My son is applying to college. He has taken 2 college level courses (6 credits) since graduating high school in the spring. He took these courses while playing a year of hockey before applying as a full time student. We always assumed he would be considered a first year applicant but someone recently said he may be considered a transfer student. These are only 1 course per semester in an online non-program environment. Does the definition of a transfer vary by college?
Yes. It will vary by school if he applies as a first year or transfer. Look on the websites of schools on his list and if not clear, contact each school to understand their policy.
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I doubt that 6 hours of college course credit would cause an applicant to be considered as a transfer applicant, but you should check with each school to which your son intends to apply.
Some schools require one to apply as a transfer student if the applicant has 12 hours of college credit, but this varies school by school, while some schools require a minimum number of college credit hours to be considered as a transfer student. In short, check with each school.
I do know that applicants will be ineligible for certain scholarships at particular schools if they have even one (1) hour of college credit.
You need to check each college he plans to apply to. The rules vary by school.
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Depends on the college. Some colleges consider any college enrollment after leaving high school to make the student a transfer applicant, while others have a threshold number of credits that may be greater than 6.
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I’ve seen some schools allow 16 credits(semester hours) and others up to 26 before they are deemed a transfer student. Just ask (or look it up). Don’t panic.
Thanks! It was a hockey coach who mentioned it to my son and I knew it didn’t sound right. I’ve checked a few schools and generally it is as long as you are part-time, you are not a transfer.
This is not necessarily the case at many schools.
It is a function first of enrolling in any college courses post HS (many schools will consider this student a transfer regardless whether the student attended part or full time, or how many credits the student has earned).
Next consideration is the number of college credits earned post HS, at colleges that are more lenient in their definition of a first year applicant. Some colleges have a max number of college credit hours to still be considered a first year applicant.
Some colleges require a minimum number of college credits be earned before transferring, like the UCs.
U Wisconsin is an example of a school that considers any one who has taken any college courses post-HS to be a transfer student.
IU allows one to have taken up to 12 hours of college credit post HS to still apply as a first year.
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That’s not what I said. You have to check with each school but many do allow some post high school college classes.
It sounds like your son will be playing hockey in college. What you do need to watch out for is eligibility. NCAA allows 5 years to play 4 seasons (there are a ton of exceptions right now because of covid but that’s the basic rule). The clock starts running when you first take classes, not when you first start playing If he is taking classes in his gap year, the clock starts.
The NCAA eligibility clock starts running when you enroll full time in school (12+ hours). It won’t start with one class here and there.
Definition of transfer definitely varies. Check each school’s policy before applying. Note that the financial aid for transfer student is generally not as good vs first year applicants.
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