Does Going to an Early College Hurt Chances at Financial Aid when Transferring?

Paying for College
1

This may have an obvious answer, but I’m looking into the Early Entrant Program at Shimer College, National Academy of Arts, Sciences and Engineering at University of Iowa, and the Early College Academy at Mary Baldwin College. If I applied and got in, and if my family can afford to attend (big if’s) to one of them, when it comes time to transition to a four year school, especially HYPSM, will that really mean less aid? I know that HYPSM only gives need-based aid, but I’ll likely be saddled with some debt if I can’t convince my parents to shell out the money. Will HYPSM/similar schools give me less need based aid because I’m a transfer?

My sister is graduating this year, so technically we’ll enter college the same year if I attend an early college, plus she needs a lot of aid or else she’ll either not go to her uber-expensive dream school or take out a loan if it’s not much (I feel my parents would prefer the latter). This would affect the FAFSA and the amount of aid I would get for both the early college and later on, correct?

2

Well…first of all…take Princeton off of your list. The school hasn’t accepted transfer students in years.

Your aid at the early college might not be affected by your sister’s enrollment. I don’t think either of those schools guarantees to meet all the need of all accepted students. So…you might not get sufficient aid to attend.

Remember, the vast majority of colleges do NOT meet full need for all accepted students. HYSM meet need for transfers, but some schools that meet full need for incoming freshmen do not do so for transfers.

The other thing…acceptances to HYMS and the like are in the single digits for incoming freshmen. Their acceptance rates for transfers are VERY VERY low…single digits. In other words, most who apply to transfer to these schools do not get accepted.

If you are looking for the best potential for need based and merit aid awards, your best bets are as an incoming freshman, not a transfer student.

Is there some reason why you aren’t applying to four year schools early? Is there one reason why you feel you must graduate from HS early?

I think if finances are important, you need to examine your decisions very carefully.

3

HYPSM offer FA to all students so that would not change. But as @thumper1 stated your chances are not very good with transfer admission in the single digits (for the most part lower than freshman admission).

4

Princeton doesn’t accept transfer students…take them off your list.

5

Your best bet is to talk to the counselors at these early colleges and go to each college’s website and look at their rules for transfer credit (or pre-matriculation credit) and their definitions off first-year applicant. More and more, colleges of the HYSM-ilk are counting these dual-enrollment/early college courses that double count to a high-school diploma as not transferrable college credits, and at least for all of the schools I applied to three years ago, even with 60+ hours at a residential early college, I was considered a first-year applicant. I think all the public unis I apply to similarily considered me a first-year applicant, though with considerable transfer credit.

(I should note: I did not receive an associate’s degree when I graduated high school, and attended a residential early college program at a high-school).

At least at Duke, for a course to transfer, the course had to have been taught by a professor alongside other university students and not count towards any graduation/diploma requirements, so only one or two extra math electives transferred for credit.

6

@purpleacorn , I will receive a an Associate’s along with my HS Diploma, so I will count as a transfer - with a degree, I see no reason for these credits to not count. I have checked several policies and I’ve seen the ‘no taking a class for HS credit’ several times.

@thumper1 I am aware that Princeton doesn’t accept transfers. I already looked into the college and am not terribly interested anyway. Yes, I’m aware of the fact that my need will likely not be fully met, and I’ve started looking into scholarships. If I get accepted to one of these early entrance programs, I will still graduate from high school in 2018, as well as get my Associate’s, which is why I haven’t applied to full four-year programs that require me to drop out of high school (as well as the aforementioned potential lack of aid)

@“Erin’s Dad” Are you sure that full need is met for everyone? I didn’t look too closely, but I’m not sure about transfer FA. I am definitely aware that transfer rates are lower, but if Bard College at Simon’s Rock (while set up differently) is any indication, I won’t have more of a problem getting in compared to another senior in high school (assuming I would be qualified entering as a freshman as well).Isn’t a solid education and proving you can do well in college more important than the number of years you are staying

The reason I want to go to college early is that I’m bored. I’m doing well in most of my classes, except for the ones that I’m not interested in. I want the opportunity to dive deeply into a subject I’m passionate about, rather than cramming everything into my head.

7

While with your associate’s, you may see no reason for these credits not to count, some schools will see it differently

For example,
Duke:

http://admissions.duke.edu/application/instructions#general-instructions-transfers

Like I said, depending on when you receive your HS diploma and officially “graduate HS,” this will vary by school, so you may end up submitting a mix of first-year and transfer applications, or you may find your application list truncated. The college counselors (and probably the admissions offices) will have some sense of what each school requires.

8

" I won’t have more of a problem getting in compared to another senior in high school (assuming I would be qualified entering as a freshman as well).Isn’t a solid education and proving you can do well in college more important than the number of years you are staying"

Unfortunately, you are making a number of assumptions that are based on what you hope to be able to do, vrs the reality of trying to transfer to a top college, and be awarded FA.

Most top tier private colleges have VERY FEW openings for transfer students, simply because the vast majority [ 95%+] of students they accept as freshman stay and graduate. And retention rates [ how many graduate after 4-5 years] are a very important factor in how colleges are evaluated and rated. So the colleges do what ever it takes to insure the students they accept graduate.

