Finacial Aid for Concurrent Enrollment Student?

Paying for College
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<p>Hey everyone, I'm a home schooled student going into my junior year of high school-- which will mostly be comprised of college classes. Thing is, my family doesn't have a ton of money. I was able to get three classes for this fall semester paid for -- through family members and my mother's very careful budgeting -- but I don't think I'll be able to keep up a similar course load this spring semester and more importantly, next fall.</p>

<p>I learned that I'm ineligible for FAFSA today -- as I haven't completed high school yet -- and I'm not sure what a good next step in seeking aid would be. The school I'm going to has scholarships but they're in STEM fields and I'm (sadly) English oriented. </p>

<p>My total cost of attendance for the school I'm studying at is only about two and a half thousand a semester, (which, you know, is still a lot but it's not HPY crazy-time numbers) and I was hoping that CC could recommend grants to apply for-- especially minor ones; I know 500$ doesn't put much of a dent in most of y'all's cost of attendance, but for me, it'd pay for an entire class.</p>

<p>Oh, also, if it matters (and, I mean this in the least humble brag-y way possible) I'm a pretty cogent writer, which might help for grants that require writing an essay, at least I'd think. </p>

<p>Anyway, thank you for your time looking over my post; I know y'all have enough college headaches without worrying about mine.</p>

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<p>Some school districts cover dual enrollment costs, perhaps that can also be applied to you…equal access or something. Otherwise, it is just a personal financial situation to afford college classes. They aren’t required until you enroll for college. Maybe try to graduate early. Also check the home schooling forum for suggestions.</p>

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<p>Talk with your local high school about dual enrollment options for another reason, as well. If you take too many classes before graduating from high school, you may end up having to apply to colleges as a transfer student rather than an incoming freshman. That will severely limit your scholarship options at many colleges. </p>

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<p><<<
you may end up having to apply to colleges as a transfer student rather than an incoming freshman. That w</p>

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<p>@KKmama‌ </p>

<p>Not true.</p>

<p>doesnt matter how many credits you have before graduating high school. You will still be considered an incoming frosh…for scholarships and everything. You would be an incoming frosh with soph or jr standing, depending on your credits.</p>

<p>With AP and dual enrollment credits, kids today come into college with 50-60+ credits these days. they are still incoming frosh because the credits were earned before graduation. No one is considered to be a transfer student if they graduate HS and then go to college.</p>

<p>Heck, all those Washington Running Start kids graduate HS with AA degrees. They are NOT considered to be transfer students. They have full access to merit.</p>

<p>do not graduate early to get FA for those CC classes. THAT will hurt your scholarship chances. Do not graduate and then take classes.</p>

<p>Maybe you need to either enroll in a regular HS for this final year or find a homeschooling group that can teach you those classes.</p>

<p>what are your grades and test scores? You need to be planning for applying to colleges for the best aid.</p>

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<p>If you haven’t graduated from high school, and you are not a matriculated student at the college…you are NOT eligible for financial aid.</p>

<p>Since you are homeschooled, it is possible the school district doesn’t assume responsibility for this payment…but ask.</p>

<p>Ask at your high school guidance office. Maybe they cover the costs…OR have some kind of assistance to do so if you are truly low income.</p>

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<p>You could enroll at the HS and then take dual enrollment. I believe many/most school districts cover the cost.</p>

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<p><<<<
You could enroll at the HS and then take dual enrollment. I believe many/most school districts cover the cost.
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<p>see if your high school has DE. If so, that is the way to go.</p>

<p>but also, so we can help you with your college apps, please tell us your:</p>

<p>gpa and test scores including breakdown and also psat.</p>

<p>home state</p>

<p>intended major</p>

<p>should we assume that your parents cant pay much for college? are they low/modest income?</p>

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<p>You might try asking your question over in the Homeschooling and College forum: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/home-schooling-college/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>In many states, concurrent enrollment classes are free or offered at reduced cost, even for homeschoolers. I know this is the case in Oklahoma, also in Ohio I think. </p>

<p>Also, FYI, in terms of having good writing skills, “comprised of” is never correct (although this error is sadly becoming more common. :frowning: )</p>

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<p>@MomCat2 Didn’t catch that, should have said ‘will be made up of’ also, on a related note, that typo in the title is fairly embarrassing. Shouldn’t have been making CC threads late at night, misspellings and grammatical errors tend to jump when I do.</p>

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<p>Many home schoolers in our area work part-time in high school and take classes as they can afford them. Others study for the CLEP exams and spend the $80/test to get the college credit. Home school regulations differ from state to state, so make sure you maintain the number of credits, types of courses, and cumulative hours required by your state.</p>

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<p>Perhaps take MOOCs then the related CLEP test to transform the education into credits?</p>

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<p>Depending on the state, enrolling in the high school is probably not an option. Many high schools will not allow homeschoolers to enroll at their actual academic level bc they will not give credit for high school classes taken at home. Most experienced homeschoolers will tell people that you need to understand regulations for your area bc it can be a 9th-12th grade commitment with no good options if you change your mind part of the way through high school. Some do allow it, but it is not a blanket option.</p>

<p>OP, I’m sorry you were lead to believe you would get funding,but unless you live in a state that specifically has a program like PSEO which allows homeschoolers to participate, DE as a high school student falls completely out-of-pocket for your family.</p>

<p>Many homeschoolers, my kids included, self-study APs. If your parent is willing to submit the paper work to CollegeBoard and get a syllabus approved, you can label courses AP on your transcript. Alternatively, you can design a course, take the exam, and label it XYZ with AP exam which means it was not an approved course, but the AP exam will verify the content of the class. (Approval of a syllabus is not difficult and CB has plenty of teacher resources online that are helpful.)</p>

<p>MOOCs (opencourseware) are free. You can pay a small fee for a certificate of completion from programs like Cousera. But, the certificate is not really important if your test scores match your transcripts. Take SAT subject tests and APs (cleps are an option if you will be applying to schools that accept Clep credit,but I would not take CLEPs and ignore the SAT subject tests.). </p>

<p>Unless you are significantly advanced, you should not need to attend all DE. Don’t take three clases in the fall. Take one that you cannot manage to study independently (and when I am saying independently, I mean with great resources. In today’s world, there are few subjects that cannot be studied cheaply via books and online resources). spread those 3 classes over 3 semesters and take a 4 your last semester before graduation. Those classes will give you outside evidence of grades and sources for LOR for your college apps.</p>

<p>I have very advanced kids and not one of them has taken all their classes DE. We spend hours upon hours researching options that we can make work. And in most states where we have lived, the cost has always fallen fully on us. (My kids graduate high school with a rock solid foundation. It is possible to do this at home with out relying on DE for most subjects.)</p>

<p>If the DE classes are high school equivalent, there are low cost teacher provider options as well. Look into Derek Owens and any of the numerous other providers.</p>