Should I do one or two years of VCCS (transferring to UVA)?

Transfer Students
1

I will be attending a VCCS (Virginia CC’s) school next year and want to transfer to UVA after a year or two. My reasoning for one year is that I believe I can do well enough to transfer in without the guaranteed admission agreement, which in summary basically says I need to maintain a 3.4 (would go for 4.0 whether or not I have the GAA) while working towards the associates degree. I also want to go for a year to get more of the college experience both academic and socially, any advice on this would be great. A con about one year is that I would not be able to get financial aid (it would be helpful, but not necessary) since I would be just getting credits rather than working towards any degree at the CC and would be paying more for 3 years of public university (not a huge issue).

For the two year plan (getting an associates) and using the agreement, I could get financial aid and there would be a planned route I would take rather than the chunk of classes I take for that one year. I could also opt to start in fall of 2015 and get my associates completed after summer 2016 and then enter UVA in the fall of 2016, effectively sending me a year ahead of my HS graduating class, which I think would be a bit weird, but I think I could deal with it. That is due to current AP credit I have and will get from the ones I took senior year as well as some credits from when I took courses at the CC btwn jr and sr yr. That is one option, but I could also take two full years, taking two summers off, keeping me on pace with my HS class. This would have also leave me with only 2 years at a 4 year college, going back to that whole college experience thing. Any advice on my predicament or anything similar please let me hear it.

Also, I am considering law school down the road, would there be a difference from doing one or two years at CC?

extra: I plan to major in politics and something with math (econ for now) if that helps with anything. Also, if anyone has done this tell me how the transition went from CC to UVA, socially and academically.

2

I’m not familiar with the ins and outs of the GAA’s in VA, but are you sure that you would not be able to apply for F/A at UVA if you leave your CC after one year and just apply as a regular transfer?

Also, regarding your 15 month plan, that sounds nice on paper, but are you sure timing wise you’d be able to do that under the GAA? Off the top of my head, I’m thinking not, as I think the deadline is March for Fall transfer applications. Decisions are made in May. You would not even have started the summer classes by then. You certainly could do that as a regular transfer applicant, though.

Normally, I’d say take advantage of the GAA if you can. But I do understand your desire to get immersed in UVA as soon as you can. I personally don’t think it would make a difference socially if you transfer after first year or second. I’m certain you will likely know some people already from home or your CC who are attending so you should be set on that front until you find your own niche of new friends. So, why not just see how it goes after your first semester of CC and decide then.

3

Why do you think that you would be ineligible for financial aid at the CC? Go ahead and enroll there as a regular student, and apply for aid. Just because you start out as a regular student in an associates degree program doesn’t mean that you actually have to stay there and complete it! Lots of students will transfer out, or drop out, without finishing a full AA.

4

I think there is some financial aid at UVA specifically for VCC graduate transfers. I don’t think first year transfers are eligible. VCC’s only cost about $4k per year vs. $12k + room & board at UVA. You’ll have to do the math as to what is affordable. You should keep debt as low as possible if you intend to study law. You can try to transfer after only one year but you are guaranteed admission only after obtaining an AA with a specific group of classes and a 3.4 GPA.

I like you second hypothetical plan. Take summers off to work and relax. The change of routine and atmosphere is part of the growing experience. Maybe you could get an internship one summer. I went to summer school my first two summers and was on track to graduate in three years but I realized that I was fast tracking college away when I could afford not to.

Do you have friends at UVA? Can you go visit on weekends a lot and soak up the atmosphere for the next couple of years while saving money?

5

@justlookingnow

  1. I meant financial aid at the CC and yes I would be able to do that
  2. Yes this is correct, I looked further into the process and you must finish all the classes that are part of the GAA the spring before you enroll in that same fall
  3. Thanks for the advice on this and yes I would have some friends who are already there, some from HS, and probably some from the CC.
6

@happymomof1 actually the CC won’t give financial aid if you aren’t working towards the associates or some other degree (aka taking courses for just a year) and I am actually going to call UVA about starting as a regular student and trying to get in after a year. Thanks for the response!

7

@OspreyCV22

  1. I actually don’t know about that either, I’ll look it up, but I was referring to the financial aid the CC gives, which it doesn’t give any if you aren’t working towards an associates or something similar. And you make a very valid point about law/debt, that has come up a lot in my thinking towards this as staying two years at CC wouldn’t burden me as much when it comes to that point in my life, whether it’s law or some other graduate degree.
  1. Yep, I'd actually have to follow that plan because you can't fast track with the GAA because you must finish all classes the spring before you transfer in that same fall. And that would probably suck too.
  2. Yep I do, I'll look into seeing what I can do as a non-student. Probably sporting events or concerts.
8

@randomrand - How would the CC know that you are thinking of leaving after a year? You don’t have to tell anyone that! Chances are that the courses you’d be taking would be exactly the same that first year whether you did plan to finish an associates degree, or just collecting transferrable Gen Ed credits.

Yes, federal financial aid (student loans, Pell grants, etc.) is only available to degree candidates, and those students must be carrying a full load of courses. This goes for all institutions that award federal aid. However, just because you enroll in a degree program does not mean that you are obligated to finish it. The only times you would need to repay a Pell would be if you withdraw from college without finishing the semester that you got the money for, or if you would drop enough courses to fall below what is considered to be a full load.

