Gap Year, Community College, or Home Country University?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>So right now I'm in a bit of a sticky situation. All the way back in last year's October, I explicitly told my parents that I would only be applying to the top universities in America, with no safeties. This is simply because my parents would be unable to pay for my tuition unless I got at least a half-tuition scholarship. As I am an international student, only the top universities would give such a scholarship. They agreed.</p>

<p>Honestly, that year was a mess. Since I had no counselors/older siblings/ANYBODY who was familiar with applying to an American university, my SAT scores were all messed up. I had no time to take a retest so my SAT was 1970 but it could've easily been 2100+, since my math score for it was only 670. Also, since my science curriculum has a different approach to American highschools, I only got 710 and 670 in Biology and Physics respectively (Basically, i was an expert on some questions and didn't even learn the topics of other questions). The only good score was probably math II - 770. If I could retake them now, I could get 2100+ on SAT and 750+ on physics and biology.</p>

<p>Of course, I didn't get into any of the universities. After being in denial for a while, I started applying to universities in my home country. Now, my parents came to me and said that they would've paid for my university "somehow" if I got into a safety one. So now, they're pushing me to apply to a community college and transfer.</p>

<p>Now the thing is, on the financial aid forms of applications, they wrote that they could only pay $3000 per year. I have also seen their salary. I'm still highly uncertain they could even pay for a CC or the university that I transfer to, since there is a high chance I won't get a scholarship when I transfer. They are probably expecting me to get a loan, but I'm highly reluctant to do that, due to all the loan repayment horror stories. When I ask how they will pay, they just tell me to worry about that after I get accepted somewhere. They have PhD's from an ivy league school so they are very determined to get me into America (btw, they transfered to America for masters and PhD, so they still didn't have any clue about how to get into america for undergraduate).</p>

<p>Another thing to consider. When I studied in America in 9th and 10th grade, I was an almost straight-A student (with only 1 or 2 B's at all times). When I was forced to move to my home country, I had highly fluctuating grades (from D's to 100's) due to my 11th and 12th grade school's method of grading (basically, one test is worth 70% of the marking period). So in 11th and 12th grade, I have an 80% average. That may hold me back even if i get perfect SAT scores.</p>

<p>SUMMARY: I have three options.
Option 1: taking a gap year and reapply next year.
+ allows me to retake SAT tests
- grades may hold me back anyways
- I have nothing prepared to do during the gap year</p>

<p>Option 2: go to a community college and transfer
+ relatively safe route. I believe I could easily get the 3.8+ gpa needed to transfer to another university
- uncertain if parents could pay
- i'll probably be unable to go to the top top universities</p>

<p>Option 3: go to a university in my home country
+ still a pretty good education
+ could always transfer to America later
+ definitely affordable
- Since i've lived in America all my life, I'm not entirely fluent in the language of my home country. At least, not enough to study with the language. So I would have to learn it.
- it's not America.....</p>

<p>I also have the option of going to another country, but that's only after I get my A-level results back in August.</p>

<p>Any opinions on what I should do?</p>

2

<p>Option 1 is the best for you since you’re not quite familiar with your parent’s country’s culture and language, but want to return to the US where you lived 15 of your 17 years (which makes sense).
Option 2: you won’t get a scholarship to transfer (internationals don’t get transfer scholarships). So you’ll be stuck with a community college degree.
Option 3: same problem, you can’t transfer and since you don’t really speak the language you wouldn’t have good enough grades to be certain you’d be admitted to a funded graduate program…
I assume you don’t have a “green card” and will need a visa?
Is a year as an exchange student in a US high school a possibility for you? Many countries organize that. It may also exist for a year in an English-speaking country (not the US). It counts as cultural discovery/gap year and you can use it to improve your school record.
Finally, if you can go and get a degree in another country the language of which you speak and the culture of which you know, you may see this as an alternative, preparing your BA there and then applying to US grad schools.</p>

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<p>@MYOS1634
Hhmm I see. How bad is not having prepared for the gap year though?</p>

<p>Anymore opinions would be appreciated!!</p>

4

<p>Raypen -</p>

<p>As you know, you will not get a student visa unless you can demonstrate that all of your costs of attendance will be covered. $3,000 each year won’t even pay in-district tuition and fees at most community colleges, so unless you have a free place to live and can also manage an out-of-district tuition/fees waiver, that option is out.</p>

