you either defer your scholarships or can you reapply again in 2 years and get the same scholarships offered? Or are those scholarships only for freshman? Is transferring out? Actually this is a great question with the skyrocketing tuition at the four year schools. IMHO I seriously doubt that a college would defer a scholarship offer to attend another college. BUT you could sneak in some credits at the CC the summer before the freshman year and the summer before the sophomore year. I would ask someone in general if particular CC classes transfer credit. Most State U are fairly generous giving credit for gen-eds and free electives. It is a little sneaky but you would do the credit transfer app during the sophomore fall semester. This is a little risky but I did something similar for just one summer a long time ago. This probably would not fly at an elite or smaller private college. The key is that the classes would have to be very transferable. [just an idea - out of the box thinking] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Actually this is a great question with the skyrocketing tuition at the four year schools. IMHO I seriously doubt that a college would defer a scholarship offer to attend another college. BUT you could sneak in some credits at the CC the summer before the freshman year and the summer before the sophomore year. I would ask someone in general if particular CC classes transfer credit. Most State U are fairly generous giving credit for gen-eds and free electives. It is a little sneaky but you would do the credit transfer app during the sophomore fall semester. This is a little risky but I did something similar for just one summer a long time ago. This probably would not fly at an elite or smaller private college. The key is that the classes would have to be very transferable. [just an idea - out of the box thinking] I would be very careful with this approach. Many schools do not allow a single credit to be taken after high school w/o changing status from incoming freshman to transfer student. If there are thousands of dollars in scholarship $$ at stake, I would not make the decision lightly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 Even on scholarship, many schools will allow you to take summer classes at your local cc. The catch is that you have to get approval first. And you can't do it while deferring your scholarship. And you can't do it before you have actually taken classes at the 4-year school. My 19yo will be taking a cc class this summer. She is on a full-tuition scholarship at her university. I have told her to make sure to get the approval in writing from the scholarship office, not just from her adviser in her department. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 I would be extremely cautious with taking community college classes prior to matriculating at the university, even just over the summer. My oldest daughter, who was dual enrolled full time at the community college for 11th and 12th grade and graduated high school with 60 semester units, absolutely could not have earned any credit at the community college the summer before she went off to university or she would have lost her Presidential Scholarship. However, once she was a matriculated student, she was able to take summer classes at the community college as a "visiting student" with no impact on her scholarship eligibility at all. She's transferring to a different university this fall, and as a transfer student, her high ACT scores and high school GPA are no longer factors in admission or scholarships, the way they were when she earned her initial freshman scholarship. I agree with those who said it is highly unlikely than a university will allow a freshman merit scholarship to be deferred until after a CC transfer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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