<p>Posted also in International Students Forum.</p>
<p>Hi guys,
I hail from a poor south-east Asian country and it has been 10 years since I graduated high school. I started studying in Germany but had to drop off due to financial difficulties.
After spending the last 3 years working at a software company, I am looking forward to continue studying in the US. </p>
<p>Which school would you recommend someone with :</p>
<ul>
<li><p>No letters of recommendation
never asked for one, my former teachers definitely have forgotten me by now.</p></li>
<li><p>a pretty good ACT score (I think...)
After not attending any class for years, tried my hand on doing a full ACT test from an ACT practice book scored 28 or 29. Almost full score in Reading and Science, pretty good in English and abysmal in Math. If I were to study Math, I am pretty sure I can get it up to 30-31 at least since I couldnt understand many math problems due to the language barrier.
Haven't tried SAT yet because it's so time consuming.</p></li>
<li><p>Weak financial capabilities
Can afford up to 10k $ per year. So will be looking for loans, grants, scholarship, etc. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Other things that might be relevants :</p>
<ul>
<li><p>TOEFL should be no problem at all.
Except for having to waste 250$ on it.</p></li>
<li><p>Not really caring for the college / university rank / reputation
As long as it provides an okay education with affordable price</p></li>
<li><p>Dont mind attending college with religious affiliation</p></li>
<li><p>Preferred majors would be Economics or History</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks for your help !</p>
<p>PS
By the way, I will be around 28 years old by the time I enroll as a freshman
if that has an effect on anything.</p>
<p>Really, a community college would be an excellent way to start. Beyond that, look at the State and City Universities of New York:</p>
<p>[State</a> University of New York Prospective Student Website](<a href=“http://www.suny.edu/student/index.cfm]State”>http://www.suny.edu/student/index.cfm)
[More</a> than 4000 courses throughout New York City - Continuing Education - The City University of New York](<a href=“http://web.cuny.edu/academics/academic-programs/con-ed.html]More”>http://web.cuny.edu/academics/academic-programs/con-ed.html)</p>
<p>I did take a look at some community colleges. But it seems to me that they are not very well suited for international students. The tuition fee for non-resident is at least double, if not triple that of a resident. Meaning it is almost just as costly as a full fledged university.</p>
<p>As for SUNY, the annual tuition + fee is 15k while the lodging costs 10k.
I would love to live in NYC but that is just way above what I can afford right now.
EDIT: Checked CUNY, its the same thing nonresident pays triple</p>
<p>I am looking at christian and mormon schools right now since their prices seem more reasonable.
BYU Hawaii apparently has some kind of a program that offers almost full scholarship to students from Pacific, I’d rather experience living in the mainland US if at all possible though.</p>
<p>American banks don’t typically give loans to int’l students without an American co-signer because they’re concerned that the int’l student will return to his home country after graduation and not pay.</p>
<p>Since you’re not an incoming freshman, getting a scholarship is also unlikely.</p>
<p>You’re only chance is to apply to some schools that are known to give aid to int’ls. The problem is there are very few and most wouldn’t be able to meet the need that you have.</p>