In doing some research for a college planning session, I came across this “150 hour rule.”
The rule basically states that if you have >150 hrs you will not get any state funding (loans or grants) AND the universities will start charging OOS tuition rates even if you are a Texas resident!
Does everyone here already know this? Do other states have this rule also?
A few years ago Florida passed some sort of surcharge for excess credit hours.
Here’s an article (didn’t read it all): http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2014-08-02/news/fl-college-surcharge-mayocol-b080314-20140802_1_ucf-student-florida-students-surcharges
Some states are passing these laws simply because budgeting doesn’t permit students to go to school forever. They’re philosophy is: we’ll help you and subsidize you with enough to get a BS/BA degree with about 20-30 credits to spare, so don’t waste your opportunity.
Some schools/states will exempt AP credits in the calculation. Does Texas?
My kids each graduated with far more than 150 credits due to AP credits, but they weren’t getting any fed or state aid.
related question: what happens to accounting majors who need to have 150 hours to sit for the CPA exams? Do they have to come in right at 150 or just budget for the additional expense?
Aren’t some of those 150 hours post undergrad or grad level?
UNC-CH has a variation of this rule. Students have eight semesters to finish their degree requirements. There is also a 18 credit hours limit per semester. Also a 140 credit hour limit. I believe summers do not count towards the semesters limit. Bottom line is that they want you done in eight semesters. Obliviously there is a process for granting exceptions.
I work at an institution that grants bachelor’s degrees, so our acct majors take undergrad to 150. I would imagine, however, that a student could use some grad hours, but that opens a whole new fin aid can of worms for some!
In California, the publics of have enrollment limitations if one goes over the number of credits or semesters. For example, SJSU seniors with too many credits may only enroll in specific courses needed to graduate as soon as possible.
In Wisconsin, there is the Johnny Lechner rule established about 10 years ago specifying that tuition doubles once students hit 165 credits. Named after a student who spent at least 12 years at UW-Whitewater.
Yikes! I’m glad my daughter didn’t go to a school with that rule. She violated it by about 40 credits, although all done in 8 semesters (plus pre-enrollment credit). I hope schools with such rules distinguish between credits earned on campus and AP/CLEP/other pre-enrollment credits.
Don’t states have some sort of exemptions for certain majors that require more than 120 credits to graduate (like architecture).
I think schools should only have that rule if student is getting discounted instate rates and/or they’re on need-based aid…AND…AP/IB credits should either not count or maybe only a max of, say, 12 credits should count.
There are kids coming in with 50+ AP/IB credits these days, and often many of the credits are redundant for Gen Ed or major. My kids had way too many History credits due to various history classes, and one had too many AP English and Biology credits. It would be terrible for students to be unfairly limited because of AP credits.
Problem is schools don’t make these rules, legislatures do. Legislatures might not realize the credits come in with the child, so unless the bill,is written that it is 150 credits ‘earne at State U’ or through the state college system, some may get caught in a place not intended dedicated to apply to the average 8 semester college student.
I suppose it depends on what the legislature deems is the purpose of AP and DE credits. If they are truly supposed to give a student a head start, then the rule makes sense. The reality is, however, that they DON’T often give a student a head start. My youngest went in with 16 hours of science credits in chem and physics. She needed 4. The other 12 were simply superfluous. If they have to “count,” well then, there go four hours of exploration.
If AP and DE are supposed to put students ahead, high schools need to do a whole lot better job educating students as to what is needed within their own state system and students need to be far more judicious about what they take for “credit.”
^^^
Yes.
If AP credits are going to count, then students will refuse to take certain AP exams.
My point was those making the laws (legislature) may not have any idea of how students get to the 150+ credits. When the bill is drafted, no one is thinking about AP credits or changing majors, they are thinking about the 6+ year college students.
Florida hs students don’t have the choice of not taking the AP exams (without paying a penalty). I don’t know if they are required to report all the AP credits, or if they can just opt not to take the credits for them. They could bomb them on purpose and thus get no credit for them, but who is thinking that far ahead as a 10th or 11th grader taking AP?
All of my kids had to proactively choose to use their AP credits- it wasn’t a default where the registrar looked at their transcript and automatically pushed them into a higher level class. In one case, the kids advisor recommended taking a harder version of a Freshman class and not taking the AP credit from HS - so that if the accelerated class proved to be too tough, kid could drop back down a level (which would not have been an option if the AP credit was used since the college wouldn’t give credit for the same class twice).
So I’m mystified- if a kid ends up enrolling at a college where too many AP’s is problematic- just don’t use the AP’s. What am I missing? Kid takes the test in HS- and decides whether or not to use the credits based on the policies of the particular college.
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know if they are required to report all the AP credits, or if they can just opt not to take the credits for them. They could bomb them on purpose and thus get no credit for them, but who is thinking that far ahead as a 10th or 11th grader taking AP?
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Many won’t, but once the word gets out, kids will say things like: “I’m going to purposely fail the exam because I can’t afford the credits.” And, slowly the word will get out.
And, eventually, a legislator’s child, niece, nephew, or neighbor will be affected and that person will bring it to the attention of other law-makers can get a change.
I don’t remember all of the specifics, but at one point students for a rebate in TX if they graduated with only a certain number of credits above the minimum. My sister did not get it because she went in with AP credits, even though she graduated in 4 years and only took the number of credits for the rebate at her university. The AP credit put her over that limit. She was miffed because she went to a private high school with no state funding.
@mom2collegekids Does this not include the national merit scholarship given by UA?
The 150 hour limit as applied at Texas A&M excludes a number of categories of credits from the limitation:
http://registrar.tamu.edu/General/ExcessCredHr.aspx
The second category (“earned by the student by examination or other procedure by which credit is earned without registering for a course for which tuition is charged”) seems like it should include credit earned from things like AP and IB scores.
However, the Texas tuition rebate for graduating within the minimum number of credits needed plus 3 does include credit by examination beyond 9 such credits, according to http://www.collegeforalltexans.com/apps/financialaid/tofa2.cfm?ID=447 .