<p>I'm planning on applying to;
Minnesota State,
San Francisco State,
Dominguez Hills,
St Cloud State or
Grand Valley State. </p>
<p>Or maybe two of them (but that doesn't matter) </p>
<p>I'm currently re-taking my A Levels, well diploma as I didn't do as well as expected. I got ABD. So taking those grades into consideration do you think I'll be able to get into any of the above universities? This year I'm hoping to get ABB or AAC. </p>
<p>My list of extra curricular's;
. Volunteer at my schools Connexions library where I helped pupils find a college that suited them and answered any questions they may have.
. I've been doing majorettes for 5 years (nearly 6 years when I apply) 4 (hopefully 5) of which I have been a leader (or an equivalent)<br>
. I'm about to start volunteering at my local soup kitchen
. I was part of a drama class before the group disbanded </p>
<p>I've done more but those are within the past 3 years, before that though I have
. Taken keyboard lessons
. Was a ''bully buddy'' --- in other words helped kids that were getting bullied
. Part of my schools choir
. Taken part in school plays from when I was aged 3-11</p>
<p>I have also got 7 (hopefully soon to be 8) GCSE's at grade C-B, which are English lit and lang, German, Drama, History, Media (worth 2 GCSE's). I'm retaking my maths this year and hopefully my science the year after. </p>
<p>Any chance of me getting into any of them?</p>
<p>I also forgot to mention that if I don't get in I have back ups over here, which are Manchester, Leeds, University of Gloucestershire and Sheffield.</p>
<p>4kidsdad - I haven’t taken them yet, and for many it doesn’t mention anything about them or says that they aren’t required. </p>
<p>Yeah I know that, although it’s ‘‘only’’ around another £2000 a year. I know it sounds a lot but for if I were to be doing it over here just for the tuition fees it costs up to £9000 ( which many charge) and then another £2000-£2500 for the room, which doesn’t include meal plans like it does in the US, so food on top of that which is an extra £1200(ish) and then not including transport or books and resources it kinda equals out, well the ones that I have been looking at it does anyway.</p>
<p>All of these are public schools which, as a full-pay international student, you should have no problem getting into. These schools rarely require any ECs, only decent grades and scores. And your money </p>
<p>Also, you do realize, that none of these schools are particularly “good”? Meaning, they have no “prestige” factor, they’re simply commuter schools that largely attract students who weren’t good enough to get into the main university. (That’s the case with the California campuses, at least.) Also, when calculating costs, take into consideration ongoing annual tuition hikes (usually over 10%) and the fact that it’s almost impossible to graduate in 4 years from California State schools. They’ve had severe budget cuts over the years, limiting the amount of classes they can offer - students find even when going to school full time, they can’t get into all the required courses in only 4 years.</p>
<p>Kataliamom- I know they aren’t the best but I’m not clever enough to get into any of the Ivies or liberal art colleges plus they’re really expensive, like way over my budget, even with very little FA they’d offer me I still wouldn’t be able to afford to go, even if I went to a uni in my own country I’d be in a lot of debt. So where ever I go I’m going to be in debt. I’m terrible when taking exams so I couldn’t even rely on my SAT or ACT scores to get me in, hence why most of the ones I picked out don’t require them, plus I couldn’t travel to London by myself (as my mum would say)</p>
<p>I generally encourage young people to take risks in order to follow their dreams. I’ll be the last person to tell you that you cannot or shouldn’t go to the US, but I do want you to take well-informed risks. I’d like to show you a couple of potential pitfalls that some students don’t think of. </p>
<p>San Francisco State University estimates that international students need a yearly budget of $37,000. That includes tuition, room and board, personal expenses, medical insurance and airfare. </p>
<p>Since you said that you’d need a loan to cover tuition in the UK, I’ll assume that a significant portion of that would come out loans. Taking yearly tuition increases into account, let’s assume that you’d graduate with $100,000 of debt after 4 years. That’s assuming that you could get a loan at all. Most European banks would not lend that much money to college students without significant income or assets, and American banks don’t give loans to foreign students either. Most likely you’d need the help of your parents. Would you parents be able and willing to take out a $100,000 loan for you? </p>
<p>Let’s assume you get the finances figured out and graduate from college. Now you need to find a job. Unfortunately, you are probably not going to be able to work in the US. In order to qualify for a work visa, you’d need a job that pays above-average wage for that profession. Not the kind of job that recent college graduates with limited work experience from an average university get. </p>
<p>So you’d have to go back to Europe. How would European employers perceive your American college degree? Are you going to be at a disadvantage compared to local college students if you didn’t have an opportunity to network and intern with employers?</p>
<p>And then there’s the question of paying back your loans. UK deferred tuition government loans come with very favorable loan terms; your payments are adjusted to your income, for example. That’s not normally true for private loans. You’d have to make payments on your $100,000 loan regardless of whether you earn $20,000 or $80,000 a year. </p>
<p>Do you have the support you need to make this work (e.g. access to loans) and are you willing to take the risks involved?</p>
<p>I’ll be brutal: these schools aren’t worth $100,000 debt. They’re not worth half that debt. It’s like agreeing to pay a top-of-the-line Mercedes price for a Ford Fiesta. You’d be much better off going to Leeds or Manchester.</p>
