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

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.