9

You are very misinformed about how financial aid works. For starters, you are not going to simply qualify for financial aid. As a high school kid, your parents’ income determines your financial aid eligibility. Furthermore, taking credit classes is working towards a degree. If you demonstrate financial need, you are eligible for financial aid. This can be in the form of grants and/or loans. The majority the deadlines for scholarships are already passed. However, if, for example, you qualify for a grant, the amount of the grant will depend on your enrollment. In order to receive the maximum potential aid, you must be enrolled full-time (ie 12 credit hours).

On another note, in order to transfer into UVA after one year, you should already be a strong applicant who either marginally missed admissions into UVA or was waitlisted. One year of school will not make up for any shortcomings that you may have had based on your high school resume, as it simply does not provide enough of a sample size. Additionally, many of your first year classes will be easy, general education classes with only a handful of targeted major courses. You don’t have enough of an opportunity to demonstrate your aptitude with simply a year, and a 4.0 GPA doesn’t carry enough weight at that point.

If you intend on transferring after one year, you need to demonstrate why said transfer will benefit you. You need to be clear in you direction and have a solid understanding of why UVA will offer you what the VCCS school cannot. You need to show that you are a well-rounded student. You need stellar SAT/ACT scores. You need a near flawless GPA. You also need good high school stats, as they are considered far more with only one year than two. See where I am going with this?

At the end of the day, it makes more sense to stay at a VCCS school for a full two years and transfer using the GAA. In order transfer without the GAA, you need to be really competitive, and that means you can’t have many blemishes. You also have the ability to take lower level prerequisites for your major at a community college, which for engineering students can be a serious advantage. If you transfer into UVA as a second year and do poorly in your major prerequisites, you may not be able to get into the degree program that you are interested in.

Also, while the VCCS has transfer agreements with UVA, they are full of asterisks. And despite the agreement, the number of students coming from the 23 VCCS schools to UVA is far less than you think. I would recommend looking into the transfer statistics for the past year. Perhaps it will humble you (unless, like I said, you were already a competitive student who didn’t get in).

In case it isn’t obvious, I am not a sugar-coating mom here trying to throw positivity at you. Life is tough, school is tough, and it will only get tougher. It is time to get used to it.

10

@basetwo

  1. I don’t want to sound like I’m not taking your advice, because I am, but I already knew most of the ins and outs of financial aid, I was simply just stating that doing the one year thing (without being enrolled full-time w/ the GAA) would not allow me to get any, and this was made very clear by the counselor at the CC, maybe she was wrong though, I thought I would be able to get it either way, it was definitely weird when she told me no aid at all if you don’t use the GAA. Yeah I did a few scholarships and most were for four year colleges, but I will be able to take some of it to CC.
  1. Yeah I was wait listed then denied. Wait listed to VT, but they aren't letting anyone off the wait list this year. Accepted to VCU, JMU, FSU, GMU, but ultimately decided UVA was where I wanted to be. My main shortcomings were my first two years of HS I had around a 3.0 GPA range and then what I kinda rode on in my application process was that my GPA for my last two years was around a 4.5 GPA, ending HS with around a 3.75. I also got a 1320 M/CR SAT so I believe I was competitive, but not to the extent of UVA because of my mistakes early in HS. I believe I'll excel both at CC and UVA, I'm capable, but more importantly I'm extremely motivated. They may be easy, but with AP credits (calc,gov,us,lit) I may be able to take some higher up classes and possibly some of those targeted major courses, but even with a 4.0 I get what your saying about it not being enough to get me in UVA.
  2. Yeah the two year plan w/ the GAA is starting to make more sense to me as well. Maybe I cold apply after a year of the GAA just to see and if getting a close to perfect GPA wasn't enough after a year, then I'd use the GAA. Although I don't plan on doing engineering, I do see the benefit in that no matter which major. Hopefully I'd be able to excel no matter which year at UVA, especially if I plan on doing law or any other graduate work. I've read the GAA and yes there are a lot of particulars, but to sum it up you need to 1) Get a 3.4 GPA 2) Do not get below a C in any class besides English, which you must get at least in B 3) Take certain transferable courses which the CC would help set up maybe I'm missing something, but I think that's it and definitely doable in my mind. From what I saw briefly on the UVA website around 500-600 students transfer in with half being VCCS students. It definitely humbles me, but it also motivates me that much more.

Thanks a bunch for this reply, no need to sugar-coat anything, I honestly prefer it. Yeah it sucked big time when I didn’t get in UVA, but if there is a will, there is a way.

11

I’m not sure but I nosed around a VCC site about a year ago and I think I saw a transfer coordinator or some such office. I would stay in close contact and make sure you are taking precisely what UVA wants.

My son, a rising senior, wants to go to UVA. Badly. I’m on here mostly trying to prepare him with safeties and back up plans. He has a 4.25 average after junior year. He looks at no other schools and we know how dangerous that is. He’s saying he might do the same as you if he gets denied. Good luck to you!