<p>You and your parents should read through everything at <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/&lt;/a&gt; and then you should pay a visit to the advising center closest to where you live. <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php&lt;/a&gt; EducationUSA is a not-for-profit organization that receives much of its funding from the US government. If your local advising center charges any fees, they will be very small, and they will go toward maintaining the services of that particular center. The counselors who work there (many are volunteers) are expert at helping students from your country find good places to study in the US, and pride themselves on providing accurate, unbiased information. They will be able to tell you which colleges/universities here have admitted students like you in recent years, and whether or not those students received the aid that they needed.</p>

<p>You also should read through some of b@r!um’s old posts in the International Students Forum. She has written about her search for financial aid which included investigating 300 colleges and universities here. If you send her a PM, she may be able to provide you with advice on search techniques.</p>

<p>MYOS1634 is correct that aid is limited for international students who transfer - whether they are coming from a US college/university or from one outside the US. If you need significant aid to make this work, your best option is to apply as a freshman student. You do not have to come up with some big “save the world” project during your gap year. Just keep yourself occupied with something interesting (and possibly that will also earn you some money) while you prep for the ACT/SAT/TOEFL etc. again.</p>

<p>However, you do need to know that the only safeties in the US for international applicants are the very small number of institutions that offer guaranteed full-rides based on grades and exam scores and that also make that offer to international applicants. Start with this thread from the Financial Aid Forum, and see if any would work for you: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html?highlight=bobwallace[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html?highlight=bobwallace&lt;/a&gt; As you will see, there are very few places that offer this. You may not meet their criteria, and you might not like them even if you do. But you do need to know that with your need, every other college/university in the US is a big reach!</p>

<p>Presumably, your parents were educated in your home country before coming to the US for their graduate studies. That option may also be the best route for you to follow. As you look at the universities in your home country, find out if they have any semester or school year exchanges with colleges and universities here. If exchanges exist, that would almost certainly be a more affordable way for you to get a bit of the US college experience.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>

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<p>I second the EducationUSA suggestion by happymomof1 above.
A gap year is a year dedicated to doing something other than college. Working and studying English to improve your test scores is a good way to spend time. If you can pursue a passion in addition to that, all the better.
Try to find college prep books (even if they’re 5 years old and second hand, they’ll still be useful) and practice as much as you can.
Also, did you apply to Berea College or did you only include the 8 schools at the top of the wikipedia list?
All the schools on the list have excellent financial aid but you need to make the cut since they’re very selective.
[Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission]Need-blind”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia)
If you don’t, you’ll need schools that offer “full rides” on academic merit. Happymomof1 gave you a very useful list since the scholarships there are automatic, but there are competition-based full rides, too (Johnson at Washington&Lee, for example).
Finally, look into the CommonApp schools that are free to apply and apply for their Honors Program and Merit scholarships in addition to applying there.</p>

<p>So now you have lots of schools to which you should demonstrate your interest by going to their website and clicking “request information” or “join our mailing list”. If you create a personalized page, you’ll need to go and check it from time to time.
They will send you free brochures about their schools, that you’ll be able to read at home. Of course, when reading, remember they’re marketing tools, but they do point out the school’s strengths and unique programs, etc.
Finally, you should read this section from the NYT, especially the student blogs - this year, there was a student from India and a student from South Africa who were chronicling their year of applying to colleges.
[College</a> Admissions Advice - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/]College”>http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/)
The NYT has a limit of 10 articles per month per computer so you must limit yourself.</p>

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<p>Wow, thanks for all the information!!</p>

<p>@happymomof1 Yes, my parents did their bachelors in their home country.</p>

<p>@MYOS1634 Yes, i applied to 4 of those 8 universities, along with some others that gave scholarships but are not need-blind.</p>

<p>Thanks again!!</p>

7

<p>What do you mean by “I’ve lived in America my whole life” ?</p>

<p>Did you move to the US when you were very young, of were you born in the US?</p>

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<p>Yes I moved to America when I was very young. I wasn’t born there so I don’t have a citizenship.</p>