<p>If he already completed 4 semesters of college, there’s nothing for him to do at a community college unless he’s switching programs.</p>
<p>Excellent point, Hanna. Thank you. </p>
<p>Well…my husband completed four semesters at two different colleges…a CC and an Ivy. Seven years later when he wanted to return to college, he first enrolled at a CC. He needed to prove that he could handle college work. </p>
<p>Does this student have two full years of college credit that actually will transfer? </p>
<p>With 11 APs and 4 semesters, I would suspect he does. </p>
<p>And OP says nothing lower than a C in those 4 semester, so he definitely should.</p>
<p>No grades below a C, and Pomona only offers liberal arts courses, so they should transfer to almost any BA program.</p>
<p>My question is, why does the student need a degree? Is there a career path in mind where it will be required?</p>
<p>The opposition to going back to Pomona is surprising to me in light of the fact that 100% of his class, and most of the Pomona students he has ever overlapped with, will be gone. He IS starting over if he goes back there. Switching majors would be all that is required to never see his old professors again, either. So what’s still there that he could hate? The dorms and dining hall?</p>
<p>Our daughter lives in Nashville and she is pretty sure she can get him a job at Vanderbilt Medical Center filing. He likes the idea and equates it to a time spent in his “patent office.” Were money not an object, do you think Vanderbilt would look at him?</p>
<p>Wait a minute…if this kiddo graduated from HS in 2008 at age 18 even…he would now be 24 years old, right? This would make him independent for financial aid purposes…and he would also need to establish his own residency for instate tuition purposes. Parents would not be on his stuff…at all.</p>
<p>So at this point, if he is living in Mexico, he would be applying as a resident of Mexico. It is very possible HE does not have residency anywhere in the U.S. </p>
<p>But as a U.S. citizen, he can complete a FAFSA. He might be eligible for a Pell Grant, and should be able to get the Direct Loan…as an independent student…I believe it’s about $9000. </p>
<p>Any chance you can all move to that house in Florida…and he could establish residency there for a year BEFORE he enrolls in college? He would need to wait an additional year, but in that time, he could perhaps work, and earn some money towards college costs. And he could get some counseling to resolve this Pomoma issue.</p>
<p>Vandy will not likely accept him as a transfer student with a 2.8 GPA from his former college. It’s a highly competitive school. Plus…how would you pay for Vandy? </p>
<p>Highly selective schools other than Pomona aren’t going to be an option, regardless of finances. If he doesn’t want to go back there, he needs to look at schools with something close to open admission.</p>
<p>No Bright Futures. Bright Futures is for high school students. You have to apply while you are in high school, and you must begin to use it within 2 years of your high school graduation unless you are in the military. </p>
<p>If you rent out your house in Florida, you aren’t a resident there for tuition purposes. You have to prove you actually live there, and they are pretty strict because everyone has a condo in florida they use to try to get instate benefits (even Disney checks!). You may be a florida resident, but not from that house. If you are a resident, and your son is going to live with you, tuition should only be about $6500/yr for a state school. It might even be lower for some, and you might qualify for financial aid. As a junior, he can get a Stafford loan for tuition. Being bi-lingual he could easily get all kinds of jobs in Florida.</p>
<p>He graduated in 2009 and will be 24 in two months. He has never filed taxes. His grandmother also lives near us in SoFlo. I don’t believe establishing Florida residency is an issue at all. He is in Mexico on a tourist visa. My husband and I have residency visas. </p>
<p>Did he refuse to return without withdrawing? That might mean all F’s, and thus the “academic suspension.”</p>
<p>The five year suspension is unusual and hard to explain.</p>
<p>You might want to try to meet with Pomona and get the record straight if the F’s are due to leaving. Maybe there would be some leniency if they heard the whole situation, at least in terms of those final grades. Is this a situation in which a lawyer might help? </p>
<p>Whatever happened apparently ruined his life, at least temporarily, and he needs to disclose it to someone. Pomona is a great school. Hopefully he could return with more effective therapy. Is he being treated for trauma?</p>
<p>Here are the rules for Florida residency (for example);</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.flbog.edu/forstudents/ati/resrequirements.php”>http://www.flbog.edu/forstudents/ati/resrequirements.php</a> </p>
<p>He has to have PHYSICALLY resided in Florida for a year prior to starting school. It isn’t about visas or rental properties.</p>
<p>With a 2.8 GPA as a transfer student, I don’t see him having tons of options that are affordable except maybe state universities. But he would have to establish residency first. Maybe he could live with his sister and work for a year, and then look at Tennessee State? You would have to look at Tennessee residency requirements, but assuming for the moment that they are similar.</p>
<p>Your son does not currently reside in Florida. He cannot use your house address because tenants live ther. He cannot use his grandparent address either unless he moves there.</p>
<p>Because he is 24, he is independent from you for all of,this. He needs to establish his residency by MOVING to wherever he intends to establish residency…and a year before he starts college. If he moves to Florida now, he can establish residency there, and enroll in college fall 2016 with no difficulty. He will have lived there for more than a year. </p>
<p>Can he commute to a four year college from the grandparent house…or from your house assuming he can live there? If so, he would have tuition and fees costs only…which should be covered by his independent Direct Loan amount, and any Pell Grant for which he is eligible. Or he can work for,the next year and a half…and bank as much as possible to fund the costs in excess of the independent student Direct Loan.</p>
<p>If he’s applying as a 24 year old, he will need to have residency in the state. Where was his driver’s license issued? What ties does he have to Florida? High school diploma from a Florida school? He will be able to borrow a little more as an independent student. It sounds like he may be a junior if he has AP credits an 1.5 years of credits from Pomona.</p>
<p>The 5 year suspension was the outer end. He was welcome to return the following semester. He withdrew formally and says the academic suspension is how they chose to handle it. I know he had some Fs that last semester. Pomona is a small school. I actually suspect a professor might at the bottom of it. Evenso, he could take all his classes at Pitzer. That’s why we offered to move to Claremont initially. </p>
<p>We would pay for Vandy (if it were even an option) by remaining in Mexico (he would live with his sister). We have over $20k we could contribute then and I’m sure his grandmother would contribute. </p>
<p>Were the Fs because he was truly failing or because he left the school and so they became Fs?</p>
<p>Pomona is so nice, I can’t imagine a lawyer being necessary. Pomona is absolutely my first choice, but time is running out for him to return and I don’t see his issue with the place being resolved anytime soon. He’s had 3 years of therapy and we’re nowhere closer (3 different therapists overall and an ssri RX). </p>
<p>He would have no way of proving he was there physically, even if he were. He would be living with his grandmother. </p>