Anonymous wrote:There's really no such thing as sophomore "status" or "standing." I entered college with the number of credits (AP + CLEP) most earn in their first two semesters on campus, but I was still a freshman (and I still took 4 years to graduate).

There certainly is at UVA. I know of several who entered as second years and graduated in three. There's even a name for them (about 60 graduate like that a year) but I forget what it is. They get a special gold stole at graduation. Saves parents a lot of money. https://college.as.virginia.edu/early-degree-completion

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My law school friend entered Harvard as a sophomore. She hated the school and applied elsewhere for law school (we went to Berkeley).

dp.. wow, my friend did the same. Hated Harvard. Went to Cal next.

My friend managed to do her 3rd year of law school at Berkeley because she hated Harvard so much.

Both my kids were technically sophomores when they started - it's great for getting the classes you want and also helped them both graduate with double majors in 4 years.

Seems even more common to graduate a semester early.

Anonymous wrote:My DS had enough credits to graduate in three years but was not considered a sophomore or “second year” at Uva. What schools actually slot you in as a sophomore?

That's odd. My son's best friend (Governor's school - top kid - 6.20 + GPA due to the college credits) entered as a second year. She graduated in three, saving a huge chunk of money for her parents, and is now in law school.

My friend graduated from Harvard in 3 years. Not sure how.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1,166 of 6,170 at UMD this year entered with at least sophomore status. Besides the advantage of graduating one year early and earning an income instead of paying tuition the fourth year, entering as a sophomore also allows the candidate the option to graduate in 4 years with a master’s.
https://irpa.umd.edu/CampusCounts/Admissions/apps_ug.pdf

16.7% in 2023.
13.1% in 2022.
9.9% in 2021.

There are two ways to look at this number.

1. There are a lot more high achieving kids choosing to go to UMD
2. There are a lot of community college transfers in the second year.

I'm thinking it's #1.

2. Falls under transfers. Page 1 of the attachment only talks about first time matriculating students. 1. Probably is true and in addition, in MD at least, the Blueprint legislation pushes school districts to pay for all AP exams and lowers the grade requirement barrier for students to take community college classes.

Anonymous wrote:How's being first year sophomore different from eventually graduating as a junior?

I'm not from the US but my DC will in all likelihood got to college in the US, so would be interesting to understand how these things work.

And, just to confirm, this issue arises as High School Students get college credit by taking classes labeled college level, and also if they go to camp at a college during summer?

Welcome to our confusing system. Many of you know this info, but this person isn’t from here & needs an explanation. The credits most often come from 2 sources:

(1) scores on Advanced Placement exams students register for through their high school. These usually follow a high school class in the subject which is supposed to have been taught at the college level. But if your kid knows a subject or a language well, they can take the exam without having taken the course. Exams are graded 1-5, & it’s up to each college how many credits it will grant for which score.

(2) The second most common way is taking actual college classes from a college while still in high school. These are very often taken at community colleges, but could be from other colleges. They can be taken in summers or during the school year. Again, it is up to each college if they will accept these classes, with the most trouble coming if a class counted towards their high school requirements, if the class was taught by a high school teacher, or if it was taught on high school property. Any of these factors might give a college a reason to not accept a class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS and many of his friends are going to be sophomores when they start college.

Aren’t you special!

dp.. the poster isn't special, but there kid and their friends are.

Aren't you jealous.