<p>Son will graduate HS and CC at the same time and transfer as a junior to the uc system. Anyone have experience with this? Any tips? The CC counselor doesn't have experience with this helping navigate dual enrollment.</p>
<p>He started taking CC classes for a "challenge" and fun, going to regular school in the day and CC on weekends, nights and online. We realized he will have completed all his CC credits at the same time he finishes high school so why not transfer as a junior? How will the UCs view this? How important will APs be in HS if he already has CC credits? We just need some guidance or feedback to make sure he is on the right track and not hurting his chances down the road. </p>
<p>I don't know about the UCs but I believe most schools still consider students with CC credits taken as concurrent enrollment freshmen rather than transfers. This is actually generally a better thing as it makes them eligible for freshman scholarships and grants which are usually much better (more of them available available and usually higher $$s) than transfers scholarships. Often the CC and AP credits are not recorded on the transcript until after completion of the 1st semester - then he would have junior standing but still have the benefits of having entered as a freshman.</p>
<p>You really need to check with the schools he is planning to apply to and make sure you do not make any miss steps that could hurt him financially or otherwise. The will be able to tell you more accurately than the CC counsellor.</p>
<p>nickthecoolest, no, not both full-time-"he is going to regular school in the day and CC on weekends, nights and online." He takes cc classes "on the side" but goes to regular day school. He started CC so early that he will have all the credits he needs from CC when he finishes high school. </p>
<p>We are just looking at the options for him and don't want early cc to hurt his chances down the road but he is doing great maintaining straight As at both regular school and at college. No one seems to be able to give us advice about what the implications are for doing this. Initially, we thought it would be a great money saver only having to pay for 2 years of UC and save any extra for grad school. His cc has a guaranteed admissions agreement (TAG)with the UCs so we thought he would be in a good position to transfer. </p>
<p>Swimcatsmom, Just wondering what would these benefits be?-"he would have junior standing but still have the benefits of having entered as a freshman." Would he still have to do 4 years then? If the benefits are "financial aid", I doubt we'd qualify but maybe merit aid if it even exists in the UC system? Do you think the UCs would be impressed or turned off? If the admission is "guaranteed", do we even have to worry? Maybe there is a way to get out of HS and go to college early now? Who knows this stuff? Where else to look?</p>
<p>I guess the best thing would be to go up to one of the UCs and talk to them but our situation is so different, I am not sure how to approach? Right now, his records are totally 2 separate things. The only thing the regular school does is sign a permission slip saying he can take the cc class but they do not combine his two school records. He can not use his cc classes for credit at regular school yet either so we just figured he should keep it separate and get both at the same time! </p>
<p>We don't know what we are doing-lol. He just keeps taking classes and loving it. We are however at the point where we need to make sure he will not "ruin" his chances down the road entering college by chalking up a full degrees worth of 60 or more credits before graduating HS. All the cc gave us was a sheet of "IGETC" that we have been following to pick classes...</p>
<p>Thanks again and any more tip, hints, etc. would be appreciated!</p>
<p>I really think you have to talk to the UCs. Quite an unusual situation so you really need to hear it from the horses mouth. As the classes are not taken as part of HS I don't know how they would be treated even at my daughters school.</p>
<p>Yes the benefits I was talking about are financial related. I know nothing about UCs and their merit scholarships but at most schools the best merit scholarships are for incoming freshman. At my daughters school the biggest freshman merit scholarship is about 6 times bigger than the biggest transfer scholarship.</p>
<p>Interesting question - let us know what you find out!</p>
<p>Again, thanks swimcatsmom! I guess it is time to make an appt with the UCs and see what they say. I will post back here and let you know what I find out just in case someone else is looking too.</p>
<p>It's not actually an unusual situation. Two years at UC isn't enough to prepare for grad school, depending on what you mean by grad school though... I think since he is still in HS, he can enter a UC as a freshman, he doesn't have to to enter as a transfer, since he is still in high school, even with 60 CC units. That is my understanding. The credits will transfer, though, so he could graduate early if he wanted, or meet the GE prereqs, etc. </p>
<p>Certainly to save money you could apply and be accepted as a transfer and finish up in two years. If you were aggressive in your grad school prep maybe you could do OK. But for the best grad school results you would want to spend at least 3 years, just to take more advanced classes, make connections with professors, etc. Remember you apply to grad school in fall of your senior year, if you are a transfer you only have one year to make connections take advanced classes, etc.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Maybe there is a way to get out of HS and go to college early now? Who knows this stuff? Where else to look?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>This is what I would recommend, but it's probably too late. If he's a sophomore now, I would apply as a junior to UCs as a freshman That's why I did. The CC units will transfer, he could graduate in 3 years probably. That would be the best option IMHO. If he is already a junior it's too late for all that. if he's already a junior you could just drop out of high school too, continue at CC, and apply as a transfer. You can take the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam), you don't need a real high school diploma.</p>
