When are you considered a transfer student?

[Daria]

Some of the schools DS is looking at state that if you're applying as a transfer, and you have at least 24 college credits, you don't need to submit HS transcripts or SAT/ACT scores.

 

I know that doesn't apply to people who only have DE credit, but does anyone know if that means 24 credits after graduation, or 24 credits altogether?

 

If you take 20 credits during HS and then 6 after HS graduation, can you apply as a transfer with no HS information, or would you still need to take 24 credits after graduation?

[JanetC]

This is not a universal policy, so you will have to check with the schools in question.

[katilac]

It's not a universal policy, but you can generally count on one thing: if you take ANY classes after high school graduation, you will be considered a transfer student. I'm sure there is an exception to this but I have never seen it. 

 

Some schools do have a limit on DE credit and only allow you to bring in 24 (or whatever number) in order to be considered an incoming freshman.  

[Daria]

It's not a universal policy, but you can generally count on one thing: if you take ANY classes after high school graduation, you will be considered a transfer student. I'm sure there is an exception to this but I have never seen it. 

 

Some schools do have a limit on DE credit and only allow you to bring in 24 (or whatever number) in order to be considered an incoming freshman.  

 

The school we visited said that if you have no classes after HS graduation you're first time, first year, and get all the freshman benefits.  That's a good thing.

 

If you have 24 credits, you're transfer and get no freshman benefits, but you don't have to submit SAT/ACT scores or HS transcripts.  For us, that's also a good thing, since my son's HS transcript was impacted by some health issues. 

 

But in between you lose your freshman benefits, but still have to submit the SAT/ACT and transcripts.  We'd like to avoid being in that gap.  So, I'm curious whether that's 24 credits total, or 24 credits taken after graduation.  

 

I guess I'll call and ask.  

[dirty ethel rackham]

None of the schools we visited had a limit on the number of college credits one could have taken before high school graduation to be considered a freshman for application and scholarship purposes.  The only thing that would have made one a transfer student would have been college classes after high school graduation or possibly, having an associates degree.  But, some of the schools did have a limit on the number of credits that they would allow to transfer. 

 

Both of my college kids were able to transfer way more than 24 credits.  They were considered freshman as far as admissions were concerned.  However, after the first term, their status reflected the number of credits total.  So both of my kids were considered either 2nd semester sophomores or 1st semester juniors after the first term.  That didn't mean they were that far in their major, though. My oldest graduated a semester early, but was able to add in a minor as well.  If he had gone that last term, he would have double majored.   

[Gwen in VA]

Dd entered the college she did her freshman year at with 52 credits and she entered as a freshman even though all the credits "counted". Obviously YMMV.

 

Then she transferred. Nothing in the process was different because she was a transfer -- she received merit aid like a freshman and she received credit for most (though not all) of her 70+ credits. She will graduate in three years. So I'm honestly not sure what difference her being a transfer made in either the admissions process or in how she has been treated during her first semester.

 

 

[Tsuga]

It's not a universal policy, but you can generally count on one thing: if you take ANY classes after high school graduation, you will be considered a transfer student. I'm sure there is an exception to this but I have never seen it. 

 

Some schools do have a limit on DE credit and only allow you to bring in 24 (or whatever number) in order to be considered an incoming freshman.  

 

At some schools, you can attend during summer at some schools after you've been accepted. I.e. Accepted as an incoming freshman during your senior year, then take a class at the local CC to refresh math.

 

OP, call the college, and get it in writing from the registrar. If they cannot give you an official updated document, don't count on it.

[Daria]

Dd entered the college she did her freshman year at with 52 credits and she entered as a freshman even though all the credits "counted". Obviously YMMV.

 

Then she transferred. Nothing in the process was different because she was a transfer -- she received merit aid like a freshman and she received credit for most (though not all) of her 70+ credits. She will graduate in three years. So I'm honestly not sure what difference her being a transfer made in either the admissions process or in how she has been treated during her first semester.

 

Did she have to submit SAT/ACT scores or high school transcripts when she transferred?  

[Daria]

At some schools, you can attend during summer at some schools after you've been accepted. I.e. Accepted as an incoming freshman during your senior year, then take a class at the local CC to refresh math.

 

OP, call the college, and get it in writing from the registrar. If they cannot give you an official updated document, don't count on it.

 

I can call this college, but to be honest we visited because it was close (and thus cheap) to visit, not because we think he's particularly likely to choose it.  With 2.5 more years of HS ahead, it's hard to predict which college he'll end up at.  So, I'm trying to figure out how things work in general.  

[Gwen in VA]

When she transferred, dd supplied everything she did when she applied as a freshman in the application.

 

At this school there was no difference between applying as a freshman and applying as a transfer except that she checked the "transfer" box.

 

Then there was the school that she applied to as a transfer that let all the transfers know near the end of April! Talk about obnoxious! And she had extra essays to write about why she wanted to transfer, etc.

 

So the process is 100% school-dependent.

[katilac]

I can call this college, but to be honest we visited because it was close (and thus cheap) to visit, not because we think he's particularly likely to choose it.  With 2.5 more years of HS ahead, it's hard to predict which college he'll end up at.  So, I'm trying to figure out how things work in general.  

 

Sadly, there is no 'how things work in general' for almost anything in the college process, which is one of the reasons it's such a time suck.