Hi, I’m a 22yo guy who got an Associate of the Arts from a state college and wants to study computer science anywhere where it snows. I live in a Central American country but am a US citizen. I want to start the term in the spring. Should I talk to a local college counselor? Should I rely on CollegeBoard and CommonApp’s college search feature? What’s the fastest way to apply to schools? How do I write a transfer essay about a particular school if I don’t know what I like about the school since I haven’t seen it and there are so many different options? Thanks in advance.
How are you going to finance your education? I assume you have no in-state status anyplace in the US. One option would be to move to a state and work for a year or so to establish in-state residency, then apply.
What was your AA GPA? Was it a US “state college”, or in the country where you live now?
@intparent has good questions. Three more that occur to me: What was your GPA in the state college? Which state? How far did you go in math and do you have any computer experience?
What’s your budget?
Can you move to a state and work?
Do you have family in the US?
@intparent and @DadTwoGirls my dad said he would, my AA GPA is 3.3 (messed up badly my first semester of college years ago but I’ve gotten mostly As since then). It was a US state college in Florida. My GPA in the state college is 3.91. The highest math I’ve taken is calc 2 and I got a C (years ago, had personal issues). I took intro to programming at PBSC (school in Florida) and am currently learning Android and web development on my own.
Does your dad live in Florida or in the US? You still might qualify for in state tuition through him.
Did your dad give you a budget?
Worry about getting into an affordable college and finishing your degree. You can move to a place “where it snows” down the road.
University of Toledo - they offer transfer scholarships, they offer a different merit amount to out of state students that offsets the out of state surcharges. Contact someone there and ask what additional competitive scholarships might be available and deadlines.
http://www.utoledo.edu/admission/transfer/scholarships/out_of_state.html
http://www.utoledo.edu/Programs/undergrad/Computer-Science-and-Engineering
https://www.utoledo.edu/Programs/undergrad/Computer-Science-and-Engineering-Technology
http://www.utoledo.edu/campus/tour/
@MYOS1634 should I ask him what his budget is and post it here? I feel like I shouldn’t do that. I can move to a state and work (I prefer to work in Android app development as that’s what I’m learning). I have family only in Florida. @AroundHere my dad doesn’t live in Florida/US. I haven’t given him a budget because I don’t know how much is appropriate. @happy1 true, I’ll keep that in mind. @BuckeyeMWDSG thanks, I’ll check them out.
Commonapp and collegeboard are not bad resources to explore colleges. If you find one that you find interesting, you should visit that college’s website, which will tell you a lot more about what the college is about (their mission, what they’re particularly good at) which will help you write the transfer essay about the particular school
Is your dad made of money? If you are not qualified for in state tuition anywhere, state universities may cost 50,000. Private schools have sticker prices up to 70K.
You need to know how much Dad can afford and whether your family would qualify for financial aid.
if your dad is instate somewhere, go to that state, it’ll likely be your cheapest option - It’s no longer possible to “work your way through college” like it was for your dad’s or my generation, when public universities cost less than $1,000 in tuition.
Have you run NPC’s? Do you know your EFC?
When you say family in Florida, does that include your mom? And if your mom is in FL, is that enough to give you in state tuition there?
Yes, we want a budget number or range. We also want to know how that budget number matches what the financial aid formulas say. If possible, run the FAFSA EFC estimator (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/fafsa/estimate) so that we also have an idea of whether you qualify for need-based aid.
@AroundHere I’d rather not make my dad’s budget publicly available on this forum but I’ll take your advice and ask him. None of my parents live in the states. Also, do you have any recommendations for decent schools with rolling admission/that I can still apply to whose term I can start in January? I know it’s super late. @MYOS1634 NPC means net price calculation right? I haven’t run them or know my EFC but I’ll find out tomorrow. How can I find out the best schools that I can still apply to for me to start in January?
Go to CommonApp, go to “college search”, click on “transfer” and “deadline: October 15 and later” and see what pops up. Do the same thing with CoalitionApp and Cappex.
If you’re not instate anywhere, your parents’ budget will be even more important. (Do check that one parent didn’t maintain residency in one state though).
It’s going to be super hard to recommend anywhere without knowing what you are able to spend and how much financial aid you may be able to get.
I’ll assume the worst and suggest the University of Wyoming has cold and snow and is lower cost even if you’re out of state.
Wyoming, North Dakota and even Montana would be options that could be on the cheaper side (check which campuses have rolling admissions.) Still “cheaper” is relative: costs of attendance at Montana State, for example is about $40,000 per year for out of state students; University of Wyoming about $34,000/year
Please note there is usually very little, if any, financial aid for international transfer students.
@katliamom OP is a US citizen living abroad.
@AroundHere – true, my bad — but he’ll still be paying OOS tuition and as a transfer likely unable to get much FA.
Federal loans at least.