EFC is 0 -- Confused

<p>It is possible to transfer (depending on the school). I’m not sure what you mean by “will I be able to receive more financial aid?” Are you asking if you’ll get more aid at an in-state school?</p>

<p>No, I worded it wrong. What I meant was after I spent a year or two at a State School and I wanted to transfer to a different school will I still receive aid from the school I apply to? Or do I have to pay full tuition without aid? Like will they NOT accept me because I need aid and I’m a transfer is what I’m basically saying.</p>

<p>It depends on the school. There are policies that run the range of meeting full need w/out loans for transfers to colleges that look for transfers that can pay full freight.</p>

<p>One thing that I think is widely true, though, is that it’s harder to get large merit-based aid as a transfer than it is as an incoming freshman. Those programs are really targeted at pulling in high achieveing freshman… incentives to get them to choose a certain college over their other options.</p>

<p>Transfer students are not perceived to be shopping for deals in that way. They apply to fewer colleges to begin with, and often have parameters that limit their choices; academic programs, location, transferability of credits, etc.</p>

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<p>If you can get your unweighted to ~3.7 I would recommend mount holyoke and smith; 2 women’s colleges that are SAT optional. If you can grind it out and get a 3.7, in addition I suggest going to [The</a> National Center for Fair & Open Testing | FairTest](<a href=“http://www.fairtest.org%5DThe”>http://www.fairtest.org) to look up the sat optional list. From that list of schools, research the schools that meet 100% demonstrated need.</p>

<p>Definitely look at throwing an application at Questbridge. Also consider taking the ACT as some students do better on this test than the SAT</p>

<p>Not really sure I’ll be able to get that 3.7 seeing that my Junior year is almost over. I took both the SAT and ACT tests. I’ve basically given up on the idea that I’ll be attending my dream school right out of high school.</p>

<p>I was thinking and came up with a great idea. There are some colleges in California that aren’t outrageously expensive and that I would be willing to attend. I then thought ( since I really want to attend college in California ) That I would just transfer to one of the public universities in California and be considered an IN state applicant and I won’t have to pay the outrageous price for OOS students. What do you think? Would I be considered IN state since I would attend a college in California. Maybe even got a little apartment … I’ve got enough money saved up to pay for rent for a couple of months.</p>

<p>Your stats are largely going to determine your options. If your test scores and GPA aren’t high enough, then the schools that offer the best aid won’t likely accept you or give you great aid. OOS publics don’t usually give great aid, and the privates tend to give the best aid to those with good stats.</p>

<p>Once you have your test scores we can better advise you.</p>

<p>You don’t have to go to OSU…what do you think of UMiami or other OH publics?</p>

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<p>I agree with this advice. As others have said, you have to have strong credentials to get into most of those colleges, do your best in your grades and on your tests, and apply to some colleges of that kind that appeal to you.</p>

<p>No gamerchick don’t go off on that “maybe I can be instate for California”. There are posts and posts and posts from kids about this, not going to happen. Also California public colleges are expensive for out of state and even if you go to a California CC for two years and transfer the costs you will be charged by the CC as an out of state student which you will be will be equal to what you find many other places and you’ll still be out of state when you transfer to a UC…not a great idea. You are far, far better off doing the research on the women’s colleges and colleges that grant great aid and finding some where you are in the very top with your GPA and ACT/SAT scores as well as researching your state public schools and putting a list together that way…create a dream now that might realistically happen instead of a pipe dream and I guarantee you will be in a much better position next spring. Once you get your ACT/SAT scores and you’re pretty certain what your GPA is in a few weeks come back and ask for help with a list of colleges to research…</p>

<p>Yeah, sadly in-state status is really hard to achieve for out-of-staters. You can’t get it just by moving to CA and going to school. Check the website of your target UC’s and read the residency requirements. They are quite a reality check.</p>

