<p>Okay, so I don't have 240,000 USD laying around to pay 4 years of a private university. My family can take a home equity loan but I really don't think it's worth it to go to NYU, BU or GWU from the start if my parents have to owe 100,000$ AND my house would be the guarantee, which I really don't like. I am an international student so I don't qualify for need-based aid for most colleges.
My plan is going to an affordable college with a good business program and transferring to a private one (I know private doesn't necessarily mean better, but it does within my college choices) in the spring of sophomore year, or fall junior year. Which time would you recommend me to transfer? Is the earlier the better, or is starting a whole new academic year the best option?
Anyway, I'd have enough money for 2 and a half years of a private college with reasonable debt (20,000$-50,000$ depending on how much the first college costs) IF the first college I go to is below 25k for tuition. My top choice right now is Baruch, even though my stats are way better than that college's average. The thing is I REALLY want to live in NYC at least for a little while, and I think Baruch is a bargain since it is so affordable (like 15-16k tuition OOS) and it supposedly has a good business program. I know NYC is expensive, but even if I rent my own apartment, it would cost at least 30,000$ less than most top private colleges.
I would get the best grades I can and then I would apply to the following colleges: NYU Stern (I know, it would be a VERY long shot), Upenn Wharton (very long shot), Georgetown (I still know, very long shot as well), BU, Northeastern, GWU, UC Berkeley, USC, and Fordham (do you think it would be worth it to transfer from Baruch to Fordham Lincoln Center?)
Please give me advice on this. I appreciate it.</p>
<p>Go to community college and transfer. </p>
<p>Be realistic about your chances for transfer admission to schools like Penn or Georgetown. Overall transfer admission rates to those schools are about 10%. The chances for transfer into Wharton must be much lower than that.</p>
<p>I am transferring to Emory from a community college. Penn is rediculously hard to trabsfer into. Even if your stats are good enough, pre reqs MUST be met! Aid is also not garunteed</p>
<p>Generally the best time to transfer is after two years and you should take all the impacted pre requisites you can. However, each university you want to transfer to will have its own course requirements for transfers and you will need to know them inside out.</p>
<p>Do well at the college you start at and then transfer. You have a few options: community college for 2 years, your state flagship, or schools that promise to meet 100% of need or merit for transfers.</p>
<p>I think transferring at the start of junior year is a good idea as it will give colleges a good sense of your college academic record and give you the most time to get acclimated (compared to between semesters which may be a little hectic) Plus, the more time you spend with a public/more affordable option, it means LESS DEBT, which is really important in the long run (you’ll thank me later)</p>
<p>Baruch seems to be a good option for you. Remember also to take into account other things like cost of living, fees, and things you plan to do there. Heck, many people may find that they like their new college so much (and have good enough opportunities) that they change minds about transferring. While I can’t say that will be true for you, choose a college you feel you can do well in and excel from there! Good luck in your college search</p>
<p>Remember that transfer have less access to financial aid than freshmen, so if you qualify academically for a school that meets 100% need it may be a better deal than transferring after 2 years if your in-state public options are expensive. However if your goal is to attend a SUNY or CUNY, community college can be a good choice provided you choose one that has very good transfer rates (ie., 40+% transfer to 4-year colleges) and low dropout rates. If the majority students around you aren’t interested in transferring, the teaching won’t be geared toward that and prerequisites may not be offered so you have to choose carefully.</p>
<p>You seem like the perfect candidate for a CUNY. Baruch has an amazing program and accepts applications throughout the year. If you want, you can apply to a NY community college like BMCC and then transfer into Baruch. It is much easier to transfer to Baruch if you are already in the CUNY system.</p>
<p>I think, this is just my opinion, that you should find a school that is cheap and that you like. I wouldn’t transfer, though if you are set on going to one of those big name schools then your plan seems alright just understand that transfer chances are not very high compared to normal admissions. Going back to my original point, find a cheap school that you like with a decent program and then just enjoy it, get good grades, make new friends and in the end everything will work out</p>
<p>Pick a school that is affordable and you like. (That may be Baruch…) Don’t count on being able to transfer to a significantly better school: transferring is more difficult in most cases. I’m basically in agreement with Runner22.</p>
<p>Have you considered applying as a freshman to any of the schools that do offer aid to international students?</p>