31 year old CC student, parent of 2 special needs kids need advice on transfer

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<pre><code> I am a 31 year old Community College student. I will be graduating with my AA in May. I live in Wyoming, and my family needs to move. My son had total system failure after he was born and suffered some frontal lobe damage resulting in mental illnesses. He is 11 and quite a handful. He requires a lot of appointments and medication. My daughter is 4 and she was born with half a heart, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. She has been through 3 open heart surgeries and may require a heart transplant at some point. The high altitude here is causing high venous pressures for her and this can lead to liver damage. We need to move to a lower altitude, and to somewhere with a good children's hospital for cardiac care. We are focusing on New York and Pennsylvania right now.

 Despite all of the craziness in our lives, my husband and I have both been full-time students, my husband has worked full-time, and we are both graduating.  I am applying for transfer and my husband will take a semester or two off to get settled in a job after we move.  I applied to Penn State, and I am probably going to apply to Cornell.  I am wondering if anyone has any other recommendations or if anyone can chance me.  I also am concerned about cost.  I have been nominated for the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship, and if I win, I would not have to worry.  I have also been nominated for the ALL USA.  

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<p>My high school GPA was not that great at 2.8, but my CC GPA is 3.86 with over 60 credits. I will have all As this semester to bring my GPA even higher. I am also the VP of Service for Phi Theta Kappa. I was the Event Chair for the Relay For Life we had on campus. I organized domestic violence awareness presentations on campus, and I am organizing a Congenital Heart Defect Awareness week in my town. I will have a proclamation signed by the mayor, and a doctor will be speaking about the prevalence of heart defects. I also organized the honors in action project for our Phi Theta Kappa chapter this year that addressed decreased civility in the schools due to democratization of information. </p>

<pre><code> Overall, I need to succeed. Any advice on colleges I can look at, how to keep costs manageable, and anything else would be appreciated. Thank you.
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<p>The folks who follow cc most carefully are most tuned into opportunities for graduating high school seniors but it is great that you posted here - I think that this group can give you some good suggestions. Since you are interested in moving to NY, I wanted to say, the SUNY collleges have reasonable tuition for out of state students.</p>

<p>WOW! You are to be commended for your ambition and perseverance! </p>

<p>There are actually a number of parent posters on this site who are, themselves, non-traditional age students who might be helpful.</p>

<p>I would strongly suggest you look at some of the women’s liberal arts colleges. They are very supportive of non-traditional age students, and even have special programs designed for them. </p>

<p>Bryn Mawr: McBride Scholars [The</a> McBride Scholars Program - Bryn Mawr College](<a href=“http://www.brynmawr.edu/mcbride/]The”>http://www.brynmawr.edu/mcbride/)
Wellesley: Davis Scholars [Wellesley</a> College - Admission & Financial Aid - Especially for Prospective Nontraditional Students](<a href=“http://web.wellesley.edu/web/Admission/GetToKnowUs/espnontraditional.psml]Wellesley”>http://web.wellesley.edu/web/Admission/GetToKnowUs/espnontraditional.psml)
Smith: Ada Comstock Scholars [Smith</a> College: For Nontraditional Students: Home](<a href=“http://www.smith.edu/admission/ada.php]Smith”>Ada Comstock Scholar Applicants | Smith College)
Mount Holyoke: Frances Perkins Program: [Nontraditional</a> Age :: Admission :: Mount Holyoke College](<a href=“http://www.mtholyoke.edu/admission/nontraditional.html]Nontraditional”>http://www.mtholyoke.edu/admission/nontraditional.html)</p>

<p>While I am most familiar with the Smith and Mount Holyoke programs, and it would likely be possible to find reasonably priced family housing in Western Massachusetts, those schools are not as close to as many medical research hospitals as Wellesley or Bryn Mawr. Springfield, the closest major city to Smith and Mount Holyoke, has a couple of excellent hospitals, but not the same quantity and caliber as the Philadelphia area (Bryn Mawr) and the Boston area (Wellesley). You would find really top notch care and therapy for your children in the Philadelphia or Boston area.</p>

<p>The entire Boston area is pretty expensive from a housing perspective. Bryn Mawr is in an expensive area of Philadelphia, but it’s likely you’ll find more reasonably priced housing near Bryn Mawr than near Wellesley.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you! Let us know how things turn out.</p>

<p>harmontm,
I think you should get referrals to Pediatric specialists, particularly for your daughter, before choosing a college.
Both Penn State and Cornell are in rural parts of their states and far from their prestigious medical centers.</p>

<p>Isn’t Penn State near Geisinger which I’ve always heard is top notch?</p>

<p>I’ll toss something else out… is there any chance that any of the places you are considering for college and medical care for your children are ALSO near another family member? It seems to me that you could use a good support system especially since you will still be in school.</p>

<p>U Pitt would be a great place for you, as far as medical care availability. (I would aim at universities located in major cities with top-notch medical centers if I were in your situation…)</p>

<p>Wow, thank you so much for all of the advice. Our daughter’s cardiologist has told us that the hospitals in New York are good. Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Boston have excellent children’s hospitals as well. We are shying away from Boston and Philadelphia because it is so expensive. My parents live in Washingtonville, NY, so we would be 3-6 hours away from them which is much better than where we live now. I do not mind being a couple of hours from the hospital because we are currently a couple of hours from Denver’s Children’s Hospital right now and it has been fine. I love the University of Pittsburgh too, but I am nervous about living in a bigger city. I may check out some of the women’s liberal arts colleges mentioned. I really feel drawn to Penn State and Cornell for some reason. Does anyone on here live in Pittsburgh? I would be interested to know what you think about the city. Is it safe? Is it expensive? Thank you again for everyone’s advice. This is a big move and I will take any advice I can get.</p>