The ONLY top [ USNWR] private colleges that accept relatively large % or numbers of transfer students are Columbia and the University of Southern California.

Others, such as Stanford, accept fewer than 20/ 2000 transfer applicants, if that, and those students mostly come from other “Ivy’s” or are students who have shown extraordinary academic accomplishments at lesser colleges, i.e. they might have been accepted there if they had applied as Freshmen.

In other words, it is far harder to be accepted as a transfer student at a top private college, than as a freshman, simply because there are so few openings for transfer students.

The second assumption you make that is also a false premise is that private colleges are willing to award diplomas to students who have not attended classes there for 4 years.
Top private colleges do NOT have to accept credits if they dont want to or if they do not meet their academic “standards”.
So you might have to stay another 3-4 years in order to graduate. And FA might be hard to come by, as most is reserved for students who were accepted and applied for FA as Freshmen.

Many private colleges do NOT offer generous FA to transfer students, and scholarships for transfer students are rare indeed.

I think you would be wise to reconsider your strategy- you will find it easier to be accepted and to win FA as a freshman applicant than as a transfer student.

Every year on CC there are really smart, impatient HS students who are anxious to “move on” and take college level courses asap.
But haste makes waste when it comes to applying to top private US colleges. There are tens of thousands of openings at those colleges for freshman and far , far , far fewer openings for transfer students. It is what is it.

Have patience, and dont screw yourself out of the option to apply to colleges as a true freshman, just because you are in a hurry.

9

The answer to your question of whether you MAY receive less financial aid if you go in as a transfer student is Yes. If you will truly be accepted as a transfer student, a junior in college, there is less money available to transfers. Some colleges may consider you a freshman and then you’d be eligible as a freshmen for all those awards. Those schools may limit the number of credits they will accept (and many colleges will limit the number of AP or DE credits anyway). Other schools will take you as a junior, a true transfer student, and treat you as a transfer.

Some schools may give you the option of applying as a freshman even though you have an AA degree, and you can make the decision if you want to go to one of those schools and start fresh. If schools will give you that option, why not do it. In two years, when you have completed the AA, you can decide that you really don’t want to start over and will be happy to transfer in as a junior, or you can decide you really want to go to Princeton or Harvard (if they allow you to apply as a freshman).

10

If all of your college courses will be taken before high school graduation, it is likely that most colleges will consider you a frosh applicant, not a transfer applicant. This will generally be favorable for admissions and scholarships. Check each college’s web site to find out its definition of frosh versus transfer applicants.

Note that entering as a frosh does not necessarily preclude the transfer credit from allowing you to graduate early, but that depends on the college’s policies regarding transfer credit for college courses taken while in high school.

11

Actually, Stanford, while it admits very few transfer applicants (usually around a few dozen), seems to admit many (often about half) from community colleges. But it also notes the unusual non-traditional backgrounds (e.g. military veterans) among them. So it is likely that transfers into Stanford include few “lateral” transfers from similarly selective schools, and other traditional college student transfers may also be few.

12

I think 1/2 is a bit generous. iirc, about 1/4th when I did a multi year exploration once. But many of those are actually decorated military veterans which are somewhat increasing in last years. They have a little sumthin sumthin that an average stellar PTK transfer applicant doesn’t have. The rest are from Ivy level colleges, unusual backgrounds of high national/international accomplishment, and some 4 years that have distinguished themselves in a particular field and that target school has expertise/libraries/profs they need.

If you mean HYSM you should say so. You named 5 colleges and one doesn’t take transfers. Two to four take 25 give or take a couple. um, yeah, bad odds.

Also I think @menloparkmom meant Cornell, which takes a lot of transfers, not Columbia College which doesn’t take many, however Columbia GS does.

Many students with an AA via dual enrollment/early college will apply as freshman. That is the optimal path.

13

You’ve received some great advice! College admission requirements and preferences are different at every institution and even similar colleges accept transfer credits differently. I’m the Dean of Enrollment Management here at Shimer College and I’d be happy to chat with you and help you plan ahead & navigate through all the nuances of college enrollment. Feel free to contact me via admission@shimer.edu or 312.235.3555.

“The reason I want to go to college early is that I’m bored…I want the opportunity to dive deeply into a subject I’m passionate about, rather than cramming everything into my head.” I think you’ll find that most of our Early Entrant students have had similar feelings. Shimer’s a really attractive place to students who want to be intellectually challenged within extremely small, discussion-based classes. It could be a great fit for you!

Adam Asher

14

OP- you should also be aware that credits which may appear to be transferable on paper don’t actually “count” once you are enrolled. Each department gets to determine its own policy when figuring out how to count a class completed at another institution.

This trips up a LOT of kids, particularly if your interests are in math, comp sci, or anything engineering related. So coming in with a lot of credit may allow you to take grad level classes, do a double major, get a Master’s degree along with your BA during your final year, etc. BUT total time enrolled in order to get a Bachelor’s degree may turn out to be the same had you entered a traditional Freshman. You may have enough total credits to graduate early- but if your department doesn’t count them against your degree requirement, you end up having to stay in order to get a degree.

This is important if your financing plan for college assumes a quick “in and out” of your final institution.