Hey guys! Come Spring 2025, I’ll have been at CC for 3 years. My first few semesters were pretty chaotic as my parents didn’t help guide me through the application process whatsoever; I was on my own. That’s not to fault them, but more so to give insight on where I’m coming from. While my GPA isn’t as high as I’d like it to be, I feel that I have really compelling ECs, internship experience, excellent LORs and a very compelling story.
Demographics
US Citizen
PA
Some accredited CC in PA
First-generation Pell Grant recipient
Middle class (Dad in construction and mom is a lunch lady; immigrated here with no money 35 years ago)
Male/Latino/White/Queer
Cost Constraints / Budget
My parents have repeatedly expressed that they cannot afford to pay for my tuition, so I’m ideally looking for a 4-year institution that will at least cover that. Full-ride preferred though. I’m kinda scared of loans but will take them if it means I can get into the best school possible with these stats.
Intended Major(s)
Computer Engineering ideally but will settle for Computer Science.
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 3.42 (yea I was a knuckle-head)
College GPA: 3.697
Class Rank: Top 30% in HS
Test-optional
List your HS coursework
16 honors courses (since 9th grade; exclusively consisting of English, history, and sciences)
2 AP (English Lit. & Euro)
College Coursework (Transfer Applicants)
General education course work:
Calculus pre-reqs (Intermediate Algebra, College Algebra, Pre-calc)
Communications
Biology
Information Technology
Psychology
College Success
Honors courses: English II, Shakespeare, Film, Genocide
Major preparation course work:
Computer Science I & II
Data Structures & Algorithms
Computer Organization
Calculus I (In order to get my Associates I would have to take Calc II, unfortunately it is not offered during the summer)
Discrete Mathematics
Awards
CC Honors Program completion
CC Club of the Year
Certificate of Achievement from honors society
Model Congress Award of Excellence (9th grade?)
Extracurriculars
Information Technology Specialist intern at CC (October 2023 - Present)
Semi-finalist for highest student position in CC honors society (months of campaigning; gave a speech in front of 4,000 people; 1 of 26 semi-finalists in a 200k member society)
Student representative for CC board of directors
President of CC computer club
VP of CC honors society
Cooperated with officers to create a children’s book aimed at teaching healthy coping mechanisms to children. We later printed and donated copies of the book to local libraries
Helped conduct a research study based off the book. Eventually we will create a research paper to be sent to the honors society.
Collaborated with officers to host a student-led art gala on campus, bringing in hundreds of dollars of funding for the club.
VP of CC Honors Program club (they’re different I swear)
TONS of volunteer work (helped create and maintain a campus walking trail, lots of fundraising and student life stuff)
Honors Program alumni
Currently building a website for a behavioral analysis clinic
(I tried to make this as comprehensive as possible, lmk if you need more clarification on my ECs)
Essays/LORs/Other
LOR from president of my CC (will vouch for my internship and ECs)
LOR from high-ranking official in honors society (they spear-headed the semi-finalist event)
Schools
Lehigh
Lafayette
UPitt
Bucknell
Drexel
Penn State
(These are the only colleges that I have REALLY looked into. I’m totally open to going OOS, I just have zero idea for what I’m competitive for)
Are you aiming to transfer for Spring 2025? Fall 2025? How many CC credits will you have at time of transfer? Do you have and W’s on your transcript? Note that many 4 year schools will require you to spend two years there. Do you qualify for max Pell grant ($7495?)
AFAIK Lehigh and Lafayette meet full need for transfers, but make sure on their websites or via direct contact. You can also contact them to see if their NPCs are accurate for transfers, then run those to get net cost estimates.
The other four schools may not be affordable. I expect all these schools have virtual transfer admissions sessions and a transfer AO so utilize those resources to gather information about admissions and financial aid. Can you commute to any four year schools?
Lastly, some of these schools will need an LoR from a professor, so work to get that ready.
Please go and talk to the transfer advisor at your community college. Sometimes they have good info on where your credits will transfer and also where the cost could be affordable for you.
I think you will need LORs from teachers who you have had.
Any chance anyone there has some ideas for you? Perhaps they could hire you for a paying job and you could complete your bachelors part time while working.
I will have 65 credits by the time I transfer out (IIRC the max a CC can transfer out with is 60)
I’m very close to that Pell grant amount (up to $7,395)
I could theoretically commute to Lehigh and Lafayette; they are not too far from my house. However, I really want to dorm as my home life isn’t great and I feel that I’m not going to be able to fully utilize my resources at a 4-year if I don’t.
That’s not something I was aware of, thanks! Should I have 3 LORs then?
You should check each school’s LoR requirements…on the website and/or in the transfer app. Some will require one prof LoR, some two, some zero. Some will accept non-prof LoRs, some won’t.
I’ve been to the only transfer advisor at my school on several equations and it wasn’t all that helpful. Another user already pointed out the professor LOR but thanks again. And while I’ve tried to secure a part-time position in my CC’s IT department, they have expressed that there’s no vacant slots for me to fill and that they simply don’t have the budget to hire me, so unfortunately it’s a dead-end.
It seems you have some relevant job experience. Is it possible you could get a job at some university…and work there until you are able to take courses for a free or reduced cost? I know that’s not exactly what you are looking for, but it’s a thought.
I’m not gonna lie man it’s so exhausting having to balance all this stuff simultaneously. Having to work while taking all these heavy courses and clubs has seriously worn me down. But I get what you’re saying. My best friend’s dad is the head of the IT department at a public uni 5 minutes from my house, and while that’s an appealing option I desperately need to get out of the area.
If your parents can’t afford to pay for college, you don’t have much other choice than to start at community college. You could get an entry level programming job with as little as an associates degree with a certification or two. If you go the university route, you can do that for your last 2 years. Being low income, you would qualify for financial aid.
The OP is already in community college, has taken substantial general education and major preparation course work, and is looking for four-year schools to transfer to in order to complete a bachelor’s degree in computer science.
Your best bet is to pick a Passhe school, because PA CCs coordinate with them. Avoid West Chester (costly housing) but all others would make for good safeties - pick 2 that seem to offer what you want. The new governor has a program which would make these very affordable (as a Pell student, you wouldn’t pay more than $2,000 per year for tuition, which would leave about $5,000 to help with housing.)
Next: Penn State Behrend and UP, Pitt. These are likely to be costly even instate, especially since taking upper level classes costs more.
Expect about 20k instate tuition, and about 10-15k for housing/food/ etc. You’d get your Pell grant, a State grants for about 5k. Behrend may offer some merit but PSU UP or Pitt won’t.
You definitely have a shot at Lafayette and Lehigh. What about Muhlenberg, Dickinson and Franklin&Marshall? Since you’re in PA, can you visit (officially, ie., contacting Admissions ahead of time etc., arranging an appointment with a professor…) Confirm they meet need for transfers. In terms of resources and alumni network, they’re better than Passhe and may end up costing the same so definitely go for it.