<p>Yeah, I tested out of high school by taking the CHSPE at 16 (you're eligble once you turn 16.. took it as soon as I could) started college then... it is possible to get out of HS and start cc early. A stipulation of CHSPE is that you can't go directly to a 4-year, but I had planned on going the CC to UC route anyway so that didn't bother me. I'm 18 now and am applying to transfer. If your son tests out now he can focus full-time on finishing up his college units and transfer as a junior (I don't know how much he has done...).</p>
<p>Can you apply as a dropout... I thought you needed some sort of secondary school equivalency? Anyways, CHSPE is the easiest test in the world (took me about an hour for the whole math/reading/writing... I'd say it's like eighth-grade level) so I guarantee your son will have no problem with it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
A stipulation of CHSPE is that you can't go directly to a 4-year
[/quote]
</p>
<p>How could that be true? I am sure that is not true. At least, I am sure it wasn't true for me 18 years ago... You can certainly apply as a dropout, as a freshman, especially if you have met the a-g requirements, which many people will have finished by the end of 11th grade.</p>
<p>I'm not being clear.</p>
<p>You don't have to finish high school to apply to UC schools as a freshman. You can be UC eligible by examination alone. It is also possible to be UC eligible by 11th grade. You need a high school diploma to enter a UC school as a freshman, but you can satisfy that requirement via the CHSPE. LOTS of people do this. I did it (long ago).</p>
<p>That's what I was told when I took the CHSPE; I coulnd't find any information on the CHSPE website as to whether that's actually the case or not. Maybe if you have a-g subject requirements done, but I couldn't go to a 4-year anyway because I only had two years of high school done (didn't get through 11th grade/subject requirements) with a C/D average (I just didn't care in HS), and who's gonna accept me with that?</p>
<p>
[quote]
So... you can get into a UC with CHSPE alone if you've satisfied A-G subject requirements in HS and if you pass eligibility examinations?
[quote]
</p>
<p>Yes. You don't need to finish high school. Lots of people apply to UCs their junior year and get in. It's not uncommon at all. The only a-g that can be a problem is 4 years of English, everything else is easy to satisfy really by the end of junior year.</p>
<p>I'm not suggesting that you should have done that, sounds like you did the right thing by going to CC. Each person's situation is different.</p>
<p>I did just read up on the CHSPE but he isn't old enough, not in HS yet. I think there are some tricky ways to get around all these requirements!</p>
<p>duogmeg, thanks for relating your experience. </p>
<p>kenf1234, thanks too for your comments regarding grad school considerations. I will look into that more carefully since we never thought that far ahead.</p>
<p>Can you explain what "UC eligible by examination alone" means? What exam? Is there an age requirement?"</p>
<p>"This is what I would recommend, but it's probably too late. If he's a sophomore now, I would apply as a junior to UCs as a freshman That's why I did. The CC units will transfer, he could graduate in 3 years probably. That would be the best option IMHO. If he is already a junior it's too late for all that. if he's already a junior you could just drop out of high school too, continue at CC, and apply as a transfer. You can take the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam), you don't need a real high school diploma."</p>
<p>kenf1234, Can you give me more help with the above, what you recommend? How early can you apply? His CC credits would transfer but from all the reading, he would actually have an easier time getting in as a freshman than as a transfer. Then he would get better "benefits" that swimcatsmom mentioned and still have the lower level stuff out of the way and jump right into the higher level courses? How do you get those extra years of eng requirements? Can he use his CC credits for that? </p>
<p>Ken said "But for the best grad school results you would want to spend at least 3 years, just to take more advanced classes, make connections with professors, etc. Remember you apply to grad school in fall of your senior year, if you are a transfer you only have one year to make connections take advanced classes, etc."</p>
<p>I take that to mean for getting in to the better schools as well as being the most prepared to do well once you are there. Making connections with professors would be important for those letters of reference and if you apply after just one year of undergrad at a college, you don't have the opportunities compared to someone who has already been there 2 years before you even got there. I am not sure about taking more advanced classes though because if you have the prerequisites, you should be able to take them but if you needed a.b and c to take d and the only way to get a, b, and c was through that school, it would be a big disadvantage.</p>
<p>It depends on the type of grad school and how selective it is. For some disciplines, recommendations from professors are very important, writing samples are very important, etc. So you want to have more time at university to develop these things. One thing I heard suggested is to take 2 1/2 years to graduate so you can apply in the Fall. That way you have 2+ years under your belt when you apply. That might work for some people. It depends on the situation, of course.</p>
<p>I take offense to the generalized "grad school" remarks, but anyways, just tell him to apply as a freshman and CC credit transfers over. If you have 2 years of annoying prereqs done by freshman year, then you can start on upper-division/graduate classes if one's interested and perhaps even research. There is absolutely no reason he should not apply as a freshman. </p>
<p>Don't worry too much about paying for graduate school, that's uncommon (unless one isn't really wanted there).</p>
<p>I think your son may be missing out on an invaluable experience. If he's going to a top notch university, then why doesn't he just enjoy the time he has there? He no longer needs to stress or worry. He worked hard to get to undergrad and he should enjoy the process before he jumps to graduate school and have the chance of burning out.</p>
<p>Burning out is an all too familiar tale with high achieving children. I am sure your son has a very big, strong support group, however I think he should realize that his future will wait for him to get there. He doesn't need to rush and should enjoy every step of the way, if he can.</p>