True Freshman vs Transfer Student

[hopskipjump]

Is the ONLY reason to retain a student's "Freshman Status" for academic scholarships that are solely for Freshmen?

 

Are there other reasons I am missing, or is this the major/only difference between entering a 4-year university as a Transfer student vs a Freshman student?

[Lori D.]

Is the ONLY reason to retain a student's "Freshman Status" for academic scholarships that are solely for Freshmen?

Are there other reasons I am missing, or is this the major/only difference between entering a 4-year university as a Transfer student vs a Freshman student?

 

Just a thought: might freshman status vs. transfer student status affect NCAA sports eligibility in some way??

 

Some honors programs or special department programs are designed for entry when the student is a freshman, and are harder to enter as a transfer student (no room for "latecomers").

 

Some programs -- esp. Engineering and some Science degree programs  -- are scheduled in such a way that the degree takes a full 4 years at the university. Key coursework is non-transferrable and is scheduled in such a way as to lock even transfer students into a full 4 years once they arrive at the university -- so no time or money savings for the transfer student.

 

As far as scholarships… The merit aid differences between freshman and transfer students is huge:

- freshman are typically awarded much larger scholarship amounts than transfer students

- there are MANY more scholarships available for freshman than are available for transfer students (so much more competition for money among transfer students)

- most of the renewable scholarships (i.e., scholarships that a student can be awarded each year of college) are for freshman, while most of the transfer scholarships are one-time awards

[hopskipjump]

Just a thought: might freshman status vs. transfer student status affect NCAA sports eligibility in some way??

 

Very possibly - and that exact question is on the list for when we call them tomorrow. Just brainstorming as to whether or not there are other, non-NCAA reasons, other than the scholarships.

 

Some honors programs or special department programs are designed for entry when the student is a freshman, and are harder to enter as a transfer student (no room for "latecomers").

 

Yes! True! Adding that to the spreadsheet to check on.

 

Some programs -- esp. Engineering and some Science degree programs  -- are scheduled in such a way that the degree takes a full 4 years at the university. Key coursework is non-transferrable and is scheduled in such a way as to lock even transfer students into a full 4 years once they arrive at the university -- so no time or money savings for the transfer student.

 

 

As far as scholarships… The merit aid differences between freshman and transfer students is huge:

- freshman are typically awarded much larger scholarship amounts than transfer students

- there are MANY more scholarships available for freshman than are available for transfer students (so much more competition for money among transfer students)

- most of the renewable scholarships (i.e., scholarships that a student can be awarded each year of college) are for freshman, while most of the transfer scholarships are one-time awards

Excellent - especially the bolded.  Didn't know that was common.

 

Thanks so much - great things to think about. We're checking in to so many variables right now, it's becoming harder to decipher "What I think I read somewhere" vs. "Fact," and our limited timeline doesn't help! This food for thought helps immensely. :)

 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

At some of the schools ds applied to, students were considered to admission by college or even major.  So for example, the College of Engineering or the Computer Science department.  Some of the schools were pretty clear that they didn't really consider transfer students in any number.  

 

The more varied the offerings at the school, the more you have to dig.  It might be possible to enter as a transfer student, but it might not be possible to do a particular degree unless you start at the beginning of the four year cycle.

 

 

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

It can also impact housing.  Some schools offer housing to "new" students, i.e. freshman and transfers.  Some won't guarantee housing for transfers if they are placed in a class (i.e. Junior) that isn't normally offered housing.  

 

Dd also saw several honors and leadership programs that were designed to have requirements met during the 1st two years leaving last 2 years open for internships and research within the major.  A transfer might miss out on those opportunities.

 

I have no idea if any of this is enough to persuade someone to not be a transfer student but it is good to know what doors might have closed vs. the benefits gained by having higher placement.

[Gwen in VA]

I was a transfer back in the 80's, and I didn't get guaranteed housing even though all freshmen did. (Definite disadvantage!)

 

Not all colleges accept transfers. (For example, I've heard that Princeton doesn't do transfers, period.)

 

Your classes may not transfer even if they look almost identical. For example, dd took a philosophy freshman seminar last year at a "Public Ivy" that has very strong academics by pretty much any standard. This class did not transfer to her conservatory (!?!?!?!?!) because of the writing emphasis of the seminar. She has to take another philosophy class at her conservatory.

 

Your classes may not transfer even if they ARE identical because one college's class is much more rigorous. My calculus 2 class didn't transfer -- I was going from a highly-ranked LAC to a top engineering school, and the engineering school rightly thought that my LAC calc 2 class would not prepare me for what was ahead.

 

Your classes may not transfer if they cover slightly different material. A class that covers music history from 1800 - 1900 may not transfer if the similar class at the new school covers from 1750 - 1900.

 

Your classes may be meaningless at the new school. For example, dd took a conducting class at her first college. As a instrument performance major at the conservatory she does not need and actually cannot take a conducting class so it didn't transfer, even as an elective.

 

I transferred. My daughter transferred. For the right student it's definitely worthwhile, but it has DEFINITE disadvantages.

 

If a student can possibly enter as a freshman, he/she should!

Edited March 28, 2016 by Gwen in VA

[plansrme]

It can be easier to get admitted as a transfer than as a freshman.  The lore around here, for example, is that U.Ga. (a 50%'ish acceptance rate, last I checked) is much easier to get into as a transfer before one's sophomore or junior years.  At some schools, not being classified as a freshman also might keep you out of social experiences designed for freshman to get to know each other, which might or might not be of any importance.  I suppose that if the GPA for the first school isn't something you want following you around forever, then you also would be better off applying as a freshman and counting the first school as high school, since grad programs and employers don't often ask about your high school GPA.  The opposite could also be true, of course.  (Although, I did have a potential client ask for my SAT score, and this was several years after I'd graduated from a top-15 law school and had been practicing at one of the largest firms in Atlanta, so someone out there might care about your high school achievements.)

