<p>I'm a 28-year-old that is preparing to transfer to U.C. Irvine. I've been going to a local community college off and on for about 10 years, primarily for vocational training. I returned in 2009 full-time to complete an Associates degree and finish the units I needed to transfer. During my community college "career," I've amassed about 200 units.</p>
<p>Obviously, I'm well over my unit cap at my CC. I read UCI's Satisfactory Academic Progress policy, and the key terms are "accepted transfer units" and "terms of attendance." Academically, 70 of my units will transfer, making me a third-year student, but I'm not sure if that also applies to financial aid eligibility.</p>
<p>You can view UCI's SAP at <a href="http://www.ofas.uci.edu/content/pdf/SAPDisclosureForUndergraduates.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.ofas.uci.edu/content/pdf/SAPDisclosureForUndergraduates.pdf</a></p>
<p>I spoke with both a transfer counselor at my CC and a financial aid rep at UCI about my situation. The transfer counselor said that I wouldn't qualify for any financial aid. However, she's quite melodramatic, and I've seen her give advice before that was exaggerated to the point of being inaccurate. The UCI financial aid rep told me that I'd qualify for financial aid just like any other CC transfer student. However, I've had an incredibly difficult time getting in touch with someone at UCI that was actually willing to help me, and the rep's demeanor and tone of voice didn't install much confidence that she was sure of her answer.</p>
<p>How will this impact my financial aid eligibility at UCI? Up to this point, I've been paying completely out of pocket and haven't taken <em>any</em> financial aid (including loans), if that matters.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>The Calif publics (and the state) do limit aid, so that lady was probably right. The reason they do this is because there are so many students and the state can’t afford to keep giving aid. they need students to get their degrees in a timely manner so that there’s money for the next crop of students.</p>
<p>Well, you probably don’t qualify for Cal Grant at this point (200 credits). Pell Grant has a cap on how many semesters you can use it–so I don’t know if you qualify for that. I think the biggest issue is that I have heard of folks getting cut off from financial aid when they’ve exceeded 150% of the number of units needed to graduate. So if a normal number of units to graduate is 130 units for a particular major and the student has earned 195 units but still hasn’t graduated, they have maxed out on the time allowed for FA assistance. </p>
<p>So–what you need to find out from UCI is if they have a top cap such as 150% and then being disqualified for FA help.</p>
<p>The other thing to check is if you have been taking out Federal Student Loans and if somehow you have maxed out those limits - though I tend to doubt it - max for an independent student of sub and unsub loans is 57K. (Please tell us you don’t have 57K in loans from community college already!!!)</p>
<p>I agree that you may get bad advice over the phone (or even in person) from a FA office… you need to know which rules are being evoked and which side of those lines your case falls.</p>
<p>I’m going to throw out an idea for you. From what I gather from your post, you are looking to complete your degree and finances are a concern. Have you given any thought to other colleges? May I suggest that you consider Thomas Edison State College ([College</a> Education for Adults at Thomas Edison State College](<a href=“http://www.tesc.edu/index.cfm]College”>College Degrees for Adults at Thomas Edison State University | Thomas Edison State University) )? It’s a college in NJ and they have a very robust online program. It’s not a degree mill like Phoenix so no worries on that front. Their tuition is very affordable and they do accept transfer credits. </p>
<p>Talk to one of their counselors and you may find that this could be an option for you.
FYI, this school specializes in adult students (25+) rather than in the usual 18-22 year old population that most schools specialize in.</p>
<p>I just want to reiterate that I haven’t used up ANY financial aid at all, including loans. Any limits I encounter would have to be strictly time- or unit-based.</p>
<p>It would be easier to determine my financial aid standing if I was running into a dollar limit, as the definition of a dollar is universal. However, terms like ‘Accepted Units for Transfer’ or ‘Terms of Attendance’ aren’t as clear, particularly given how they’re manipulated for academic placement purposes.</p>
<p>Looking at TESC’s cost, it seems to be on par with what I’d pay for a California State University , so I don’t think that I’d gain a whole lot going that route. Also, not having access to lab equipment would be a problem.</p>
<p>Thanks, though.</p>
<p>TESC would be cheaper if they accept more of your credits so I’d still encourage you to look into it. They are also less of a ‘red tape’ kind of school so you may find them easier to work with. They are used to being flexible.</p>