@dodgersmom, even Rochester may not meet full need for transfers. Many schools who meet full-need (or claim to) for Americans applying from HS don’t in other circumstances.
UPDATE:
Here’s my new list of colleges to apply to (as a transfer or post-grad student):
[1st choice: University of Washington - Seattle]
2nd choice: University of Texas - Austin
3rd choice: University of Illinois - Urbana, Champaign
4th choice: University of North Carolina
5th choice: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick
6th choice: University of Maryland - College Park
I would appreciate some thoughts on whether it is more realistic to transfer to these schools or not.
Hi aunt bea,
I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic earlier. I still have a lot to learn about resume building, job searching, and applying for jobs.
Thank you for your insightful comments.
Hi lostaccount,
It’s true that a person’s GPA alone doesn’t provide a full description of what he/she will be like as an employee. That’s why I want to transfer into a school with the best computer science program I can get into and develop skills necessary for that field.
Thank you for your comment.
Hi dodgersmom,
Could you explain to me the pros and cons of taking a gap year? Thanks!
Hi dodgersmom,
I am still unsure of how to pay for those colleges I mentioned earlier. In fact, I believe that I will have a hard time paying for the University of Iowa, since I did not receive any merit scholarships.
UPDATE:
The reason why I applied to the University of Iowa is because it was one of the few schools I could apply to at the time and I was okay with the arts and science education. Also, I no longer liked the school that I got accepted into.
Early in my senior year, my parents were unsupportive of the colleges I chose to apply to. So, they created their own list of colleges for me to apply to. Looking back, I feel so stupid for complying with their decisions, even though I knew how difficult it would be to get admitted to those colleges.
Here’s the list of colleges I originally applied to:
-UC - Los Angeles (denied)
-UC - Berkeley (denied)
-UC (denied)
-CIT (denied)
-Rochester (denied)
-Mount St. Mary’s University - Maryland (accepted)
[[[ Here’s my question to everyone:
[[[ If I could not get into those colleges listed above, is it possible that I may be denied from transferring to the University of Washington or from any of the other colleges on my new list?
Hi hanaviolet,
I am still waiting for my financial aid letter to come. My mom already submitted the FAFSA forms, but she needed to send proof of my citizenship. So, I’m not sure if that will greatly affect how much money I will receive from UI or not. (The financial aid package means so much to me, since I am moving to Iowa from Maryland and I cannot receive any merit scholarships.)
I will look up more on the financial aid at UI, and see if I can apply to the honors college.
Thanks for your comment.
A more realistic list, sure, but paying for those schools OOS will be a problem. What state are you in? The CC route should be an option, and some schools have guaranteed transfers if your CC GPA is high enough.
Okay, we know now - the OP is in Maryland! That makes Iowa (and all the other state universities on his list) UNAFFORDABLE! State universities generally do not offer financial aid (other than Pell grant and federal loans) to out-of-state students.
At this point, @mcttan, it’s no longer about the “pros and cons” of taking a gap year . . . you have no choice. If you don’t want to attend Mount St. Mary’s and/or it’s unaffordable, you no longer have any affordable options. Attending college isn’t just about being admitted somewhere, it’s also about applying to schools that will be affordable. For you, if I’m correct that you live in Maryland, that means Maryland state schools. And if you didn’t apply to any, then you MUST take a gap year and try again!
You need to identify a range of schools (1) which are affordable and (2) where you’re likely to be admitted. No more “pie in the sky” schools - but affordable schools where you know your GPA and SACT/ACT scores will make you a top candidate.
Also, a request: No need to separate your replies to us into different posts - just make them separate paragraphs in the same post. And, to address a comment to a particular individual, just put the symbol @ before that person’s name, as I’m doing here: @mcttan. Thanks!
With all due respect, Aunt Bea–that is not the case for all industries and might even be more reflective of your husband’s industry. I have seen this on the ground level, from both a hiring partner and being formerly associated with an Ivy+ school. In short, while many state universities are top notch, they by and large, do not pull in the amount of recruiters, and not just informational tables, but folks who are actually going to make jobs offers, at any of the schools included at HYSPM. By way of example,Boston or Bain consulting do not recruit at the U of A, and they certainly don’t normally take a chance on students outside of finance or CS. So, while I think, state universities are top notch in some instances, you initially, and I would limit this to the first 5-7 years, post-graduation, get exponentially more exposure and potential employers in the beginning.
You made a good point about how expensive it is to attend a college outside my home state. So, I no longer want to transfer to another college anymore.
