Enrollment 13 year old

[homeschoolmom1]

If a 13 year old wants to enroll in College just to have College-student status (for whatever reason), would he/she be able to do that with Excelsior (COSC and TESU are out because of age)? The idea would be to just enroll but not take any courses with Excelsior, spend a few years obtaining additional credits through our known alternative ways, then unenroll at Excelsior without every having taken a course there and actually complete the degree at COSC at the age of 16. Is that possible? If so, what would be the annual cost of maintaining enrolled status at Excelsior?

[jamshid666]

I don't know if that is possible, but I would highly discourage it if you can.  Colleges get negative marks whenever a student drops out, so by signing your 13 year old up with Excelsior (if it is possible), then withdrawing him when he's old enough for another school, you would be making Excelsior look bad and this could potentially cause Excelsior to review their policies to allow certain age groups to sign up for school, ruining that possibility for other students in the future.  You do not need to be registered in any of the "Big 3" to take alternative sources of credit nor do you need the college status for homeschool reporting purposes.  The study plans alone for the alternative college credit would be sufficient for homeschool reporting purposes.  If you really need the college enrollment status, at least get an associates from Excelsior before switching to COSC when your child turns 16.  Your child would end up with an extra degree, Excelsior gets to report a success, and you get to report college dual-enrollment on your homeschool records; a total win for everyone.

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This page might be of help though: https://www.excelsior.edu/policy/special...uivalency/

[cecilgambe7]

It is actually not possible at COSC because they request at least 16 yo

[TwinMom]

If a 13 year old wants to enroll in College just to have College-student status (for whatever reason), would he/she be able to do that with Excelsior (COSC and TESU are out because of age)? The idea would be to just enroll but not take any courses with Excelsior, spend a few years obtaining additional credits through our known alternative ways, then unenroll at Excelsior without every having taken a course there and actually complete the degree at COSC at the age of 16. Is that possible? If so, what would be the annual cost of maintaining enrolled status at Excelsior?

In addition to the other excellent advice given, at Excelsior you have to be 17 and a high school graduate to enroll.

Perhaps he/she could enroll as a dual credit student at a community college

[Carnation]

I contacted TESU and COSC about enrolling younger students and they do make exceptions.
One, they usually want the student to be graduated from high school... so if they graduate early (as my son will do), that meets the requirement.
Two, if not graduated, they want them to have completed a certain number of credits from another college before enrolling showing that they can indeed do the work.
They also like to see SAT or ACT scores to show ability (even our local university wanted this before enrolling a young student).
Showing printouts of CLEP or DSST scores can serve the same purpose if you have a student who tests well.

On another note, there is no benefit to enrolling early and you have the down side of paying fees for no benefit.
Any testing credits (CLEP, DSST, etc) or ACE credits completed will be on a transcript which can be sent as soon as your student is actually ready to complete their degree.

HTH,
Marie

[cookderosa]

If a 13 year old wants to enroll in College just to have College-student status (for whatever reason), would he/she be able to do that with Excelsior (COSC and TESU are out because of age)? The idea would be to just enroll but not take any courses with Excelsior, spend a few years obtaining additional credits through our known alternative ways, then unenroll at Excelsior without every having taken a course there and actually complete the degree at COSC at the age of 16. Is that possible? If so, what would be the annual cost of maintaining enrolled status at Excelsior?

Colleges (all) have admission criteria. In every case I've encountered, a high school diploma was required for enrollment unless a dual credit / dual enrollment / early college / exception existed that allowed a "not-yet-graduated" student to enroll.

Since none of the Big 3 offer dual enrollment, I don't think this is an option. The Big 3, unlike traditional colleges, specifically target adult learners -which is a different mission.

To enroll at 13, I know of only 1 college (though there are probably many) that allow this as a matter of course - BYU's independent study program is open to any age in any state.

[homeschoolmom1]

Thank you very much for all of your thoughtful comments. We will simply wait until 16-17 years old or so and then enroll at COSC. By then, will probably have accumulated a bunch of credits. Thank you.

[hsfamfun]

Excelsior had an article on their website at one time about a 12 year old who had graduated with a BS in Liberal Arts.  So, they also have been known to make exceptions.

Here is the article: https://www.news10.com/news/local-news/1...r-college/

[dhillbilly]

Excelsior does not require a high school diploma to enroll but it does automatically flag in their system. My son received this message after enrolling.

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Message from Excelsior:

"Since you did not indicate on the enrollment form that you had earned a high school diploma, you will need to meet the requirements specified below. If you have earned a high school diploma or equivalent, please submit a signed written statement verifying you have a high school diploma/equivalent or send a copy of your diploma to the Records Office.

Students who are 18 or older must hold a high school diploma, or its equivalent, as certified by the Superintendent of Schools or a comparable chief school administrator; or hold a high school equivalency diploma; or have completed 24 semester hours of credit distributed as follows toward their Excelsior College degree program: 6 semester hours in English language arts including writing, speaking, and reading (literature), 3 semester hours in mathematics, 3 semester hours in natural science, 3 semester hours in social science, 3 semester hours in humanities and 6 semester hours in any other courses within the degree program; or have previously earned and been granted a degree from an approved degree granting institution of higher education; or have passed five designated Regents examinations (English, mathematics, United States history & government, science and global history & geography)."
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His advisor responded with this message after he asked if his planned Gen Ed courses would fill the requirement.

You can ignore that message about your diploma. You will be completing those credits no matter what as part of your general education requirements so you're fine!

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[dfrecore]

BTW - don't forget that both COSC and EC require you to pay a fee just for being enrolled. COSC's is per-term, while EC's is an annual fee. I wouldn't enroll at either until I was at 114cr and ready to take the cornerstone & capstone (COSC) or 117cr and ready to take the capstone (EC).