<p>Yes, it should be easy to maintain a 4.0 gpa, you can surely do that in a state uni as well (which would look better since large state unis have more credibility and respect). Since you will be in an F1 visa, you will still be considered an international and will be examined under the international pool for transfer time. If you could switch that visa and possibly get a residency in florida, you would be able to have an advantage, b/c then if you apply to your state unis, you will not be considered in the international pool for admissions (but for financial aid you will still be considered an international). However, your tuition would be half what your paying b/c then you would be counted as an instate person (unless you going to a private like florida tech). I went and looked around the florida institute of technology’s site, and it seems to put a lot of its emphasis on aeronautics. I believe that althought it is ranked 154, its most popular major is AN. The buildings and facilities are new and equipped. I don’t know if you’ll have great success transferring over to your desired ivy/tech, but you can get a good education at florida tech. You may even get special treatment if you converse a lot with the department head and everything. It all depends on how well you implement your resources. A plus to come here is that during summers, you can apply to summer research at your desired institute of transfer (ie mit, caltech…etc). Since you will be here, you won’t experience the barriers that many internationals abroad have.</p>