<p>b@r!um - No my parents aren’t in a place where they can help to fund my education so I would be relying on loans and if possible scholarships, which I have a found numerous websites for both. </p>
<p>katliamom - Yeah I guess, thanks for your help. Although I don’t really want to go to either as I’d rather study abroad I will definitely be applying to both. </p>
<p>Also what about the University of Nebraska Omaha? Is it any good?</p>
<p>KatliaMom: I’m sorry, but I take offense to the way you’ve described the Cal States. Yes they are commuter schools and no, they’re not “GREAT” in the way of prestige, but many students who are offered admission to those schools can’t afford the UC’s costs, so they attend those CAL States. Guess what? Prestige and arrogance are not important to some of those students. The CC’s are the ones losing the most monies and those students are taking 3-4 years to transfer, so students opt to go the route of Cal States. </p>
<p>An education in the US is an education. Yes, we in California are suffering from significant budget cuts, but students keep coming to California. If there were room at all of the HYPS, then maybe everyone would go to those universities; there isn’t room, so American students have to go somewhere. Believe it or not, they get jobs after attending those universities! They go to grad schools. They transfer to UC’s! So if those kids can save $100K, more power to them!</p>
<p>They’re cheaper than what I’m paying for a UC, and our daughter was seriously considering them so that we wouldn’t have to pay full tuition at the UC.</p>
<p>OhitsKayleigh: before you come to the states, consider the costs of a US education. It is expensive.</p>
<p>Looking at Uni of Manchester, they appear to have a very extensive study abroad program with several options in the USA. I haven’t looked at your other UK choices, but perhaps this would be a more financially viable option for you?</p>
<p>Cupcake - Thank you, I would but that’s only for Manchester Uni Business school students not anyone else or it would have been an option but thank you anyway. </p>
<p>Aunt Bea - I know, I’ve been looking into and it’s really expensive but over here is expensive too. I researched how much it would cost for a year at Leeds Uni and it came back at $26,124 per year and that’s not including personal expenses so it would be nearer $30,000 per year which I could get over in the US for about the same. </p>
<p>I’ve found the perfect college but the only problem is is that it’s a CC, is that a problem? They accept international students, but will I get the exact same experiences if I went to a uni instead? Also I want to be a casting director or something along those lines would going to a CC for a year or two and then transferring hurt my chances of that happening and getting into a different uni?</p>
<p>CCs are popular, and you can indeed transfer to a 4-year university. In terms of getting a job as a casting director - or any job within the entertainment industry - what counts is experience and contacts, not a degree. So what you’d need to be doing is targeting schools in the Los Angeles/ NYC area where the industry is strongest. Problem with that is that, as an international student, you won’t be eligible to work within the industry, and that will dramatically cut your odds of making your contacts and getting that experience. </p>
<p>If you’re really set on working in film/theater, England would be the much better choice.</p>
<p>Kataliamom - Yeah I found a CC in NY and one in CA so I’ll possibly go to them and either transfer back over to the UK (depending on cost and how much I like it) or transfer to a uni and continue my degree there hopefully. I know England would be a good choice and it’s not definite that I’m going to study abroad I’m just looking into it.</p>
<p>You do realize that your American community college classes won’t transfer to a university in the UK? American students spend most of their first two years on general education classes, whereas British students focus on their major from day 1. You’d have to start your degree from scratch if you go back to the UK.</p>
<p>Why not enter a British university and then do a year/semester abroad in the US as part of your studies in England? That would be an easier, cheaper, more practical (and I think academically superior) solution.</p>
<p>Note that you can’t necessarily transfer to ANY university you want. Most community college students transfer to public 4-year universities in the same state. Changing states often means you will have to repeat a few classes – there’s usually a loss of some credits in a transfer, especially if you’re changing states.</p>
<p>kataliamom- I really don’t want to go here, it’s my last option. I hate it over here, I feel like I don’t belong here, I’ve been to many places here and I haven’t felt like I belong in any of them, so I’m trying abroad for a year. Yeah I’m fine with that.</p>
<p>Okay. I apologize for my tone. I guess I am having a hard time understanding why you’d go into debt for a community college education just to go back to the UK afterwards. Community college won’t give you the traditional American “college experience” and it also won’t help you towards your UK degree.</p>
<p>b@r!um- No need to apologise, plus I’m sorry if I sounded snappy and horrible at all I’m just stressed. Thank you for the info I guess a CC isn’t for me. There’s just so much to consider and everyone’s telling me different things that it’s getting confusing, like some people are telling me that CSU’s are okay to go and then others are telling me they aren’t, I mean are they okay to go to or aren’t they? Have you studied abroad?</p>
If you just want to be adventurous and go abroad for a year without necessarily going to college, there are much cheaper ways of doing that: Australia has “working holidays” visas for young adults; there are some one-year “cultural exchange” work programs in the US; or you could be an Au Pair or volunteer in Africa or do all sorts of things. </p>
<p>I know the feeling of “not fitting in” at home and wanting to try my luck abroad all too well. But going into debt for a third-rate education is probably not the best way to go about it. You’ll regret it a few years from now.</p>
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