<p>O one other thing I would mention. Not sure how feasible it is but I just got a letter from U of Illinois for a “study abroad scholarship”. Its sponsored by the engineering program but what it does is reduce tuition from 14k to 1k during the study abroad semester. Obviously I won’t be able to study abroad the WHOLE time but if I can do a year abroad then that is like 25k off the 4-year cost. Thats a big deal. </p>

<p>I don’t know how many other schools do this but you may consider studying abroad. I know many other schools provide scholarships for study abroad. I’ve never seen anybody offer that much but usually I’ve seen the 2-4k range. Every little bit helps.</p>

<p>gamechick, I grew up in Ohio. OSU isn’t the ONLY instate public university. In addition, you should be researching instate funding for students from very low income families. You may find that you DO qualify for some significant aid at places OTHER than OSU. Your goal should be to get a good undergrad education at an affordable cost. This may be in Ohio…and it may not be…but please…do not close the door on those instate universities in Ohio. You also might want to look into some of the smaller LACs in Ohio…Denison, Ashland, Ohio Wesleyan, for example. </p>

<p>And as others have said…get those SAT scores up as high as you can. That will help you with merit aid prospects. </p>

<p>Go and talk to someone at your school about what grants are available for students such as your self from Ohio who attend school in Ohio. Some states have funding for students in their state (TAPS in NY for NY residents for example).</p>

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<p>No…this would not qualify you for instate residency in CA.</p>

<p>@Mom2CollegeKids, I’ve thoroughly researched colleges in Ohio. Non of which appeal to me, I do realize I can’t be picky but I refuse to attend a college where I will not be happy. MiamiU is full of white, upperclass, snobby children who have no respect for minorities. I’ve thought about it because it has that small LAC feel but MiamiU is off of my list for now. I don’t want to make the mistake of attending somewhere where I’m not happy and ultimately end up dropping out. I’ve tried to escape Ohio many times before, now I’m realizing all of the many times I’ve slacked off, eventually it came back to me. I am barely making it through high school, i’ve been pretty consistent. I’ve always been the “poor, black kid” inside of an upper-class, white neighborhood. Though people fail to realize my mother is white, which ends up making the situation worst. I’m not quite sure I will be able to spend another year or two here in this state after high school.</p>

<p>I didn’t mean transfer to a college in California I meant move to California, then apply to college. My bad. California’s not the only place I will or want to live. Just a suggestion.</p>

<p>So how does this sound. What if I attend college in Ohio for a year OR two, and attempt to transfer to one of the More/Most selective smaller LAC OOS.</p>

<p>California Residency Requirements;</p>

<p>To be considered a California resident for purposes of fees, an out-of-state student must have lived in California for more than one year preceding the residence determination date.</p>

<p>Relinquish residence in other states, show an intent to establish residency in California and demonstrate financial independence.</p>

<p>Unmarried undergraduates from other states qualify as financially independent if they were not claimed by their parents or others as dependents for tax purposes for two preceding tax years and if their annual income is sufficient to meet their needs.</p>

<p>So what does financially independent mean?</p>

<p>Financial independence: you’re earning (or have in the bank, in your own funds) the money you need for living. You’re not being funded by your parents. You need to be able to prove enough income on which to reasonably live. Then comes the killer: if you’re earning $20K a year by then to support yourself, you’ll find that your first year of financial aid as an independent student will expect you to be able to contribute a good chunk of that last year’s earnings as your EFC for the next year of college.</p>

<p>And remember, taxes are filed the following year – if your parents claim you on their 2009 return (filed in April, 2010), you have to be not claimed in their 2010 return, and their 2011 tax return, which won’t be filed until April, 2012.</p>

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Says it all. For CA the rules for showing you are financially independent are that you must show sufficient income in your own name (not including any financial aid) to prove that you are paying all your own bills (school, rent, food, medical etc etc), and you cannot be claimed on your parents tax returns for the preceding 2 years.</p>

<p>Seems like you are a urm. If so, work on the SAT scores and apply to a couple of the women’s colleges that have been suggested. Take a look at Agnes Scott in Georgia, that might be a match.</p>