Hi everyone.
I am from Poland and will be graduating from high-school this year. I was presented with a great opportunity meaning I got a green card. So I bond my future with studying in US.
I got 2060 on my SAT but unfortunately I wasn’t accepted to Universities of my choice ( Berkeley, UCLA, Uni of Washington). Now my plan B is to go to community college and then transfer to some good university.
Unfortunately I got pretty lost while doing research on CC in the US. There’s not to much information on CC’s that’s helpful.
I want to attend to CC on an east coast ( It is closer to europe, cheaper flights ) preferably Boston, New York, Chicago, or in the florida. As of now I’m thinking about Valencia College (Orlando), Bunker Hill College (Boston) or one of many CC’s in the New York.
However I’m unable to make a decision due to my lack in knowledge and facts. I want good education and prospects of transferring into a GOOD university. There are many contradictory opinions on the internet and I just feel hopeless.
What should I do in YOUR opinion? What are Your remarks? I would like to get as many opinions as possible. As many points of view as possible.
I would choose the state first and the community college second. If you are interested in transferring to a public university (like Berkeley, UCLA or UW), then you should be attending a community college in that state. Acceptance rates for in-state transfer applicants are typically a lot higher than for out-of-state transfer applicants at selective public universities like the ones you named.
After I chose a state, I would take the following into account when selecting a community college:
Cost of living. I would probably avoid the big cities because I don't want to pay $1300k for a bedroom in NYC when I could get a room for $300 upstate.
Transportation. Assuming that I don't want to pay for a car, I would choose a community college in a location that either has a public transit system, or is located such that I could live within walking/biking distance and also have all of my other needs met within walking/biking distance (groceries, doctors, etc). Keep in mind that some areas of the country have weather that makes walking or biking not a good option for part of the year. (E.g. can't easily walk/bike in 3-foot snow and wouldn't want to be outside for too long in 120 degree heat.) Your odds of finding a bus system are a lot higher in "college towns". Check for community colleges near 4-year universities.
School size and course options. Take a look at the course schedules (NOT THE CATALOG) and see how many courses of interest are offered each term. Try to find out if it's difficult to get into the courses you want - you may have to reach out to an academic adviser at the college to find out. It could be difficult to get into a course for a couple of different reasons:
Most colleges will cancel courses with insufficient enrollment. What's the cutoff (10 students? 20?) and how likely is it that the courses you want to take will meet the cutoff? That's mostly a concern for the more specialized upper-level courses that may not appeal to many students.
On the flip side, the courses you want to take may be too popular (or not have enough sections offered) and the college may have to limit enrollment through a lottery or other means.
Some courses are closed to non-majors, and the particular major may have a waitlist associated with it. (For example, in my area there's a 2-3 year waiting list for nursing programs at community colleges.)
If you want to work while you're in school, consider scheduling flexibility. Does the college offer evening or weekend or online sections of the courses you need?
After you have chosen a community college, one last important question to think about is WHEN you want to enroll. If money is a concern, it may make sense to live locally for a year WITHOUT TAKING CLASSES. That way you qualify for cheaper in-state tuition rates. If you enroll straight away, you may be classified an out-of-state student for all 4+ years you study in the state.
Look into establishing residency in whatever state you pick. That cuts down your college tuition costs. Then stay in that state after transferring to a 4-year university.
If you transferred from a NY community college to a university in California, you would be an out-of-state student in California. Your tuition would be over $35,000 per year, plus your cost of living. There is very, very little financial aid for out-of-state transfer students in California. Can your family afford such high costs?
@katliamom
Thank You, I shall look into this option.
@Wien2NC
Thank You. Thanks to you I started looking into North Carolina and other states that aren’t so popular among the europeans. Could you just tell me if you know anything about CC’s there? Do you recommend any? How do you like living there?
I forgot to mention that I want to study in a Business-related major. Do you know any CC’s (on the East coast) to have good Business education? And what’s more to have articulation agreements with GOOD universities?
If my understanding is right than I should worry more about where to get MBA than B.A. is that correct? Employers won’t look where I got my undergraduate paper from. So my main goal right now is to prepare myself to get to good/great graduate school.
How should I do it? What should I focus on?
How does graduate admission process look like?
Does it make a difference whether I finish mediocre undergraduate school or a really good one?
I know this is a lot of questions but I don’t know who else to ask them. It is way too much for my mind right now. So I am extremely generous for your answers.
