I’ve done some more digging through the Trinity website. Trinity is not a music conservatory, but rather an organization that offers multiple levels of music, theater, and dance performance examinations for students who have been studying in the location of their own choice with the instructor of their own choice. This is not unlike the UK system of O and A level exams for secondary school students, or the US AP, CLEP, and DSST exams for college-equivalency. Completing a particular series of exams leads to the student receiving the ATCL (which Trinity reports to be equivalent to a US Associates degree), the LTCL (which Trinity reports to be equivalent to a US Bachelors degree), and the FTCL (which Trinity reports to be equivalent to a US Masters degree). Minimum age for taking the ATCL, LTCL, and FTCL level exams varies by subject area.
That all of these are credits by exam, leads me to think that some colleges and universities in the US might be inclined to treat them as roughly equivalent to having a whole lot of AP, CLEP, and DSST test scores, rather than having a regular US associates or bachelors degree, and accept or deny credit on an exam-by-exam basis. It also explains how @klmelon can still be a full year away from completing high school while reporting that he/she has two associates degrees and a bachelors degree.
However, I do believe that it is best that klmelon address this issue directly and specifically with each college and university on his/her potential application list. Some may well determine that the LTCL is indeed a full bachelors degree, and that klemelon is ineligible to apply for admission as a regular undergraduate.
Do you understand that you are asking for people in the United States to give their own hard earned money to your multi-millionaire parents, and your grandparents, aunts and uncles, resulting in fewer truly needy people having the opportunity to gain a college education?
Well, she’s actually asking for rich benefactors of schools to give the money as she’s not a citizen and won’t be getting any federal aid.
But yes, US rules and culture take precedent over others if you are asking to join our schools. I worked for a judge who was hearing a custody can involving a Hmong family, where the culture is the children belong to the father’s family. The father had died and the paternal grandparents wanted the children. The children wanted to stay with the paternal grandparents. The judge explained that whiled he understood the culture, the law still had to be followed and here, the grandparents don’t get the preference, the bio parents do.
@thumper1 of course that I’m going to tell them I’ve got these 3 degrees. But there’s no actual ‘transcript’. it’s an exam for a professional degree, which when you pass you get something equivalent to a bachelor’s. Most universities will agree that these aren’t true bachelor’s courses. @happymomof1 yeah, it’s the external exam board of Trinity Laban Conservatoire.
Can I end this discussion? This is getting old but some people still come into the thread and type in something that’s been said before. So I’m not replying to any more comments. Thanks everyone- full-paying students would be more attractive to some colleges, after all.
@twoinanddone So rich benefactors who have donated to colleges can’t be hardworking Americans?
@klmelon Grants that colleges give for aid don’t grow on trees. If it didn’t come originally from hard working donors, where do you think the money came from? I wasn’t referring to FAFSA because you aren’t American and even if you were, a $5500 loan isn’t the kind of money you are looking for.
The best aid money comes directly from the school. In the US, there is no secret font of outside scholarship money for int’l students.
A school’s need-based financial aid comes from a finite budget; therefore, the limited funds are carefully rationed to students who have actual financial-need-- i.e when attending college means the family can’t put food on the table, not when attending college means deliberating over whether to sell or keep an under-utilized vacation flat in London.
No. You posted the question seemingly with the expectation that responses will be given. You may choose to listen or ignore, but you do not have the option of whether to receive comments or not, as it seems other posters still have some advice to give.
Perhaps that will encourage other posters not to respond, then.
Your cultures says your family should help each other, and your parents have made enough that they are able to voluntarily retire, but " They have saved so much when they used to work and I don’t want to waste it on school fees"
It simply doesn’t work that way. US culture says if you don’t have demonstrated need, you pay your way.
@klmelon, Please keep your UK options open. The school you got your credentials from claims the degrees you have are the equivalent of a US Bachelor’s degree. If I worked at a US college and wasn’t familiar with your system, I’d take their word for it. I don’t think US schools award aid for 2nd bachelor degrees.