recently I’ve been accepted into a state school and I’m trying to determine if going to a four year is better than a two year. I was enrolled and registered to a different university but due to financial reasons and it being a private school I wasn’t able to attend so I decided to apply to a state school that had rolling admission in MAY and confirmed because I panicked that fall would come and I wouldn’t be doing anything productive in community college. I’ve heard a bunch of stories about this school and it doesn’t really fit my personality or give off the vibe that I’d want from an institution. I 100% had no plans of applying to this school but I panicked when I found out my financial aid didn’t work out.
I know people argue that it doesn’t matter what school you go to but I’ve heard hear say about this school from friends and they all transferred out sophomore year. I understand I can’t base my decisions on their experiences but it is pretty much known in my state that this particular school isn’t the best school in our state and that it has a high transfer rate and yield rate.
It is now July and the orientation date is getting closer and I’m feeling like I don’t want to attend the state school.
I’ve currently initiated the first few steps of applying to a community college and unlike my peers I have no problem with living at home with my family in order to save them money. Currently I’m getting 5000+ in loans in my name and I’m really debating if I should give this school a try. My personality and hopes expectations of college wouldn’t fit well in a huge state school. I prefer a 1:15 student faculty ratio and a school that has no more than 4000 students and I had a particular location.
I already applied for housing at the state school but I feel very disappointed that I’m not going to be attending my “dream school” or anything like my dream school.
I’m really stuck on what to do. 5000 in loans is a lot to pay when your walking into an institution unsure but I feel really ashamed to attend community college and I fear I won’t meet any new people and become lonely but I do know that if I attend the state school I will drown in the size and end up being unhappy and not getting the best experience from my college career because I’m forcing myself to be somewhere and racking up debt because I’m ashamed and forcing myself to like something.
NOTE: I wanted to attend school in Maine and was REALLY close but ended up considering a state school in my home state. I have this really strong image of how I wanted my college experience and how I wanted to spend my next 4-5 years and it’s bumming me out that the circumstances changed and that I need to trade my expectations for something else.
Like I mentioned above, I am still in a panic and I’m making rational decisions and I don’t want to regret them but I’m worried if I go to community college I’ll spend the next two years alone before I can try Maine again.
I’m very hesitant because I’m paying for it and debt and all that but I’m stuck on deciding if I should wait and pay for something I want or pay for something that I don’t 100% want. I also worry that it will hinder my quality of work if I attend the state school because I won’t value it because it’s not what I originally wanted.
@dizzlebrain umm i wouldn’t think low on a 2 year college if anything it might turn out to be a better option. Im an northeastern and i transferred in as a sophmore saved a years tuition, my sister got into BU and Tufts and she will transfer in after 2 years, shes gonna save a bunch. What i am trying to say is it might not be the ideal college experience at CC, but you will have another 2 years to try it out. Both our examples are private schools transfer, honestly between a CC and a public school if you plan to transfer out i’d take the CC, most likely if you try really hard you could boost up your grades which could help get merit scholarships as a transfer to your choice school or even get into a better one. That’s my own personal opinion and experience.
@sensation723 If I took the community college route I planned on reapplying to the school I originally wanted to attend either in fall 2017 or 2018 after working and saving money as well as raising my gpa slightly higher so I can get a few thousand more in my aid packet next time around.
You get the best aid as a freshman. As a transfer you will get less aid. There is a huge chance in 2 years it will still be unaffordable. Then what’s your plan B?
There you can see the actual percentage of freshmen who come back for sophomore year and the number of kids who graduate in four, five, and six years. There are definite problems with the method by which graduation rates are calculated, but in general, a school with a grad rate below 50% is probably a bad idea.
Take a gap year and work. Use that year to figure out what you really want to do and to make a plan. So far it seems that your plan has been throw stuff out there and see what sticks (applying to schools you can’t afford, then to schools you don’t want to attend).
Seconding the advice to take a gap year. Nowhere is it written that you must start college this fall.
Take advantage of the time off from regular schooling to think through what your purposes are for a college education, and to draw up a good application list of places that are likely to be affordable for you.
My plan B would be attending another school after 2 years. I’m not DEAD SET on one school more on qualities (size, location) and I would be open to expanding my horizons in two years. Thank you everyone for the request of a gap year however I’m not 100% comfortable with taking a year off and not attending school at all either way I am 100% planning on being at least a part time student next fall.
To add additional info I had liked the school originally because of the vibe and location. I also planned on coming in as a undeclared. (School in Maine) My financial aid was pretty good for the price of the school, I got aid for FULL tuition price but I was left with the additional fees like traveling fees (I’m on the other side of the country), books and room and board. I had a 35000 or something scholarship awarded over 4 years which added up to 4,000 a year split up.
All of these expenses rounded up to be around 13,500 (10,000 for room and board, a few thousand for travel, books etc.)
I was all set for the state school when it comes to money (my rates were cheaper due to in state) but my main issue was deciding if I should pay for what I want. I talked to the school in Maine’s financial staff and they told me that I can come back and two years and reapply as a transfer or I can change the year I start and do classes at a community college and try again. Of course, I am elibable to get a additional loan for the remainder but I would like to lower it as possible by raising my GPA (3.0) to at least a (3.5) to increase more academic scholarship money.
This is just some additional information, I’m really against taking a gap year and I would like to be in some sort of school in the fall. My community college expenses are covered 100% and If ANYTHING I plan on being a full time student at community college and
The best aid comes directly from the colleges and goes to freshmen. Transfer students don’t get much. How do you plan to pay for your last 2 years of college?
Four-year universities with 25th percentile SAT scores below ~1000 (CR+M) may share many attributes with community colleges, particularly for the first year or two of study. In either case, a good academic experience should be available. The differences between these hypothetical cases might depend largely on individual factors such as course selection and motivation.
There’s no “shame” in a gap year, but it’s not for everyone. If you’re not inclined that way, I think your plan of going to cc is a good one. You will not incur debt and you get an education closer to what you dreamt of.
After cc, as a backup plan, you could transfer into the state school where you are accepted now. You would only have two years of a less desirable (to you) education, and only two years worth of debt. You could try to transfer into a different four year school you like better and see if FinAid pans out.
@alooknac, Students who need financial aid need to enter schools that offer it as freshmen. Transfers don’t get much aid. If OP can’t afford the state school now, s/he won’t be able to afford it as a transfer. People who need aid don’t always have the luxury of choosing not to do a gap year.
OP did not say they couldn’t afford state school, just questioned whether it was worth $5000 in loans. I would expect loans at a state school to still be offered as a transfer.
I don’t agree with the frequent advice on cc about gap years and I don’t see where it’s at all a necessity or even advisable in this case. OP has two feasible options–the state school or cc.
If OP takes a gap year, FinAid at the dream school is not likely to be different a year from now. A recent HS graduate is not going to earn enough money in a year to significantly impact the financial burden of attending a dream school, so how would a gap year make a difference? OP can attend college right now for free for two years.