My S24 was accepted and American is right up at the top of his list. He got merit but shy of what we really need to keep loans under control. We have reached out to Admissons and FA but we hear they do not negotiate merit. So, at best some gift aid which is unlikely. He is open to the idea of finishing a semester early and taking an internship.
In the past, we cut some costs at Pitt by having my S18 take some courses at community college and use his AP credits so he went part time one semester which actually was worth it even though he lost aid. But at American we need to cut farther. And there are some handcuffs on core requirements and such.
What I’m asking is this very specific question : has anyone actually had success cutting out a full semester at American using some combination of the following ?
AP credits
summer courses at Community College
Less expensive intuition/R&B abroad
cheaper R&B off campus
other, like being an RA
some dept or school scholarships addition to freshman awards of merit/need
If it helps, S24 is humanities all the way. CAS student expecting a dual major in history plus language(s) and maybe one minor or certificate tbd.
Again, I have seen the pages on transfer credits and AP equivalence. I’m not asking about policy on credits. I’m asking if a current or former family actually pulled it off and graduated in 7 semesters. Or if local living costs, core curriculum, cost increases, or unforeseen constraints made it difficult.
Recent alum here: I had multiple friends who graduated a semester or two early through AP/DE/summer courses. You’ve seen the policies so you know what’s do-able for your son so I won’t reiterate it. Just know it’s possible. But probably not with a double major especially in a language since those tend to be the most credit-heavy classes. Your son would probably be better off with a single major and a single minor.
As well, being an RA does provide free housing which is an option after freshman year.
Study abroad in my experience can be cheaper than a semester of AU tuition, but it depends on the program and often the cost of living in a foreign country is higher so it doesn’t really balance out. As well, there’s a number of student jobs on campus (min wage in DC is $17) so you could come up with an agreement for your son to work to pay off his tuition. There are no addition freshman scholarships at AU that he could apply to, but there are department level scholarships available to sophomores and upperclassmen.
Yeah, Americans credit transfer policies are very clear an on their site pages. The specific schools we would use are listed on those pages with course by course equivalency.
Exactly. There’s also placement tests so if for example he did a French minor, he could place into a 300 level class his freshman year, but he would still have to take at least 18 credits in 300 level coursework.
Yes, my child is a current sophomore and could easily graduate a semester early due primarily to AP credits. He received 18 credits thanks to AP, which is more than a semester worth (assuming an average of 15 credits per semester for a total of 120 credits to graduate). He is a SIS major and has had no problems whatsoever getting the classes he needs to graduate early. However, he has decided to do a full year abroad as a junior – and not worry about graduating early.
If your student is a potential SIS major and you want me to get in the weeds about graduation and major requirements, feel free to send me a message. I have a chart that my S and I created when he was initially planning to graduate early.
As far as accepting summer credits from other colleges – yes, it is possible – but probably not for “Habit of the Mind” or major courses. You need to have the classes approved ahead of time. I just searched one of the parent Facebook pages, and there are multiple parents reporting their children took community college classes that were pre-approved by AU for credit.
In my experience RA jobs were competitive but not overly so. AU also hires desk receptionists for housing. While it doesn’t cover the housing cost, it is a job on campus that lets students work up to 39 hours a week and they hire freshman. It would be a good starter job for a freshman that could transition into an RA role as a sophomore.
Yeah I was a desk receptionist for a semester and they encourage you to do homework/read/etc while at the desk. And overnight shifts got paid more when I was there.