Not quite. You should expect to enter the workforce with a Bachelor’s degree. Most MBA programs are targeted at mid-level professionals with several years of full-time work experience (and you’ll certainly get more out of it with prior work experience - otherwise it’s just more business classes, many of which you’ll have already taken for your undergraduate business degree).
@Wien2NC
I wrote to some of the Universities from that list and I will probably apply to few.
But now I want to focus on Community Colleges. I want to attend to CC in North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Maryland, Illinois or D.C. My main priority is a very good education ( top level professors, small class ratio, and other things I wouldn’t find in a huge top University where graduates teach ). My course of study would be business.
To me all of the CC’s look the same. Maybe it is no difference which I choose?
Boston, NY, Chicago, DC are crazy expensive. Generally the South has a lower cost of living than the Northeast.
So from that perspective Florida or North Carolina might be less expensive for a student to live.
my only experience here is North Carolina. the University of North Carolina system is excellent and has a good relationship with NC CC’s. you can take a 2-year program at any NC CC consisting of certain core classes, and the credits will fully transfer to any UNC school. not every CC course transfers, though, you have to make sure it is a universal transfer course (UGETC).
there are 16 schools in the UNC system. UNC-Chapel Hill is one of the best schools in the country, and NC State is an excellent university as well. there is also East Carolina U, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, Appalachian State, Western Carolina and several others.
I am only really familiar with Pitt Community College near Greenville, which is a really good CC. it seems to offer classes other CC’s do not have. my HS son is working on earning an Associate in Engineering by the time he graduates HS. i don’t know of any other CC that even offers an Associate in Engineering. that said,i am sure there are good CC’s in Raleigh, Charlotte, and elsewhere in NC. Raleigh and Charlotte are also growing cities that should offer good job prospects in the future. those cities might be more expensive for a CC student to live, as opposed to Greenville or an even less expensive town with a CC.
and maybe the Community College threads here might have information about other schools in NC. i think Lenior Community College might also be a good one.
When you are investigating the CCs, read their residency requirements carefully. Some will consider you to be a local student (lowest tuition and fees) immediately. Some will require that you have lived in district for a certain period of time, and will require that you have provided at least 51% of your own support for a certain period of time. If you find a state and a CC that you like, it may be worth it to work for that period of time so that you qualify.
There are big differences from one CC to another. The best ones are very strong, and offer fully university-equivalent courses. The worst ones are little better than high school. I’d suggest that you post a question in the Parents Forum, and ask for recommendations for the best CC in each state.
it would seem that if you wanted to start college this fall, these might be options for you.
for example South Dakota State U costs around $20K per year for tuition, fees, room, meal plan, and books. that might be cheaper than a community college that would charge you non-resident tuition. their International Student enrollment is about 6%. if that is affordable you could still be able to apply for this fall.
^^^ Establishing residency may be more complicated than just waiting a year. If OP’s parents are paying for his education, and they do not reside in the given state, he may be considered out-of-state even after his first year. That appears to be the case in North Carolina, for example.
That is why happymomof1 recommended OP read residency requirements carefully first for all his target states.
Marko, the issue of residency is very important. I would contact all the colleges and universities directly with your situation to confirm whether or not you would be considered resident, if it is possible for you to establish residency, and how to do it.
Otherwise, you face paying out-of-state tuition for all 4 years of your education: very, very expensive (about $50,000 per year at UNC)
What are your parents doing? Did they just get green cards to, and will they be moving to the US as well? If so, your best strategy is to move here as a family unit. When your parents have been living and working here for a year, you will be considered an in-state resident for tuition and fees at public universities.
@happymomof1
Unfortunately no. My stepfather has U.S. residency and lawyers were able to create green card from that. So while this is still very lucky I will be going to states alone.
@katliamom@Wien2NC
I found Florida International University. It is relatively cheap (18,000$ tuition), deadline is may 1st, and it is really good research university. I have already submitted my application and sent my SAT scores.
VA has guaranteed admission to state schools (UVA, William & Mary) if you get a certain GPA in two years of CC. You have to live independently in VA for a year to qualify for in state tuition. NVCC is close to D.C.
FIU room + meal plan runs about $9K / year. add tuition + fees and you are talking at least $28,000 per year. that does not count travel and personal expenses. is this affordable for you?
it’s got a bigger campus at 1500 acres vs 350 for FIU. also USF is ranked #156 for National Universities on US News & World Report.
there is also University of West Florida which costs about $28K per year total.
keep in mind that although FIU undergrad enrollment is huge with 40K students, it is a really big commuter school and so only about 3200 live in on-campus housing. i don’t know if that means you will have trouble finding available on-campus housing.