I’m an international student planning to start at a U.S. community college and later transfer to a university. I want to maximize my chances of getting the highest financial aid possible and fully understand the process.
Specifically, I’m looking for guidance on:
The application process for community colleges as an international student.
How to transfer from a community college to a university, and what matters most (GPA, courses, etc.).
Average total costs I should expect to pay, including tuition, fees, and living expenses.
How much I could realistically earn working part-time (20 hours/week on an F-1 visa).
Any tips or strategies to maximize financial aid for international transfer students.
I’d really appreciate any advice, resources, or personal experiences from people who have gone through this. Thanks in advance!
Community colleges are primarily funded by state and local taxes, mainly to serve local residents. Therefore, their aid programs are often limited for international students.
Why do you want to start at community college rather than a 4 year school? How much can you spend per year?
My grades in 10th and 11th are quite low (in my country, college admission depends only on grade 12, so many students don’t focus on earlier years; my percentage in those grades is around 70%). Right now, I’m considering going to a community college, but another option is Southern Mississippi University. I’m still studying and unsure which path to choose, as I don’t know much about Southern Mississippi University. I also cannot afford to pay everything myself, but I plan to work part-time to help cover my expenses.
I’m going to be honest-depending on how much money you need, it will be very difficult to find schools that will give you financial or merit aid. And finding a part time job will also be difficult. Do you have affordable options in your home country?
I’m not even close to an expert in this area, so hopefully some posters here can offer you some more tailored advice or list of schools to research. Good luck!
Community colleges are less expensive but international students pay out of state fees.
That doesn’t mean that it won’t be expensive.
Most community colleges do not have room and board. This means that you will need transportation to get to and from the school.
It also means you need to pay for yearly health insurance. Assume $3k to 5k per year.
If you work 20 hours a week, that may cover your food. Oh, I forgot to add: WHERE WILL YOU WORK?? 20 hours will be on campus per your Visa. You cannot work off campus without a sponsor. The best jobs typically go to Work Study students or previous students who have previously held the position. It’s competitive. Most are for food service or cleaning.
Forget about California. Yes our climates are temperate. Most people want to come to California because of the schools and the weather, but it’s very expensive to live here.
Rents for our local Southern California area are about $2000 to $3k a month just for the rent. It may not include your Internet access, nor furniture, household supplies, appliances, bedding. You pay that on your own but don’t forget to include a budget for transportation.
Since you’re not a resident of the US, nor any state, trying to transfer to a public or private university will be difficult, without funding. Private schools may not have transfer funding.
Most public universities assist residents with tuition and housing because their parents pay taxes to that state.
So you need to figure out a budget from your parents if you plan to attend a US school.
If it were really easy to do, we’d have a lot more students attempting to do what you’re attempting.
Assume a minimum budget of at least $30,000 a year to cover rent, transportation, and living supplies. I haven’t even begun to think about the educational costs.
A number of other states may be less expensive, but you still have to deal with the weather, health insurance, transportation, course fees, living expenses, academic expenses and food.
You’ll need to first find which CC’s interest you and follow their instructions for application.
Transfer is usually dependent on what courses you take and what GPA you get. This varies by state and by college. Look for “articulation agreements”, which outline which colleges have agreements with a particular CC and what you need to transfer into them. Sometimes it’s automatic and sometimes it’s competitive.
Average costs are usually listed on the website of the CC.
Realistically, not much. On campus jobs are likely to be at or close to minimum wage. A few hundred dollars a week at most, likely less, assuming you can find a legal job.
There is very little aid for transfer students in general and even less for internationals. In many states, there is little to no aid available for out of state applicants at public universities.
Basically, you’ll need to be able to cover the costs of the degree. You will also need to be able to show you have enough resources (whether your own or any aid you might get) to get a student visa. You can’t include expected earnings from a part time job in this (in fact anything hinting you need to earn money in the US to help pay your way is likely to result in visa denial)
As a random example, DVC in the Bay Area
Costs:
The estimated costs for the 2025-2026 academic year as an international student at DVC are as follows:
$3,066 - Tuition based on 7 units ($438/unit)
$11,700 - Food and housing (based on homestay)
$1,854 - Books and other educational expenses
$1,238 - Transportation
$3,030 - Miscellaneous and personal
$1,889.00 - Mandatory medical insurance
$30,223 - Total estimated cost for academic year*
Btw, the food and housing amount looks pretty low. If you need to rent somewhere, even if you share it’s probably going to be more, possibly significantly so. And transportation doesn’t include international airfare from wherever you are.
What they call a low cost option for internationals to transfer (includes a year of online study)