 

 

[J-rap]

I wanted to add that though what others have said is mostly true, it sometimes isn't.  My daughter transferred this year (as a sophomore), and received an excellent merit scholarship, renewable, with as many added-on scholarships that she had been offered as a freshman from this same school (which she had applied at as an incoming freshman, a couple years earlier, but chose not to go then).  So it really does depend on the school.

 

I also believe she got in more easily as a transfer.  The school tries to admit a certain number of transfers each year, and she and her three roommates (also transfers) have all talked about how simple and streamlined the application process seemed to be as a transfer.  Less information, references, etc. were required of them.

 

So, I guess you never know!

 

There definitely can be a difference in what is required to graduate though.  My daughter had enough math at her first school, but not this one, so she needs to take one more math class now (which she is not too happy about!).  There are other course requirement differences too, which, if we hadn't been studying it all carefully, could easily have added an additional semester to her schedule in order to graduate.  (Thankfully I think she'll be able to just get it all in within the 4-year year framework.)

 

One last note...  Sometimes (probably rare, but still...), even just taking a year off between high school and college and doing nothing might mean you are entering as a transfer.  One of my dd's applied to a college as a freshman after taking a gap year (she didn't take any classes at all during that time), and was told she had to apply as a transfer because she had "experience."

[Mom22ns]

I just wanted to throw in there, that sometimes transfer status can work in a students favor. My illustration is my dd. The State U she will be attending has a moderate, renewable scholarship available for transfer students. It is not as much as the top freshman scholarship, but it is in the middle. It requires 24 hours of transfer credit. Dd has enough credits, but they are dual enrollment credits, so she is not considered a transfer. However, she is deans list at the CC and doesn't have great ACT scores, so she would have gotten a larger scholarship as a transfer than as a freshman.

 

We're already graduating her a year early and there is no way I could create a high  school transcript for her without her college credits, so I can't call her graduated earlier and make her a transfer, but it would have saved us money if I could have. We did debate having her go to the CC for summer school this year and enroll as a transfer. It would have benefited her in multiple ways, but we had already done the application as a freshman and decided it wasn't worth trying to change it all.

[hopskipjump]

Thank you all so much! In dds case, she would only want to take 6-12 credit hours - tops. It looks (from our mad research today) like the universities have very varied policies. She will have a good idea of where she will attend by fall of next year, so I think she will just plan to skip the fall semester... and then if the chosen university (and its backup) allow her to take a class or two (several do, so long as you are not enrolled as "a degree-seeking student" at another university) - then she could register for the spring semester and take a couple of classes. Her situation is a weird one, though...

 

Edited March 30, 2016 by hopskipjump

[MarkT]

I just wanted to throw in there, that sometimes transfer status can work in a students favor. My illustration is my dd. The State U she will be attending has a moderate, renewable scholarship available for transfer students. It is not as much as the top freshman scholarship, but it is in the middle. It requires 24 hours of transfer credit. Dd has enough credits, but they are dual enrollment credits, so she is not considered a transfer. However, she is deans list at the CC and doesn't have great ACT scores, so she would have gotten a larger scholarship as a transfer than as a freshman.

 

We're already graduating her a year early and there is no way I could create a high  school transcript for her without her college credits, so I can't call her graduated earlier and make her a transfer, but it would have saved us money if I could have. We did debate having her go to the CC for summer school this year and enroll as a transfer. It would have benefited her in multiple ways, but we had already done the application as a freshman and decided it wasn't worth trying to change it all.

Just curious was this a formal DE offered by the state or the colleges with a considerable discount or did you just attend paying the full CC bill. If it's the later, I'm not sure that the State U would see any difference in the credits.  Is she transferring after 2 years at the CC?  Would the State U even ask for the HS transcript at that point?

 

On second reading, looks like you only did DE at the CC not post HS but my questions are still good for a hypothetical situation.

Edited March 29, 2016 by MarkT

[Melissa B]

I just wanted to throw in there, that sometimes transfer status can work in a students favor. My illustration is my dd. The State U she will be attending has a moderate, renewable scholarship available for transfer students. It is not as much as the top freshman scholarship, but it is in the middle. It requires 24 hours of transfer credit. Dd has enough credits, but they are dual enrollment credits, so she is not considered a transfer. However, she is deans list at the CC and doesn't have great ACT scores, so she would have gotten a larger scholarship as a transfer than as a freshman.

 

We're already graduating her a year early and there is no way I could create a high  school transcript for her without her college credits, so I can't call her graduated earlier and make her a transfer, but it would have saved us money if I could have. We did debate having her go to the CC for summer school this year and enroll as a transfer. It would have benefited her in multiple ways, but we had already done the application as a freshman and decided it wasn't worth trying to change it all.

 

Did you speak to the state university? We can use the dual enrollment credits either way. The student can choose to apply as a freshman or a transfer. Many students here apply first as a freshman and if they do not get scholarship money (or an acceptance) they have their application switched to transfer status which has a much later application due date.

[Mom22ns]

Did you speak to the state university? We can use the dual enrollment credits either way. The student can choose to apply as a freshman or a transfer. Many students here apply first as a freshman and if they do not get scholarship money (or an acceptance) they have their application switched to transfer status which has a much later application due date.

 

Hmm, sounds like I need to have her contact admissions and check. I did look and the deadline for the transfer scholarship isn't until June 1, so we aren't necessarily too late.

 

Thanks

[Bootsie]

It can impact housing and honors college admission at some schools.  It can also make a difference in the admissions to certain programs.  Some majors have different admission requirements for freshman than for upper classman