I was having difficulty finding a thread for this, so I figured I would make my own (sorry if it exists).
-For a bit of background- I’m a 9th grade dropout from England (living in Kansas). I had to leave school due to an abusive family (most of whom are in prison at this point). Now i’m 19, finally able to start thinking about school. I spent the last couple months cramming studying in around work. I obtained my GED with college ready+ credits on all 4 tests, and a 33 on my ACT. Most of the schools I contacted told me I need letters of recommendation from old teachers (Which I can’t obtain), and explained to me that I would be at a disadvantage even with my good scores due to me not having a school record. So i figured I would try my luck at transferring later (which I realize is extremely difficult for some schools). So my question as far as transferring goes:
If you are trying to transfer to schools like USC, Uni of Pennsylvania, NYU, etc, do they prefer applicants who spent the first year or two at a community college or at a 4 year university?
My two options right now are the University of Kansas and Johnson County Community college. I’m in traveling distance to both, and have saved money for either option (which KU isn’t that much more expensive anyway) Any help on this would be appreciated, thank you!
Seems like the tuition costs are $10,824 per year for KU and $3,300 per year for JCCC (assuming Kansas resident, 30 credits per year). How much does that difference matter?
Presumably, if you start at JCCC and did not get admitted to your reach schools as a transfer, you would transfer to KU and complete your BA/BS there? Of course, if you start at KU, you can just stay there to complete your BA/BS.
What you may want to do is make a course plan at KU for your intended majors, then check whether JCCC offers courses that will transfer to KU to cover the first two years’ worth of courses (see http://credittransfer.ku.edu/?location=KS&school=H0002325 ). For most majors, the courses should be similar at other universities, so that can help you determine whether JCCC will cover your needed course work for whatever university you transfer to. You can check the other universities’ web sites to see if they have transfer credit listings for JCCC as well.
In terms of how those other universities consider transfer applicants from community colleges versus four year schools, that varies depending on the university. But what may be more of a factor in your case is your somewhat non-traditional background, which can be favorable at some universities looking to enroll more non-traditional students.
Be sure also to check the net price calculators of various universities to see what financial aid is like. NYU in particular does not have a good reputation for financial aid.
Awesome reply, thank you! The cost is similar due to KU offering me a scholarship that puts it closer to JCCCs price (sorry for not mentioning that haha). JCCC has a great relationship with KU as far as transferring goes, but my end goal is to transfer to a higher tier school that isn’t in Kansas.
Yeah I clocked that NYU seems fairly stingy with aid, I mainly threw them in there as an example on the level of schools that i’m looking into (Mainly USC or vanderbilt).
So if the benefits of transferring from a CC or 4 year varies for each University that I try to transfer to, should I just try and go to the school with the more rigorous coursework to show that I am ready to transfer?
Thank you for the help!
If the KU scholarship is for four years and is only available if you enroll as a frosh (as opposed to later if you transfer from JCCC), then attending KU is the financially safer choice, since if you do not transfer to your target schools, you could still complete your BA/BS inexpensively (instead of having to pay a higher price upon transferring from JCCC to KU).
I second staying at Kansas for undergrad. It’s a very good school. It will give you the opportunities that you need for your degree.
USC is $72K per year how will you be able to afford that?
Most of their funding is set aside for freshman, athletic recruits, URM, exceptional musicians, and National merit winners. Transfers get some funding but varies according to what USC needs.
Have you thought about how will you pay $72,000 a year?
Attend KU. Four year schools will usually have more course offerings and extracurricular activities available than CC’s, so more chances to build up the kind of distinguished record you will need to transfer.
Get to know your professors so you will have letter writers when it comes time to,shop for transfer opportunities.
I have a very low income family, and most of my money saved was saved “under the table”, so my federal aid is pretty good. I thought USC meets 100% of demonstrated financial need?
I may end up staying at KU for my undergrad if I can’t transfer. Thanks for bringing to my attention where most of their funding goes, I will look into them further.
Thank you so much for your advice everyone! I will stick with KU for a couple years and use them as a transfer base, and if transferring isn’t feasible, I will stay there for my undergrad. Your help has been appreciated!
At almost every school, transferring from a CC is a lot easier than transferring from a 4 year. Most schools consider 4 year applicants last and it might be harder to get a high GPA at KU, too. If a top school is where you want to go, go CC.
If you feel the desire to attend a top-tier school, an alternative strategy might be to kill it at KU with grades, research, etc and use that as a springboard to a prestige grad school.
If you are even thinking about pursuing graduate school, @Otterma’s suggestion is the best.
But, if you’re uninterested in graduate school, I concur with the other users here. KU is the best option. I especially agree with @AroundHere. KU is certainly going to have much more (and much better) resources to build up a competitive portfolio for transferring.
Oh lordy! There is no way to save money “under the table”! What you have on hand whether it is in a savings account or in a box under your bed needs to be reported on the FAFSA. Transferring it to a family member temporarily to lower what is in a savings account is financial aid fraud.
There are several questions that come to mind immediately.
You sound like an international applicant rather than a domestic and if so, Federal aid is not likely to be accessible to you.
You do not mention your major. It is possible that KU is a perfectly good university for the major you want and it would be unwise to seek out a far more expensive option.