I Have No Idea Where to Start.

Applying to College
1

Okay, here’s my situation.

I’m an 18 year old American-Canadian dual-citizen. I was born in the States, but raised in Canada, so my education has been purely Canadian and I don’t have SATs or any equivalents to US History-type courses, or anything else they don’t cover up here. However, I am determined to go to college in the United States, because I plan on living there after graduation and making a life there. (I just don’t know where yet. That’s the first part of my question, I suppose…)

Now, I know I’d prefer to live somewhere in the West, but I have some restrictions. To start with, I’d be working in the States while going to school, to make enough money to pay for tuition. (I realise there are student loans, but after seeing what happened to my parents, I really don’t want to use them unless I have to) I likely won’t be eligible for financial aid, because my parents make quite a bit- between 70 and 80 thousand a year. According to the schools, they’d be expected to pay for most of my education until I’m an “independent student”- even though I’d be living on my own in another country. I don’t plan on having to worry about out-of-state tuition, because I’ve looked at requirements for in-state, and it seems all I’d have to do is live there a year and vote/get a license/ move in somewhere to qualify as in-state. Still, cheaper tuition would be best, so I’m looking for something on the lower end of that scale.

Now, due to my (obviously) lacking education, I’m thinking a community college would be a good idea for the first year or two. At least to get back up to speed, since I probably wouldn’t actually be attending college until 2012, and I graduated in 2009. However, I don’t know all that many community colleges, let alone some in “cheaper to live in” cities with decent public transportation and both a good community college and state college.

My last question is this. Last year, I took my first semester my local university, Vancouver Island University (VIU). I took four courses there, passed them all, but didn’t finish my first year. I really have no interest in claiming these credits in the States- but do I have to? If I’ve taken college courses, am I required to apply <em>wherever</em> as a transfer student? It seems like a large hassle to have to find the equivalent courses, plus I don’t kow what it would do to my tuition… can I just pretend those courses don’t exist?

IN SUMMARY- My questions.

  1. Which cities have a low cost-of-living, a good community college, and a decent state college/university? Preferably on or near the West coast, or in Texas (since that’s where most of my family is).

  2. Of these cities, how many of the universities have a lower (or at least average) tuition? Bear in mind I’d be trying to work my way through school, paying rent, food, transportation and so on.

  3. Am I required to claim the courses I took at a Canadian University and apply as a transfer student? How many credits do I need to be a transfer student?

  4. In your opinion, are student loans worth it?

  5. Am I completely crazy for doing this? My parents seem to think so, but it wouldn’t be until I was 21 anyways… (rhetorical question, if you choose for it to be).

Thanks for any imput. I have no idea what I’m doing here.

2

First off, I don’t think you’re crazy, I think you’re making a wise decision in order to save money. Looking at your questions:

1.) There are a lot of good CCs and affordable places for you, although Texas is going to be much more affordable than Cali. How do I know? I was raised in CA and moved here to TX 5 years ago - HUGE difference. My suggestion would be to look at the universities you’d like to transfer to eventually, and then investigate their cost of living, etc. Many universities have transfer agreements in place with their local CCs, and that could be a huge benefit to you.

My personal story: went to school off and on in CA, moved here to Austin for a better quality of life (more affordable as a single mom trying to go to school). Attended Austin Community College from Fall 2006 to Fall 2009 while working full time, accepted as a transfer to UT Austin (if you watch football, we’re the Longhorns) and now I go to school full-time. There are a lot of people here and across the state doing what you have in mind - CC for a couple of years and then transferring. There are other great institutions in this state as well, but I definitely recommend looking at the universities you want to attend overall before deciding where to move.

  1. Most CCs are going to be relatively affordable, but the universities vary pretty widely. You say that you plan to work your way through all of college - if you plan to work full time, you really should investigate which universities have programs available for working adults, because not all of them cater to a non-trad student and therefore have limited online or evening classes, which could pose a serious problem.

  2. I think yes, you do have to claim them, but call your target universities to be sure. Most unis require you to submit transcripts for any college courses you took, whether or not you want credit for them (I had a similar situation with some business classes I took as a non-degree seeker, UT didn’t care and made me submit them anyway)

  3. I think it all depends on what you want to do after college. Taking out 40 grand in loans to get an art degree that you can’t do anything with personally doesn’t sound wise, because you’re setting yourself up for years of stress and financial instability trying to pay those things back. Otherwise I think they can be a great investment if you know what you want to do so you don’t waste time (and money) and are practical about what the future holds career/salary wise.

5.) See intro to this post - you’re not crazy. :slight_smile:

3

God, just go to school in Quebec (or another socialist province that freezes tuition rates). It’s insanely cheap and insanely awesome! Concordia and McGill are the English-speaking universities in Montreal and both are good. Out-of-province tuition is less than what you will pay in-state at an American university… and living off campus means you can decide your cost of living and not be stuck in room and board contracts. American universities are SO expensive! I’d totally bank on my Canadian citizenship instead.

4

But since you’re not asking about that…

Pick the states or universities you are interested in first. California is NOT EASY to get residency in because it heavily subsidizes its public universities (making it cheap/free to residents). It will take you at least 3 years and involves complex tax stuff (it might be a little easier for CCs-?). It is also a ridiculously expensive state to live in. However, the UCs are awesome and very affordable to residents. Are either of your parents a resident of any state?

