I am considering transferring out of USC to finish my engineering degree online

College Search & Selection Online Degrees
1

Hi! I’m here to ask for some input or advice from anyone who feels they can contribute. My situation is rather unusual and I’d appreciate anyone weighing in.

I’m not a U.S citizen- I’m an international student from South America who completed high school and so far, college, in the US with a student visa. I live in California.

During my senior year of high school, I applied to five colleges for Electrical Engineering.
I ended up getting into three of them (UCSB, UCI, Chapman University), was waitlisted by UCSD (which never updated me on admission later), and was rejected by the fifth one, USC.

I really liked UCSD, but for several reasons, I was bent on going to USC.
I knew the rejection was coming because I was not the best applicant from my high school.
At the time, I had the emotional and financial support from my family.

I decided to attend community college to later transfer to USC, because they accept transfers after one year, as opposed to UCSD, which makes transfers take two full years of coursework.

I did well in community college, and USC accepted me as a spring admit after one year.

I took two semesters of courses at USC Viterbi for Electrical and Computer Engineering with a minor in Chinese. Then my family and I were hit with a financial crisis.

Our funds which were originally going to cover my tuition had to be used for other things, so I took a leave of absence. My last semester at USC was Fall 2021.

Because of my immigration status, I didn’t have access to loans- private or federal, and USC would not offer my any financial aid due to their policy with international students.

I knew I would be on my own from the beginning, and it was a risk we decided to take.

Since the fall of 2021 I have been helping my family with their business and working for my father in his construction company. I’ve done some Coursera courses for Machine Learning and Chinese so that I don’t forget. I’ve also been keeping up with programming with some projects in C++ and Python, but nothing near the same level of academic intensity that I held during my time as a full-time student. In my resume, the past year and a half is a gap.

I am not financially able to return to USC. Earlier in the year I applied to UCSD again, and got waitlisted again.

Here is the problem-- my sponsorship as an international student will soon expire because my leave of absence from USC has lasted more than five months. Meaning they close my SEVIS record and “cut ties” with me as an international student. This will end my legal status in the US and I’ll have to leave, unless I am able to transfer to another institution which can sponsor my F-1 visa.

We waited until now for personal reasons, but now the period for applying to transfer schools is closed. If I wanted to transfer to a UC I had to apply by late 2022, and Cal State campus applications are also closed or don’t have my major. Going back to community college is not an option wince I already took the highest courses offered for associate’s degrees. Other colleges already closed their transfer apps. Universities in my country are not an option, so I am thinking about what to do.

I think I will inevitably have to go back to my country, but I want to finish my American degree. Hence my post’s question-- should I transfer my electrical engineering degree online?
My goal is to be able to obtain my B.S from wherever I am so that I can eventually apply to work at an American company who can sponsor me for work. Had I graduated from USC, I would have been covered by the university’s connections and clout and whatnot, but if I go online I’ll be on my own with the job search post-graduation.

I want to complete a master’s degree after, so perhaps I will finish my B.S online and then try to apply for a visa in the US again to complete my master’s degree here.

I don’t know. There’s logistics to it that I know I’m probably not considering.

If I were to transfer it online, what is the best college to do so?
Can I complete it from another country?
Is there another option that I’m not considering?

Is there anything I seem to be missing here? I want to exhaust all my options.

1 Like
2

In terms of practical information, would an online program such as this be suitable for you?

3

Here’s one option. You could also do just the bachelor’s degree.

You can do a google search for other ABET-accredited online electrical engineering programs. You will need to determine whether they are financially feasible, whether they accept transfers, and whether you could complete them while living in your home country.

4

An American company CAN sponsor you for work- but it doesn’t mean they will, and they certainly don’t have to.

Your chances of a green card or sponsorship are higher the more levels of education you complete. So master’s is better than a bachelor’s.

Why not go back home, finish up the degree at any university which admits you which you can afford and then apply to grad programs in the US? You’ll get the student visa which will cover you during your studies, then you start the LPT/OPT process so you’ll be able to get a job and work (I think for STEM it’s a three year period) without needing sponsorship- which gives you time to prove yourself, become an exceptional employee before you need to be sponsored.

Check in with an immigration attorney to get all the relevant facts (there are probably things you are omitting and I am not a lawyer, so you do need legal help here). If you live near a law school (any law school) call tomorrow and see if they have an immigration clinic. This is not sketchy. A law school will have dozens of clinics-- they are staffed by law students and closely supervised by professors and working lawyers in that field. They operate on a sliding scale or they will not charge you at all.

I am worried about the online degree in engineering. I don’t know the track record these programs have in getting students in graduate programs, and you don’t want to pay for a BS in engineering which neither qualifies you for a job, OR gets you into grad school.

4 Likes
5

This is easier said than done.
You cannot rely on getting sponsorship from an American company for employment.

You are an EE and CE international candidate and will not be able to get a security clearance as a non-citizen for most engineering companies. If you look at employers’ websites, most will stipulate that they cannot sponsor non-citizens.

Immigration rules are strict. U.S. companies are required to employ US candidates first, according to federal immigration rules. They don’t want the hassle, time and costs of sponsoring a non-citizen.

As for finishing with an online degree, you could probably find a program that will gladly take your money, but there are no guarantees that you can easily transfer coursework or can/will gain any internships or OPT’s. Junior and Senior years are when you are expected to gain on-site work experience. Additionally, there were recent layoffs at several well-known companies (Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Microsoft, etc.). Non-citizens are not a priority when US candidates are available.

For the record, I have 3 engineers in my family. None of their very different engineering and software firms are hiring nor sponsoring non-citizens.

I agree with @blossom: go back home, finish up your degree there and then apply for grad school programs.

6

I am not a huge fan of completing an engineering degree online and here are some of my reasons:

  • Engineering can be tough and it is helpful to have classmates and professors available in person at times.
  • There is likely to be lab component for some engineering and STEM classes you will likely need to take and online that may be missing.
  • Not sure how employable you will be with an online degree.
  • Are any online engineering programs ABET accredited?

If the only financially feasible option is finishing your undergrad in your home country then that should be a strong consideration.

Another option would be to go back to CC ,(even if you take non-STEM classes) and reapplying more widely as a transfer.

1 Like
7

Agree.
Also, labs are very important for team-building exercises, as well as knowing your way around the engineering equipment.

1 Like
8

https://und.edu/programs/engineering.html

1 Like
9

Doing an engineering degree online is tough but give it a try. Might work out for you

10

@college172 Have you looked at other colleges that still have openings for transfer students?