<p>My son did 4 semesters at Pomona 3 years ago. National merit scholar, 2340 SATs, 11 APs (most 5s), 3.8uw gpa, low income, full scholarship. High school class of 2009. Was college class of 2013. </p>
<p>He received an academic suspension and has lived with us in Mexico ever since. He's ready to go back to school, but very much does not want to return to Pomona (they allow for him to return within 5 years, but he is vehement about not returning). He received lousy grades overall at Pomona, but started strongly with As. Degree is main goal - not looking for a name school (is it even a possibility at this point?) and subjects taught irrelevant. </p>
<p>He is now fully bilingual and has been teaching English to Spanish speakers at the University of Guanajuato in San Miguel de Allende. We will move with him to college wherever it is located so will need a low cost location. I think there's half a prayer he might be successful this go round if he lives at home. This is what he wants too. We still have a residence in Florida and a Texas mailing address. We also have a Mexican address. </p>
<p>Any thoughts on schools, where to start looking as far as scholarships (is he still eligible as a National Merit Scholar from 2007/8?) Would love a place where his AP classes and Pomona courses count. Otherwise, might the better route be to scrap his Pomona years and just start as a freshman and not mention Pomona at all?</p>
<p>You can’t just ‘forget about’ the Pomona grades, and he can’t be a freshman again. Having a Texas mailing address won’t help you unless he graduated from a Texas high school. Owning a home in Florida will only help if you actually live there - utilities, cars registered, licenses, etc. They ask for quite a few proofs of residency (unless you are military). Lots of schools in Florida.</p>
<p>Owning property and having a mailing address does not give you standing for him to have in-state tuition anyplace as far as I know. You need to actually reside there, and most places require at least a year of residence for purposes other than education to consider establishing residency (and if you are supporting him, likely you as parents need to live there as well). You need to check the rules for each state you are considering, though, as they are all different.</p>
<p>Typically the NMF scholarships only go to students who start as freshman.</p>
<p>He cannot just “not mention” Pomona. The applications ask for ALL colleges attended with transcripts, and he has to provide them. If they were to find out later, he might lose his degree status. </p>
<p>We file our taxes as Florida residents. As far as Florida & the US is concerned, we live there. In state tuition is not really in our budget. He needs another full scholarship. There’s a reason we have lived in Mexico and that’s because we can live here on $1600/month. We own our house in Florida.</p>
<p>ETA…your son will be a transfer student…no way around that. Courses he passed with a grade of C or better will like,y be accepted by the schools he transfers to. AP credits will be up to the schools. His NM status from 2008 is not going to help him now…at all. What the schools will look at for admission and merit aid is his performance at his previous college.</p>
<p>You have a number of issues.</p>
<p>First…why do you need a “name school”? Your goal should be to find an affordable college where your kiddo can get his degree.</p>
<p>Second…if you are hoping for need based aid, you have an asset issue. That house you own in Flirida is NOT your primary residence, it sounds like you have been filing documents as though you actually live in Florida…but unless you have income earned, and can demonstrate residency…this could present a problem. To be honest, it sounds like you haven’t been completely honest in terms of your residency and tax filing status. But that is just my impression from what you have posted here.</p>
<p>Third…all colleges require that you provide transcripts from all previous colleges. No exceptions…none at all. </p>
<p>Getting a full ride is extremely competitve at every college…every one! And it’s even more difficult to get a full ride as a transfer student with a less than stellar academic record.</p>
<p>Is there a community college within a short drive from that house you live in…in Florida? If so, your son should consider living there, and taking community college courses. He could probably fund this with a Direct Loan, and some money earned from a job HE gets. I’m assuming you are U.S. citizens…is that correct? If your income is below $30,000 a year, he might get a good portion of the Pell Grant. </p>
<p>Oh…and if you rent that Florida house out…its equity will be an asset, and the rent will be income. Please don’t consider glossing over this if that is the case.</p>
<p>If you aren’t interested in instate tuition, it doesn’t really matter where your residency is. If you are an instate resident, he’s be eligible for a $3000 state grant for attending a private school. If you are planning to live in your home in Florida, what area is it in? I’m sure there are schools near there.</p>
<p>I really don’t think you have a good chance of a full merit scholarship as a transfer with bad grades. You might get some FA based on income, but you’d have to find a specific merit scholarship to get a full merit scholarship.</p>
<p>Are there scholarships for transfer students anywhere? Don’t need a name school at all - just figured it was a question worth asking because many name schools have good financial aid. Yes, we’re US citizens. Our only income is the rental income from the house in Florida. I never even thought of Florida schools, in part, because it’s the only income we have. We need to live on an income less than our rental - no more than $3500 per month. </p>
<p>No, he’s not eligible for NMS from 2007/8. </p>
<p>Can’t scrap the Pomona years. Colleges belong to a national clearing house and anywhere your son applies, those schools will know that he went to Pomona. </p>
<p>I can almost promise you that he’s not going to get a scholarship of any significant size anywhere. That ship has sailed, unfortunately. He’s not a frosh, he has bad college grades on his record that he can’t escape, etc. </p>
<p>He may be a resident of Florida. If so, then he can pay instate tuition and commute to a local FL public. </p>
<p>Maybe he’d qualify for Bright Futures, but it probably is too late for that. </p>
<p>He may need to rethink Pomona…that may be his ONLY chance for decent aid.</p>
<p>You said the subjects taught are irrelevant. But he needs some idea of what he wants to major in, right? Picking a school without that in mind isn’t as easy.</p>
<p>It’s not just an “if”…it WILL happen. Running the data from the Clearing House is standard procedure these days. Any school he tries to attend will know that he went to Pomona first.</p>
<p>Okay, I get that. Pomona attendance has to be reported. If he had to choose something it would be FBI/foreign service/NSA, etc., with a psych concentration. I believe something awful must have happened at Pomona that he’s not sharing and it’s something therapy hasn’t helped. He immediately tears up at the mention of Pomona. </p>
<p>Sounds to me as if he needs to go back to Pomona, a great–and generous–school. </p>
<p>If he is absolutely unwilling to go to Pomona, and you can’t afford instate tuition anywhere, he may need to get a job and start taking classes part time at a local school in a low-cost area of the country, so that you can live there.</p>
<p>Um…I don’t think colleges give “academic suspensions” because a student revises to return. Students leave colleges all the time for any number of reasons. They simply don’t register for,the following semester or term…they don’t continue to attend. They stop going to that school. They do not get “academic suspension”.</p>
<p>Did he leave in the middle of a term and refuse to go back? If he did that, it is possible he would have just bailed…but then his grades would have been affected for that term.</p>
<p>If he tears up at the mention of Pomona…I would want o help,him resolve those feelings as well as help him find a new college.</p>
<p>I would scrap the whole idea of college and get to the bottom of his emotional problem. He will never thrive until he deals with whatever happened at Pomona. If he can’t talk about it now to anyone, he’s still not ready to go to college. Getting him healthy and whole would be my first priority if I were his mother.</p>
<p>A 2.8’GPA is not going to earn him a full ride merit scholarship…anywhere. </p>
<p>I would suggest a community college…while living at home. Maybe just a couple of courses at a time while he works to earn money to pay for the CC. </p>
<p>And I fully agree…his emotional well being is far more important than college at this point in time.</p>