In a sticky situation, need advice.

<p>So i'm finally down between URoch and a local city college. The problem is that i'd have to pay $19,000 a year (including loans, room and board + other expenses). oh and this is after appealing for more aid! I really can not imagine myself in a city college and was wondering if spending a year at Uroch and then transfering to another college would be a good idea. I'm still waiting on a scholarship that would trim my expenses another 10,000 but for now i can't really depend on anything, nothing is confirmed yet =/</p>

<p>yeahh same problem as you… sorta. 11k versus 2k at the college in my backyard. and i was also thinking of transferring out to that local college if the aid dropped the subsequent years… apparently since uroch is open curric, it’s tough to transfer credits for most classes, especially if the school youre switching into has those many course requirements.
i have some ap credits which would help clear out maybe a semester or two of courses that might make transferring okay, but yeah.
i have read about some people who transferred out of rochester though, one into cornell, so it is possible, just hard credit wise…</p>

<p>I’m having trouble understanding the points of these questions. If you can’t afford UR, then I’m sorry. I have no idea what you are planning to gain by going for a year because a) you have no idea where you’d get in and b) you are less likely to get financial aid as a transfer and you certainly have no idea what that might be. I don’t see that as a plan. </p>

<p>I assume when you say “I” that you mean your family would pay $19k a year. My question is what amount is loan and what is out of pocket. If your family can’t afford the out-of-pocket money, that’s a different problem than not wanting to carry a loan into the future. </p>

<p>My suggestion is that you look - as you may have - at state schools. Problem is, as you may know, that many state schools offer relatively little in merit and financial aid so their net cost may not be much less than UR.</p>

<p>Private schools are expensive, as are out of state public schools. There is no way around this. It is a real problem in the US and unfortunately we are far too invested in this system to change it substantially so more kids can go to more expensive schools. </p>

<p>For the 2nd poster, aid only drops if the finances improve so that’s a less likely scenario. As for transferring, it is never a good plan to go to any school in the belief that it will be for a year before transfer. It only makes sense if you are concerned about future affordability - as you noted. As for credits, every school has a different set of requirements so you often have to make up something. Some have core reqs, some distribution reqs (which is more like what UR has with clusters), etc.</p>

<p>I agree with Lergnom. There is debt for college no matter which school you attend, public or private. You may want to transfer after a year for financial reasons but you have no guarantee that your transfer would be accepted. If you get accepted as a transfer student, you may not get any financial aid, again no guarantee. Also what happens if you don’t get accepted as a transfer student and you can’t afford the second year at U of R, it would be a huge setback to have to quit college after 1 year because of affordability. If you/your family cannot afford UR, go to the public college who accepted you or look into applying for the spring semester next year if you didn’t apply or get accepted to any public universities. Also verify how the credits transfer. The public university in our state does not accept any credits as transfer for your major or required courses in the program chosen, only for electives which most people don’t take in the first year of college anyway. Good luck in your college decision.</p>

<p>Another option you may want to consider, though I don’t necessarily believe this is the type of option you are looking for and is not the best option for everyone… Some students successfully transfer to Rochester from community colleges, which are of course much more affordable. You may choose to matriculate into a community college and to maintain contact with an advisor at Rochester to determine which courses to take in your first two years (to ensure that those credits transfer). Your acceptance as a transfer applicant is not guaranteed, but if affordability is a major concern and Rochester is a school you very much want to attend, you can save some money by getting your associates first and then finishing your Bachelor’s in two years at Rochester (which would still result in a degree from the University of Rochester).</p>

<p>One worry with that is credits have to be watched carefully. A niece did that and then went to Texas and found that some of her work did not transfer. This is an issue with all transfers.</p>

<p>Great point… We do have a counselor in our office and academic advisors who are able to help students determine which credits will and will not transfer, but it is on the student to maintain contact and to actively seek advisement.</p>