OP said
So she might even be able to graduate in fewer than 3 years, depending on how many credits will transfer.
A school like Reed probably won’t take those credits. Some schools will, though.
Depending on the school and what the DE credits are in, they may or may not transfer. The best transfer options will certainly be at OSU and U of O. Oregon does a great job connecting the CC credits.
I agree that OP should look at what will, and will not, transfer over. Some schools will have transfer catalogs online to show what may carry over and others will require calls or emails to admissions to see. LAC’s will be more difficult but some will count, our S11 went through this with his LAC and I’d estimate it saved him 6 months - year in total. He did a dual major which added time but not as much carried over as we would have liked. He was one credit short of his AA (deliberately) so that he could live on campus his freshman year. Had he gotten his AA he would have transferred in as a junior but still been short in some credit areas (language and math).
OP, your GC should be able to help you navigate some of this. That said, I would recommend you find a school you can afford for 4 years. For multiple reasons. It removes the pressure to graduate in 3 or less. It allows for a double major or minor. If you do pull off 3 and want to go to grad school, that may leave funds available. It also provides some buffer should you need to transfer schools for whatever reason. To choose a school you can only afford for three years, while possibly doable, is risky.
At Cal Poly for example, as with many many other schools, it can be difficult to get all the classes you want scheduled to stay on time based on the levels of the classes. Both of our older kids have run into this. SD14 is actually doing summer session at Cal Poly at their linked CC (still pricey but less) to get some of her Gen Ed done so she can get the major classes she wants for fall without compromising her schedule). Which is great but it is adding a quarter to the budget that wasn’t budgeted for. Buffer is your friend.
Those stats aren’t competitive for USC Scholarships.
Hello All,
So Yes I’m older for freshman applicants. I did some weird program as a kid and did two years of kindergarten then due to a massive illness I missed my entire junior year. This is what lead me into my dual enrollment program so I wouldn’t have to be graduating high school at 20. This way at least I have college credits.
I know Cal Poly is a reach, but its a great school so I will keep it as a reach.
For inquiries about Reed, I live only a few miles from Reed and actually took a summer class there once. They are very familiar with our program. Students in my program take all classes at the portland community college and Reed likes that they can see how we do with a college curriculum. They will take my credits. Of course, its still a reach and I have no way how I will afford it.
I do believe i could graduate in three years, but probably not two. I haven’t been taking very heavy schedules and of course I go off of high school curriculum. I take more math and science for my electives, but things like health, government, economics, Pe are in my schedule too.
I do agree with above poster, that I’m not competitive for USC or their scholarships.
“[Reed is] still a reach and I have no way how I will afford it.”
If you are admitted, Reed will meet your full financial need for eight semesters.
I’m very unclear about this student and financial need. Reed uses the Profile and the non-custodial Parent profile. So if the dad has a large income and assets, this will be used to calculate financial need,
Yes, and that $100K may be in her name, too. But I think the dad’s assets are the kicker – student may not get need based aid.
Reed isn’t for everyone. I think it has a lot of what you want but given that they will want your dad’s info I honestly don’t think it is worth applying unless it’s a dream school for you. The right kid, personality etc (and essay is huge) can get you in. If it is a dream school then I would see if they would do an early financial read for you. In your situation I think their NPC will be difficult to gauge.
I do think if you do ED at Cal Poly your chances will be much better than RD and it should be affordable based on what you have posted. You just need to be 100% sure it is what you want as you would be committed then. Apply either way, you have a shot at RD as well, just a better one ED.
Scholarships aside, I don’t know that USC would be a recommendation I’d make for you based on what you’ve said you like so far.
My son (also a junior/rising senior in 2 weeks) has similar stats in some ways, a bit lower across the board but pretty rigorous course load, we are full pay and he will qualify for merit at all the places I mentioned earlier. Feel free to PM me with any specific questions as there is a lot of geographic overlap.
I’m not totally sure about financial aid at Reed. I was in a similar situation, divorced parents, lower income custodial mom and much higher income father. I got around 40k in financial aid- much more than I got at other colleges. Honestly, I suspect that part of Reed’s financial aid is lowkey merit aid. I asked the office for more and was granted an additional 5k per year. I think it’s definitely worth applying if you’re passionate about the school, but also def don’t apply ED (I did, and it was a massive financial risk, but I had too much anxiety to wait until April and I figured I would just decline if I didn’t get enough cash money).
Reed doesn’t offer merit aid except for NMFs. But they do seem to reach for students they want.
There’s no financial risk in applying ED to any school; you decline the offer (or appeal) if it’s insufficient. There are no consequences.
Except the stress of appealing the FA offer if necessary, and having to keep other apps in the air while figuring it out. Not to mention that you then can’t compare FA or merit offers from other schools.
There’s financial risk in that if you are offered an aid package that’s just barely doable, you don’t know if you might have been offered better aid at another school.
But you don’t care since you applied ED to your dream school, and it worked out. Compared to your dream school, you don’t care about another school; if you did you wouldn’t (shouldn’t) have applied ED.
If you worry about finances, as most people do, then you should care. Just ditch the “dream school” idea – it is actually very unhelpful in the college admissions process.
Likewise, if finances override dream school, ditch ED.
That’s different then “applying ED to any school,” which is what you said in post #71. If you’re willing to pay whatever you can afford to attend your “dream school,” despite the fact that you might get a much better deal at a different school, then you’re right, there’s no financial risk in applying ED to the dream school. But again, that’s not what you said in post #71, which is what I initially responded to.
I have many more schools to tour before I decide to apply to any of them ED. I still know what I got on my SAT? June 15 should come faster but yes thanks for your help all!
“that’s not what you said in post #71”
That was intended for applicants who falsely believe they can be forced to attend an unaffordable school if the ED financial aid offer is insufficient; students have reported not applying ED because of this unfounded fear. A subsequent post reminded me of my usual assumption of ED being intended for the dream school, the one you want to attend above all others. ED is indeed sometimes used to game financial aid offers.