<p>Hello everyone! I must say, nice to see a forum devoted to topics such as this. First off, I am in a somewhat unique situation with my college career. I am a freshman going to a community college. Although the usual stay at the community college level is 2 years, I really don't want to stay here that long. To tell you the truth, I made a huge mistake by not going to a university to begin with. I had straight A's through high school with a 96 GPA, and a 29 on my ACT. Whether it was my procrastination about scholarships and applications, my parents' begging for me to stay home for another two years, or what, I made the decision to go to a local CC. I desperately want to transfer to a university next fall, after one year at this CC. I am currently trying to figure out what my best approach to this will be. It is more than obvious that the main hurdle I face is finances. My parents only make about $1000 per week, and will be able to offer me almost nothing in finances once I transfer. (probably why they wanted me to stay home to go to the CC) Now, I know that there is a good chance I will get scholarships to the university, but I really don't want to rely on that. I might have to resort to a student loan to cover what scholarships don't (which could possibly be a LOT) I am hoping that there may be grants other than the Pell or other types of financial aid that I'm not aware of. What do you all suggest for a student in my situation?</p>
<p>Well hopefully you have fewer than 12 semester hours, and with your stats you could go free to the University of New Orleans.</p>
<p>More info:</p>
<p>Undergraduate</a> Scholarships for Out-of-State Residents</p>
<p>I was given the Chancellor Scholarship a few weeks ago. I'm applying to better schools with financial aid (I'm international so the process is different than with domestic students). So in any case I could go free to college. If you have fewer than 12 semester hours you could go free as well. If you don't like UNO, you could transfer in two years, work in the mean time and have a few bucks for your next college. </p>
<p>Also, look at the FAFSA, I'm not too familiarized with it though.</p>
<p>Find out when deadlines are for the colleges you want to transfer to, for the application and for the financial aid. $52,000 a year, especially if you are not an only child, would probably make you eligible for aid. Most students on FA do take out a few thousand a year in loans, but you don't want to go over that. Don't procrastinate this year if you really want to change!!! Good luck!</p>
<p>First, check with your community college to see which four year colleges they have a "relationship" with. This would be good to know because those schools would accept all of your CC credits and some might even give you preferential admission depending on what type of deal the CC has with them.</p>
<p>First things first...have you filled out a FAFSA? If so, are you considered an independant student, or a dependant student? (If you answered no to every question in section three of the FAFSA, then you are considered to be dependant.) Students sometimes have a better chance for more aid if they're independant.</p>
<p>Either way, your FAFSA is still used to determine the expected family contribution(EFC), or the amount of financial support your family is expected to contribute toward your college education. The financial aid administrators for each school that you enter in on the FAFSA takes the cost of attendance for that school and subtracts the EFC, leaving the financial need remaining. This is what the financial aid admin uses to determine your financial aid package, which could include grants, scholarships, or loans.</p>
<p>Lurkie,
This student is looking for finaid for the 2008-09 school year. The FAFSA for that school year won't be available until January 2008. Also, your post implies that schools will meet the difference between your EFC and the cost of attendance. This is simply not true at MOST schools and the OP needs to know that. Most schools provide partial aid, not full aid. And many schools also use loans to meet need.</p>
<p>The likelihood of a student who is a first year college student...living at home..being independent is VERY low....very. </p>
<p>To be honest, if finances are a very significant consideration, the BEST financial bet for this student would be to finish all general ed requirements at the community college and then transfer to a four year school that has a relationship with that community college. Usually this would be an in-state public university where the costs would likely be lower than most private schools. This OP says there is a good chance for scholarship at the university...and if that is the case, they should apply soon and see. This student could apply to the few schools that meet full need, but even with that, a student contribution of several thousand dollars per year is expected.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help guys! Yea, to be a little more specific, I'm going to Bevill State CC in Fayette, AL right now. I know there are a LOT of transfers from here to the University of Alabama, as well as MSU and Auburn. I guess first things first: I need to apply for scholarships. Also, I am listed as a dependent student. I know the best chance of scholarships would probably be for me to wait until after my sophomore year to transfer, but I really don't want to do that for personal reasons I don't really want to get into. To be honest, UA has always been in the back of my mind, and I have a lot of friends going there. I'm planning to transfer as a Mechanical Engineering major, and I know Bevill's engineering department has a great relationship with them. I'm sure a visit to their admissions/scholarship office wouldn't be a bad idea as well. Any other general suggestions or suggestions about what to bring up when I meet with them that would help?</p>
<p>Anything else?</p>