Help an international student find a fitting school!

College Search & Selection
1

Hello there! I’m a Northern European guy looking for school options in the US. I’m 20 years old and started working right after high school to save money and figure out what I wanted to do.

I want to start at a community college (mainly to save money) with the intention of transferring to a university after two years at CC. And that’s where I need some help with figuring out options. What schools offer merit aid or in state tuition for non residents? I have looked around in Texas and found that many schools down there offer guaranteed merit aid and in state tuition for transfer students that have a GPA of 3.5 or higher. I want to study either Civil Engineering or Computer Science, haven’t really figured it out yet. So I thought Texas Tech looked pretty cool but I read bad things about Lubbock. I really don’t care what school I go to, most people don’t from where I’m from, having studied abroad is always seen as a nice merit though. Experiencing the southern hospitality I’ve heard so much about would also be cool. Basically what I’m looking for is a bigger school with nice people, good quality education and merit aid for non resident transfers. I will be able to afford most schools as long as they don’t have ridiculous tuition costs like privates and the top state schools. If you know any school that fits this criteria, please tell me. From what I’ve gathered thus far, southern schools seems more generous than others, west coast schools are just too expensive, I’m not sure about midwestern and east coast schools. Studying in the Midwest would be pretty cool too considering the Scandinavian heritage me all.

I also have some more questions about Texas Tech as that school kind of is my top choice to transfer to in the future. What are job opportunities like after having gone to school there? I know I should be able to work on OPT after graduation for some time before heading back home. I think I’d much rather spend that time in either Austin, Dallas/Ft Worth or Houston rather than in Lubbock. Would that be problematic or no? How religious is Lubbock and TTU? People won’t really mind if you don’t take religion seriously as long as you’re not being an a****** about it right?

I’m doing this for the experience and because it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for years. I really have no interest in going to uni at home even though that’s what my parents have been pushing me to do.

2

Your plan is a little wonky. Workable, but it has some issues:

  1. While the CC-to-four-year path is common here, the state schools involved are usually not the kind of schools that give much aid, if any, to international students. CC tuition is inexpensive for all, but it's the last two years you have to really think about. Transferring from a CC to a state directional wouldn't automatically give you merit.
  2. It is technically possible to start a Civil Engineering or Computer Science major in CC, however, my concern would be that these majors are so competitive at four year schools, that transferring after two years could prove more difficult than you expect. I can name several four-year state schools that have 50%+ admission rates in general, but the admission rate for CS and Engineering is closer to 10%. Transfer students into those majors (what you would be doing) face very small odds.
  3. A visa may be difficult to get. You have to convince Uncle Sam that a community college can provide more opportunities than your home country (a tough sell, especially for Europeans). Community colleges aren't set up to provide the same international assistance as many four-year schools, so you'll be on your own. This isn't my area of expertise, but it's a challenge you are going to face.
  4. CCs usually don't offer housing. Most students live at home with their parents. They're great schools for work/study balance, but not on par with four-years in terms of social life. Your work options will be extremely limited on a student visa. You pretty much have to work for the school or in a controlled internship.

On the whole, Texas and the Midwest both have some great CCs (no, not being religious isn’t a big issue). Our local CC is state-of-the-art, most of it having been built in the last 10-15 years. The facilities are better than some four-year schools I have seen. None of that negates the inherent challenges of your plan, however. For your majors, however… if you can spend $30,000+ per year and have good enough test scores to get partial scholarships, personally, I would start and end in a four-year school. If not, I would give more thought to looking closer to home, possibly coming to the US for graduate school.