I attended a 4-year University for 2 years and after taking a 2 year gap I am looking to transfer again. I came from a T-20 private school and my stats are sufficient. I am looking to apply to some private schools like Harvard as well as UCs (which I already applied to)
Here’s the dilemma: To be eligible to transfer to UC, I need to take one course - a required course to transfer into my intended major. I have looked at community colleges as well as online and it isn’t too late to register and attend.
However, to transfer to Harvard, it is disqualifying to have attended more than 2 years of school. I called and emailed a Harvard representative and they told me that if I were to take the course as a non-degree candidate, then it wouldn’t be an issue. However, I am assuming that I need to take the course for credit to be able to be eligible for UC transfer.
Does anyone have any advice on this? Or will taking a single online or community college course make me ineligible for Harvard? I want to avoid deceiving schools and leaving it off of my application, but I also want to be eligible to transfer to those schools.
Any advice on this issue? Can I take a course as a non-degree candidate and still have it count for meeting minimum requirements for UC’s?
bump… anyone able to help out?
Is it possible I can register for the class at a community college without using my SSN, and then put a FERPA block on that college to keep it away from my records? Ridiculous that I need to hide it, I know. I’m not trying to hide bad grades or a past… I just am trying to maintain eligibility.
Is it possible I can register for the class at a community college without using my SSN, and then put a FERPA block on that college to keep it away from my records? Ridiculous that I need to hide it, I know. I’m not trying to hide bad grades or a past… I just am trying to maintain eligibility.
When you take a class as a non-degree candidate, that means that you aren’t enrolled as a degree-seeking student at the place where you are studying. This should be possible at the community college. Talk with the CC about that.
Having sufficient stats and getting into Harvard as a transfer with those stats are two completely different issues.
Being transparent about your prior educational record is the way to go. I cannot imagine how you explain to the Harvard registrar why you put a FERPA block on that college and how you thought it was a good idea. It’s a terrible idea and I don’t think it will work anyway. Do you need financial aid? If so- there’s your social security number.
@happymomof1 I am looking into taking the course as a non degree seeking student however I am unsure if that will satisfy the minimum requirement since, to my understanding, non-degree seeking students don’t receive credit for the courses they take. I called specific UC schools and they had no idea what a non-degree seeking student was and it was ultimately unhelpful… they just said I need to take the course.
@blossom I don’t feel comfortable going into my specific stats and background, but I feel as though I have a shot, a long shot nonetheless, but a shot at other top private universities. The point of the block is to see that I did not attend a community college for a single course, because doing so would cause me to be ineligible, having exceeded the maximum 2 year enrollment transfer requirement. I am not looking for financial aid for a single course at a community college that would cost 200-300 max.
You will be a non-degree seeking student at the CC as long as you are not in a specific associates degree program.
Classes as a non-degree seeking student still transfer to the UCs.
You are mixing up ‘taking a class not for credit’ and ‘taking a class as a non-degree seeking student.’ These are two different things.
@diegodavis https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/transfer-requirements/preparing-to-transfer/other-types-of-transfers.html
according to the UC website, non-degree seeking students are considered as limited status applicants and are treated differently. By taking this course at a CC, would it put me in the limited applicant status, despite 99% of my other courses being from a university in a degree seeking status?
@diegodavis I have contacted many community colleges in my area and unfortunately none of them have heard of non degree seeking students and they do not enroll students under any specific status, meaning there’s no way to differentiate between a degree or non degree seeking student.
I did get advice saying to apply to the community college and not use my SSN, as it would “hide” my enrollment from a larger database…
anyone have any other advice on this? I know it may be a grey area but I don’t know what other choice I have
Basically I need to hide my enrollment of a single course from the National Student Clearinghouse database… to my understanding. It seems absurd that taking a single online or community college course would cause me to be ineligible for certain private schools because of a specific year requirement.
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