BIG 3 Associate transfer to BS Ivy League

Hello,
a friend of mine just graduated from a french high school whith a Diploma in Math & science with honors.
He is excellent in math and science and is wanting to test out (clep tecep etc..) of all math and science and maybe some other classes.
Basically getting assiocate of arts in math from TESC or Excelsior within half a year or so and then try to transfer to a major university.
What will be his chances of getting in a major university through this option and with an almost non existant GPA since the large majority of his credit will come from Cleps etc and will be counted as pass/fail.
Please let me / us know what are his chances or what is the best route.
Thank you very much as always...........

 

I'm no authority, but your friend may want to consider Harvard's ALB. where you may transfer 64 undergrad credits.

If I'm not mistaken, it's open enrollment and after getting 3 B's, you formally apply for admission/transfer credit.

Just an idea.

Greg

 

Harvard Extension School
ALB Degree

Total Credits Required: 128 credits

(most Harvard courses are 4 credits); maximum 64 transfer credits
Distribution

• 8 credits in sciences
• 8 credits in humanities
• 8 credits in social sciences
• 8 credits outside the area of concentration

Expository Writing

• 8 credits (4 credits must be EXPO E-25 or S-20)

Writing Intensive

• 12 credits; must be completed at Harvard

Quantitative Reasoning

• 4 credits; must be completed at Harvard

Moral Reasoning

• 4 credits; must be completed at Harvard

Foreign Language

• 8 credits

Area of Concentration

• 40 credits; 32 credits must be completed at Harvard
  (either humanities, science, or social sciences)

Field of Study (optional)

• 32 credits; must be completed at Harvard

Professional and Liberal Arts Citations (optional)

• 16 credits; must be completed at Harvard

Harvard Instructor

• 52 credits

Upper-Level Courses

• 60 credits

Residency Requirement

To meet the residency requirement, you complete a minimum of 16 credits in on-campus-only courses.


http://www.extension.harvard.edu/2007-08/programs/undergrad/reqs/alb.jsp

 

Suggestion:

School: Thomas Edison State College (TESC)
Degree: Associate of Science (ASNSM) (Natural Sciences and Mathematics)

1. Test out of the general education requirements (Pass/Fail)
2. Take mathematics courses including challenge for credit modality (Graded, GPA)

Athabasca University: http://www.athabascau.ca/course/ug_subject/list_im.php#m
Ohio University: http://www.ohiou.edu/independent/list2.htm#math
University of North Dakota: https://dce.und.edu/dce/index.php

Of course, check with TESC regarding their policy with respect to challenge for credit examinations and GPA calculation.

In my opinion, this route meets the requirements of your friend. TESC graduates have gone on to study at Ivy League schools based on information posted on this board.

 

It seems like your question has two facets:

1) Can he get into an Ivy League school with a big 3 AS degree?
If your friend can't get into an Ivy League school without the "big 3" Associates degree, chances are the big 3 degree earned mostly through standardized tests won't help. His/her high school record, SAT/ACT scores, etc. will have a bigger part of acceptance to the school of his choice than an Associates degree earned through testing.

2) Will an Ivy League school accept a big 3 degree in transfer?
Your friend will want to check the credit transfer policy at the Ivy League school he hopes to attend. I would guess if they do not accept CLEP/Dantes tests for credit, chances are the degree earned through CLEP/Dantes tests wouldn't transfer.

Many people have gone to well known schools after earning a degree at one of the big 3 schools. In many, if not all cases, the big 3 degree allowed them to satisfy a prerequisite requirement but their other application factors really put them over the edge (high school GPA, SAT/ACT scores, work experience, et al.).

 

>>

Your friend is very young, his best bet is AP not CLEP.
Have your friend check out the college board web site (where CLEP info is found) and locate AP testing info. It isn't too late, and ivy drools over kids with high AP scores- which your friend can do! There is a list- lots of math and science. If he can earn a 4 or 5, his chances of getting into the school of his choice. (assuming the rest of his credentials are good!). ** I know personally of 6 homeschooled kids who used AP as their ticket to gain acceptance -AND CREDIT- at MIT and Cal Tech within the past 4 years.

If in the end, he doesn't ace his AP exams or land a spot in the college of his dreams, he won't have any trouble with the utility of his AP scores that were over 3. In fact, he will get college credit JUST LIKE he had taken the CLEPs. (each college has a policy- he can search this in advance)
Good luck!!

P.S. What would be the advantage of having the AA prior to admission? Or, what would be the advantage of being a transfer student? Just wondering.

 

Transfer acceptance rates tend to be higher in elite schools than overall acceptance rates, but they still tend to be quite low. Also regional schools tend to have an edge in transferring to their local elite schools, even the private ones. I agree with jtae1920--if you could not get in to an elite school as a freshman, transfering is unlikely to be much easier. I know someone who applied to Georgetown after HS, didn't make it, then parlayed two good years at Syracuse into a transfer acceptance. Here at U of C I know a transferee from Tufts. The students applying to transfer are often at good 4 year schools and have a lot going for them in terms of their desirability and an established track record at a well-regarded college--the AA holder will need to stand out against them too.

 

The difference for transfers:

In very many cases, a transfer applicant with 30 semester hours is treated very differently than a high school grad in the application process. In many cases the difference includes that the transfer applicant's HS GPA and SAT/ACT scores are no longer required/considered. The same is often true of applicants over about 25 years old.

This can be an advantage or disadvantage. If the applicant has a solid undergrad GPA on his 30 hours (and as freshman courses they must be very solid) and has a good extracurricular or work history, he may be in a better application position than after high school. This is particularly true of those who slacked off in HS and now want to effect a change.

If the applicant had a really good HS record with solid test scores and then went to local community college where he produced an average result - he'd have been better off applying based on that HS record. The idea being that "if you can't do well at local CC, you won't do well here"

As for using testing as an admission push. AP exam scores can add to a package whereas CLEP scores don't have the same prestige. CLEP can often result in more credit though. Harvard Extension will accept CLEP but in very limited amounts.

Where having an assessment based AA/AS might be a problem is that the receiving school is going to apply those credits (CLEP/DANTES/AP/IB) based on their policies and not those of whoever awarded the AA/AS. It's very possible to have an AA/AS from Excelsior College (example) and not have enough transfer credit to be a transfer student at Local State U. because of their application of credits rules. It's not speaking to the validity of testing or degrees by assessment but instead to the differing rules on transfer of credit at various schools.