<p>I'm a senior in High school and I was accepted into Amherst College and Williams College. I can't go to either because of financial aid. </p>
<p>I made a lot of mistakes on my applications. I never had a job, I've never really been exposed to money. Amherst was my first choice and I just thought, if I was accepted there, I wouldn't have to worry about tuition. I should've used the financial aid calculator, I know. But I didn't.</p>
<p>The only college I applied to that I know, in retrospect, I could go too (with my family's income) is Yale. But they rejected me (but then again, I didn't invest any effort in their application). </p>
<p>I was stupid, and now my grades have slipped because I was stupid and because I hate myself for that stupidity. All I want to do is study philosophy and study Japan. </p>
<p>Now in retrospect, I know I should've applied to UC Berkeley. There top ranked in both of the majors I'm interested in (i.e. Japanese studies and philosophy).</p>
<p>I've enrolled in my state university UF, but it's poorly ranking in both of my expected majors. I just want too know, that knowing that I've been accepted into Williams and Amherst (both extremely selective), is there any chance I could get transferred (or apply as a freshman) to UC Berkeley? I'm a bit more wizened about money now, and I think could get enough merit aid from Berkeley to go there.</p>
<p>P.S.</p>
<p>I'd be entering UF as a junior because of the # of AP credits I've earned, and the # of college courses I've take at my local university (UCF).</p>
<p>Thank you for taking the time to the read, and thank you for your responses.</p>
<p>The vast majority of aid offered at California publics is need based. Go to the Cal website and find the net price calculator, and plug in your numbers to get an idea of what you would be eligible for. Since you are OOS, you will not receive any institutional aid to help cover the $23,000 OOS fee. </p>
<p>UCs are generally not affordable for OOS students with financial need.</p>
<p>Berkeley and merit aid? Do your research.</p>
<p>Berkeley offers little merit aid… I don’t think they have any scholarships above $2k. And If Williams/Amherst, colleges that are generally above average in providing aid, haven’t been able to meet your needs, then it is not likely at all that cal will. You have a better chance transferring into a private university. Or have you tried appealing to Amherst/Williams?</p>
<p>Only merit aid available is Regents -and it’s offered to top 1% of applicants. Even then, it’s need-dependent. It can go from a couple of thousands (no need) to a full ride (EFC of 0). Very competitive either way, though.</p>
<p>@Truust is right -maybe you should appeal. Since you expected full tuition, I’m assuming you have a high need. Maybe there was a mistake in your financial aid application -I don’t know about Williams, but Amherst is very generous. I know that the SIR deadline has passed, but if you give them a call & explain your situation/why you didn’t commit to them, they might listen. Worth a shot.</p>
<p>I’ve already tried to appeal. I even contacted the Amherst college president. My family makes just shy of 200k, so Amherst and Williams asked my parents to pay full tuition. That’s about 1/3 of their income. </p>
<p>Do any of you know of any other colleges, other than colleges on the west coast, that offer good merit aid (not needs based)
My GPA has slipped a lot this last semester (because of Amherst), but should that be barrier? If I was accepted into places like Amherst, shouldn’t I have the necessary aptitude? I’d
prefer institutions highly ranked in both “far East Asians studies” and “Philosophy”.</p>
<p>I know I’m able to put in the effort. Japan and philosophy are my premier obsessions. I’m probably going to try study abroad in Japan. And if I’m going to transfer, I’ll probably try to write a few research papers on Japan.</p>
<p>I’d like to compare Edo period Ukiyo-e prints to modern Anime, and examine the extent that it’s influenced it’s development. More specifically, I might write a paper on Ukiyo-e shunga prints and its effect on Japanese Hentai. It’s a risqué topic, but I’d be submitting it to a very new “porn” studies academic journal. I don’t think I’ll have very much competition doing that.</p>
<p>Most schools dont offer much merit aid as a transfer, only financial.</p>
<p>What if I apply as a freshman before finishing my college freshman year? Is that possible? And if your right, are the only schools really available to me, a person of my financial background, big name ivy league schools?
I could have maybe gotten accepted to a few, if I applied. But I was so fixated on Amherst. That can’t be the only other option. Transferring to schools like that is almost impossible. </p>
<p>What has Amherst done to make your GPA sl ip? No, you can’t apply as a freshman after going to any college for a year, but you could take a gap year.</p>
<p>If you are gonna go the route of trying to go to another school, I would either take a gap year or attend community college. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on a college and then have to completely start over and spend more money, especially since the reason you cant attend your top choice is due to financial burden. If you attend community college, you can probably take just enough classes to stay up to date, but you are not considered a transfer when reapplying.</p>
<p>@Statius Oh! Well, at that income level, most colleges won’t give you much financial aid…You do need merit. Would you be considered a transfer at every college or just at UF??</p>
<p>@GA2012MOM</p>
<p>Disappointment. After getting my acceptance letter from my first choice, Amherst, in advance of their official deadline, I was ecstatic.
Then, after receiving my financial aid package a month later, I felt like killing myself. I tried everything, I visited a military recruiter, I appealed my financial aid, I spoke personally to the president of Amherst College at open house. I tried everything, that’s why my grades dropped.
@guineagirl96
I’d rather just go to UF and transfer from there. With Bright futures, and several other scholarships I got, the price of attending UF is negligible. And part of the reason I applied, and part of the reason I was so disappointed and depressed, was Amherst’s intellectual community. I don’t think I could handle, psychologically, going to a community college after seeing Amherst.</p>
<p>@Statius if UF price is negligible, then by all means attend there! I suggested community college because they are often significantly cheaper than state schools. Didn’t realize you had scholarships… But it is worth remembering that few schools offer merit aid to transfers, so make sure the school you transfer to is affordable on your family’s budget. You should look into outside scholarships. There are many that can be applied for later in college and as transfer students (sorry cant name any off the top of my head)</p>
<p>@Lilliana330
I’m not sure if I understand your question. I wouldn’t be considered a transfer at UF.
That was the only affordable university
was accepted to.</p>
<p>And @guinegirl96, I think I will look into scholarships. It seems now, that even if I did apply to Berkeley, I couldn’t have gone because of financial aid. The upper middle class really is excluded from a lot of these upper tier colleges (except from HYP). </p>
<p>@Statius I know that feeling. Back when my brother was applying, he had to turn down his top choice (Northwestern) because he would have graduated with $90k of debt as a music performance major. He attends a top conservatory now that he’s gonna be able to graduate from with no debt. Because of the same financial aid issue of upper middle class, my parents didn’t even fill out the FAFSA, so I had to do the grunt work to earn my full tuition (music) scholarship to be able to go to the school I’ll attend in the fall.</p>
<p>I’m going to apply to the Davidson Institute scholarship, their deadline in October 1st.</p>
<p>I’ll still be 18 by October 1st.</p>
<p>But I think I’ll be in college by then. The website says the only criteria is that I’m 18 years or younger, but would I still be eligible? If I get that, I might be able to go Amherst or Berkeley if I transfer. </p>
<p>I’m going to send an email to the Amherst college president, she knows me. Maybe I can still go.</p>
<p>@guienagirl
It’s nice knowing I’m not the only one. That’s capitalism. College today is needed now more than ever for employment. College should be subsidized by taxes like elementary and high school. Not every student has the advantage of understanding, of understanding the importance and gravity of financial aid in the application process. </p>