<p>So I'm in senior year now. I just moved from Hong Kong to the states and is forced to go as a senior. I started school year one month late, AND I assumed that I could repeat a year but could not. So I have SO LITTLE time to prepare for university, take my SATs and produce a good application.</p>
<p>I'm seriously considering community college and transferring to a good university. What are the cons of a community college? and how hard is it to transfer to an above average - top uni like Georgetown and Northwesturn, how about UC Berkeley?</p>
<p>Or should I take a gap year and consider my chances then?</p>
<p>Also, I could apply to a below average uni but then I am not willing to pay for a university that I don't want to go to - my family's having a bit of financial problems. Plus, I won't have any federal need-based scholarships since I'm not a US citizen. It will also be hard to start applying for merit based scholarshipts as well. </p>
<p>I'm really desperate for ppl's advice. What do you think?</p>
<p>Are you a strong enough applicant that you’d have been competitive for Georgetown, NU and Berkeley had you gotten an earlier start? If so, then I’d think that a gap year could be a good option. After all, you were initially planning to invest an extra year in HS becoming acculturated to the U.S. You may want to google the AmeriCorps program and see if that might be an appealing alternative for next year.</p>
<p>Since you’re an int’l, you’re going to have trouble paying for college unless you get accepted to one of the few schools that give aid to int’ls, get a big scholarship, or commute to a local school.</p>
<p>Berkeley will charge you non-resident costs…$50k per year and won’t help you with aid.</p>
<p>If you take the SAT next month and do spectacularly on it, then apply to some top schools that give aid to int’ls or give big scholarships.</p>
<p>What exactly is your immigration status? Non-citizens who are permanent residents (green card holders) or hold certain immigration statuses (primarily refugees) are eligible for federally determined (FAFSA) federal aid. If you fall into one of those categories, you will be in-state for the public universities where you live. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, you are an international applicant. This is not a good thing if your family is short on money, and your best bet might be to return to your home country for your education.</p>
<p>Our local community college sends transfers to top colleges and universities every single year. The only way to find out where graduates of your local community college end up, is to ask the transfer counselors at that community college. You may be pleasantly surprised.</p>
<p>You also should make an appointment with your HS guidance counselor to find out whether you will indeed have fulfilled all of the graduation requirements by next June. It is possible that you are short one or two courses which would mean you need either summer school or another semester (or even two) before graduation. Most students wouldn’t like that option, but it might be a good one for you.</p>