However, I am unsure of whether to accept your advice on getting a gap year because I don’t understand the concept of taking a gap year. To me, it means doing nothing for a long period of time after graduating high school and taking a huge risk on reapplying for schools that are affordable and either as good as or better than UI.
I am afraid of declining my acceptance from UI.
I found out that some colleges are accommodating of the gap year. The webpage that I found describes different university deferral policies for gap years. Here’s the webpage: http://www.americangap.org/fav-colleges.php
The only good college in my area is the University of Maryland - College Park. Everyone in my class who applied to UMD got accepted, so I believe that I can get accepted too.
I don’t really like that college. But if it is the only college that I can attend, then I might consider it.
What you suggest that I do about my gap year, if I were to take it? I will be researching more on gap years while I wait for your reply.
Gap years are out of the picture now. My parents don’t approve of it, and I myself am scared of declining my acceptance to UI.
Everyone in my family is willing to help me pay for college, and I am already applying for scholarships and looking for more scholarships to apply to once I become an undergrad student.
I hate to say it, but you’re not going to find a lot in the way of scholarships once you start at UI - perhaps a few thousand here or there (if you’re lucky), but nowhere near enough to pay that expensive OOS (out-of-state) tuition.
The point of the gap year is to give you a chance to apply to affordable colleges. Being admitted to UI isn’t going to do you a lot of good if you can’t afford it . . . and I think you said you’re still waiting for your financial aid package?
And as wonderful as it is that everyone’s willing to help you pay for college, do they understand that it’s going to cost over $160,000??? You could buy a house for that amount of money!
Do not put yourself (and your family) in debt to pay for UI. If the cost is too high, take a year off, get a job, and apply to a couple of affordable in-state schools (and perhaps one or two private colleges where you’d have a good shot at merit aid). And don’t think you’d be “wasting” the year . . . work experience is the best thing you can have on your resume when it comes time to apply for future internships and jobs. It even helps with grad school because it shows maturity. Get a job for a year, impress your boss, and you’ll have a recommendation that will be invaluable for whatever you decide to do in the future.
Also, if you’re a CS major, not applying to UM-CP when it is in-state for you makes close to zero sense. Paying more to attend UIowa for CS when UM-CP is in-state for you makes even less sense.
You do realize that UM-CP is one of the better schools for CS in this country, right?
Yes, I realize that UMD - College Park has a better computer science program than UI. But I only realized that after I got declined from the UC schools.
My reason for applying to UMD - College Park is because I don’t want to live in Maryland anymore. Since Maryland is just downright dangerous, I was hoping to go to college somewhere else.
Another reason why I didn’t apply is because my parents wanted me to apply to California schools, hoping that I could live close to our relatives there. I was stupid enough to agree with my parents, but there’s nothing I can do to change the decisions I made in the past.
You can take a gap year and apply to UMD again.
And College Park is dangerous? Really?
1.) Non-residents are estimated to pay $40,796.
This webpage shows the estimated costs of attendance for the UI class of 2015-16 (http://admissions.uiowa.edu/finances/estimated-costs-attendance).
2.) The tuition & fees seem expensive, but there are scholarship opportunities for me. As a member of the Honors College, not only will I get the best scholarships from the university, but have a better chance at winning large scholarships from outside sources as well.
This is the webpage for the Honors College (http://honors.uiowa.edu/).
3.) Gap years are out of the picture. My parents want me to go straight to college.
I’ve researched the pros and cons of gap years, and to sum it all up: it’s risky. Not only will my options for colleges be slimmer (since only some colleges are okay with students who take gap years), but there’s no guarantee that I will get into a.) UMD - College Park, b.) some other college within Maryland, or c.) a college with cheap tuition & fees.
Also, convincing my parents to let me take a gap year is impossible. The thought of seeing their child a year behind in education is something they don’t want to see come to reality.
The Freddie Gray riot isn’t the only thing that scares me; inmates rape prison guards, people get robbed, and fights break out. Considering that Baltimore has one of the highest crime rates in the U.S. (http://lawstreetmedia.com/crime-america-2015-top-10-dangerous-cities-200000-2/) and how UMD - College Park is 20-30 minutes away from there, I can’t imagine myself going to college there. Besides, I recall watching the news after taking my first college tour at UMD and there were students who not brought drugs to their dorms, but also guns to shoot each other.
It’s true that danger is present everywhere. But if I could go someplace safer than where I live now, then I’d gladly take that option.