<p>Pittsburgh has been voted as “most livable city” for a couple of years in a row. It is very affordable compared to Philadelphia or any other East coast city, and it has a somewhat “small town feel” - seems like lots of people know each other…
Some neighborhoods are safer than others. I would recommend looking at Mount Lebanon or Cranberry if you are looking for safety and affordability. Shadyside and Squirrel Hill are very nice and closer to the university, but more expensive.</p>

<p>You are very impressive. If you are interested in women’s schools - how about Hood.
[Hood</a> College | Welcome](<a href=“http://www.hood.edu/]Hood”>http://www.hood.edu/)
You would be near both John’s Hopkin’s Hospital and Washington’s Children. You could live in a semi-rural enviroment and be near cities and also several counties which have very strong special education programs in the public schools.</p>

<p>My daughter is a sophomore at Pitt and loves the city. It is not a huge city and has a reasonable cost of living. </p>

<p>Before someone mentioned Pitt, I thought that you might look at Baltimore in general. There are many fine hospitals and quite a few schools as well, including Johns Hopkins. South of Baltimore (between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.) the schools are better, but the cost of living is higher. I wish you and your family the best.</p>

<p>Cornell is in the middle of nowhere.</p>

<p>What do you want to study?</p>

<p>What kind of work does your husband do?</p>

<p>Cornell is a very cool place, and amazing for the right person, but it’s in central New York state and not close to anything.</p>

<p>Pitt has the advantage of many college choices and probably many hospitals too. I think housing is affordable there - wen BIL went to Carnegie Mellon in the 1980s, some of the grad students were able to afford buying a house. </p>

<p>Best of luck on the scholarships!</p>

<p>other places with great childrens’/cardiac hospitals and reasonable costs of living include Cleveland (Rainbow Babies & Children, the Cleveland Clinic) and Houston (the whole TX medical center). There are lots of good schools in both places, most notably Case Western in Cleveland and Rice in Houston. Both have more of a reputation in science but you can study other things there, too. Don’t know what their transfer policies are, though. University of Michigan is a great school with an excellent children’s hospital (a new building is opening next fall [The</a> New University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital](<a href=“http://www.med.umich.edu/mott/touch/new_hospital.html]The”>http://www.med.umich.edu/mott/touch/new_hospital.html)) Ann Arbor public schools are very good, too, and rent is low–you could find a nice 3 bedroom within a mile or two of campus for well under $2000. </p>

<p>I agree that knowing what you want to study and your husband’s line of work would be helpful. Also, are you interested in places that have excellent public school/special ed systems as well? And how far are you willing to commute to school?</p>

<p>Wouldn’t you and your husband need to find work before you move? I know Cornell is cutting back due to the economy, and it is one of the biggest employers in Ithaca, even if you were accepted at Cornell, how would you support your family?</p>

<p>Harmontm, the best of luck to you…if I was an admission officer i would take you, and if I decided fin aid, I would give you a free ride…</p>

<p>You will add a lot to a student body.</p>

<p>

No, Penn State is in State College, Pennsylvania and Geisinger is an hour away Danville. Penn State isn’t near any academic hospital. Geisinger is a good hospital, but not regarded as a top one (at a national level at least). It’s probably the best in the middle of the state. Penn State’s own medical center (and children’s hospital) is in Hersey about two hours away from State College.</p>

<p>In Pennsylvania, you want to either look to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), which is affiliated closely with the University of Pennsylvania and largely regarded as the top children’s hospital in the US, and Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), also ranked at the top and boasting a brand new $700 million state-of-the-art hospital campus. Both are two of only eight children’s hospitals in the US to be ranked in all ten of US New’s pediatric specialty rankings (see [here](<a href=“http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-childrens-hospitals/articles/2010/06/02/best-childrens-hospitals-2010-11-the-honor-roll.html]here[/url]”>http://health.usnews.com/health-news/best-childrens-hospitals/articles/2010/06/02/best-childrens-hospitals-2010-11-the-honor-roll.html)</a>). Pennsylvania is lucky to have two of the world’s top children’s hospitals in the same state, and both of their reputations are well deserved.</p>

<p>You are all giving me some great ideas of places I can look into. To answer some of the questions, my husband works for the Department of Criminal Investigations for Wyoming. It is a state job and works well for us. It is definitely a risk to move in this economy. We need to do it for our daughter though because of the altitude. I am an English major. I write, and I would like to get into publishing as well. I have also considered teaching. Pittsburgh is looking better and better because of the hospital. I know Penn State seems far from a hospital, but it is only 2 1/2 hours from Pittsburgh. That is close to the distance we are from my daughter’s current hospital. She only requires yearly cardiac visits and periodic heart caths right now. Hopefully her heart will remain strong for a long time.</p>

<p>op, I know you are thinking north east, but give some thought to Houston, Texas. They have one of the largest children’s hospitals in the country, the cost of living is reasonable, and you would not have to deal with the cold along with everything else.</p>

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<p>Personally, I would choose closer proximity to a good hospital, since you know that will be in your future and you have another child in the mix. One can get a decent education at most colleges, but having to commute to first-class medical care and having to worry about a second child back home is not ideal. The stress on families having to rent lodgings in a second location for months while a family member undergoes serious medical treatment is very real.</p>