<p>Hi everyone. I was just accepted at Sarah Lawrence as an international transfer student for the fall, but I received absolutely no financial aid from them. I would be a first semester sophomore, and I really want to attend, but if I do, the money my family allocated for my college will run out after 3 semesters there. I don't know if I should enroll anyway and hope that I can get an external scholarship after my first semester there, or beg at the finaid office in hopes that they'll give me a scholarship. I can't get federal loans because I'm not a US citizen, so at this point I don't know what to do. I would even marry a US citizen just so I could get federal aid, but that's illegal :) and most certainly stupid.
One other option would be to suck it up, stay at my current school one more semester and apply for Spring 2013 at more elite schools where they usually give higher aid...
ANY help would be greatly appreciated...</p>
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<p>IMO, neither of these are viable options.</p>
<p>Merit scholarships, whether Institutional or Outside, are mainly for entering fr. There are some for continuing students, but they are significantly less abundant and generally for much less money.</p>
<p>FA is based on need. So if the financial situation of your family does not change between now and a year from now, you will still not qualify for FA at SL.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t count on a Spring 2013 transfer either. First, not all of the schools you’re talking about take spring transfers. Second, and most importantly, the few schools that give generous FA to Intl. transfers can be counted on 1-2 hands and are extremely competitive for transfers. Looking at the Common Data Set for entering fr (SL does not give transfer stats), these colleges are an order of magnitude tougher to get into than SL. Admission rate for 2010/11 at SL was 62%, while the large endowment schools are in about the single digits.</p>
<p>I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but it’s better to understand the reality of the situation now rather than counting on things to happen that are extremely unlikely.</p>
<p>I’ve been in your position, I received a grand total of 1,000 grant aid for a 38,000/year school (USC). Decided to go public, and spend 80,000 elsewhere (actually not at all, never had the money to begin with). </p>
<p>But then again, it might be better to follow your heart, if that’s Sarah Lawrence, then so be it. If you have an inkling of doubt, I’d say find more suitable options. Good luck!</p>
<p>@entomom, you’re wrong, that’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I prefer blunt honesty over sugarcoating reality. I believe that what you say about FA is true, and I will probably not enroll this fall and stay at my current school instead. However, I think it’s worth trying applying to those other schools next Spring either way. I know I can keep a 4.0 GPA and I’ve taken an overload course every semester so far. Also, I’m currently doing an internship at my country’s Congress and will get 2 diplomas -on Environmental Policy and Creative Writing- before the end of the year, which will help build up my resume. We’ll see what happens. </p>
<p>@DJRicoTico, thanks for sharing. I didn’t apply to any public schools because I was looking for a smaller place and a less traditional education, but perhaps I’ll do so next term…</p>
<p>I think your plan is good, better than transferring and running out of funding midway through your degree. Best of luck!</p>
<p>It never, ever hurts to appeal for scholarship aid, especially from a school like SL that is known to offer support to international students. Email the finaid office and see what happens!</p>
<p>Sent from my BNTV250 using CC</p>