If you look into it, you could probably take your SATs somewhere in Vancouver. If not, just hop down across the border and take them in WA. They are required for most universities here, so you should make an effort to take them.

The cheapest states/cities to live in are in middle-America, i.e. the Midwest and South. The coasts are the most expensive, but it seems that is where you most want to be, other than Texas. I know nothing about Texas. Every city over 100,000 people has a community college and every state has a public university that is fairly cheap to state residents.

So basically it seems your options are Seattle, Portland, and Texas, unless you want to try other smaller cities (Olympia, WA, Eugene or Salem, OR) or wait a while to get California residency. Seattle and Portland have great public transportation, decent community colleges, and good state universities. Again, I know nothing about Texas. Most state universities have agreements with their local CCs to make transferring easy… and you could get state residency while attending CC. You would have to look into specifics for each place regarding tuition and living expenses. Very, very generally, CCs usually cost between $2,500-$5,000 per year for tuition and fees only. In-state tuition at a university is usually $6,000- $10,000 per year for tuition and fees. Out of state tuition and fees at a public university are around $12,000- $20,000 per year. Private colleges are anywhere from $20,000- $45,000 for yearly tuition and fees. Room and board is extra and sometimes mandatory.

If you only took one semester at VIU, you may still be considered a freshman at some universities. Other places, like CCs, won’t really care if you don’t want to declare that you have completed previous course work, especially internationally because that is just a headache for them to transfer in. But some colleges may want you to apply as a transfer student and send a transcript from VIU. If you didn’t get awful grades, it would help to get a head-start in terms of college credits and intro courses… I, personally, would transfer those courses in- all it takes is VIU sending them your transcript. Tuition is the same for freshman or transfer students, so I don’t know why you’re worried about that.

You can qualify for federal financial aid, at least for subsidized Stafford loans. File a FAFSA no matter what.
Whether or not student loans are worth it, most colleges assume you will take out the maximum amount of subsidized Stafford loans allowable ($3,500 for freshmen, $4,500 for sophomore, $5,500 for juniors and seniors). If you choose not to take them out, then you will have to pay that much more out-of-pocket. Once you are an independent student (over 24), the maximum amounts increase, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Yes, I think you’re crazy. Stay in Canada and save your money. You can always come to the US later to work.

5

It doesn’t take 3 years to become a resident in CA, it only takes 1 year - that’s pretty much the standard for most states (it’s the same in TX). However, if you obtain a student visa (F1), or a B, J or M visa type you typically will not be considered eligible to establish residency.

OP - Since you indicated you will likely work full-time, you should be able to get one of the qualifying visa types (there are a lot) that will allow you to establish residency within a year. Each school’s financial aid office should have all of this information for you so that you can get specific instructions for that state.

6

Since you have dual-citizenship, I’m assuming you can just come and go between the two countries as you please without dealing with visas. You shouldn’t have to get an I-9 or work visa if you have a Social Security number, and even if you don’t, there are ways around it since you are a citizen.

To be considered a resident of California for to get state tuition at the University of California branches, if not all California public universities, you have to have filed independent tax returns (i.e. your parents don’t claim you on theirs) for the previous two years before the year you are applying, and you must live in California full-time (not just during the school year) for a year before you start school, and generally show that you are serious about establishing residency… like you couldn’t go back to Canada during the summers to live with your family.

[University</a> of California - Admissions](<a href=“http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/ca_residency.html]University”>http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/undergrad_adm/ca_residency.html)
[Establishing</a> California Residence for Tuition Purposes, Office of the Registrar](<a href=“404 - Page Not Found”>404 - Page Not Found)
[CSUCI</a> > Records and Registration - California Residency FAQs](<a href=“California Residency for CSU Tuition Purposes - Admissions & Costs - CSU Channel Islands”>California Residency for CSU Tuition Purposes - Admissions & Costs - CSU Channel Islands)

7

I don’t know much about this, but my only caution to you is that I wouldn’t be so sure that just living there one year and getting a license/voting would cut the residency part. Because my friend, he’s lived in California the last 5 years or so since moving across the country from Georgia but he still was counted as a Georgia resident when he applied to the UCs. I’m not sure how it works, but I think you should look into the residency very carefully just to make sure :slight_smile: You don’t want to have to stress over convincing them that you’re an in-state resident and shouldn’t be charged out-of-state fees, that’s a really horrible process.

8

The 2 year requirement is to be considered independent for financial aid purposes, not residency:
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.

After 1 year the OP can be considered a resident (see below) and pay cheaper tuition, but if applying for financial aid will have to submit financial information for their parents until they are deemed independent.

Applicants 19 years of age or older by the residence determination date are considered adults for residency purposes. To be eligible for resident status adult students must maintain a physical presence in California, show intent to make California his or her permanent home and/or maintain proper immigration status for one year prior to September 20 for the fall semester, and one year prior to January 25 for the spring semester.

Evidence of intent to make California one’s permanent home may include, but is not limited to:

<pre><code>* California voter registration and voting in California elections.

  • California driver’s license.
  • California automobile registration.
  • California State income tax obligations on total income.
  • Ownership of residential property or continuous occupancy or renting of an apartment on a lease basis where your personal belongings are kept.
  • Active savings and/or checking accounts in a California bank.
  • Immigration status with legal capacity to establish California residency.
  • Maintaining a permanent military address and home of record in California.
  • Military leave and earning statements showing California as legal residence.
    </code></pre>