international transfer question please help!

Transfer Students
1

<p>I went through elementary~1 semester of college (GWU), and because our family failed at getting the green card and had no money, I have come to Korea by myself alone. I just need to go to school here for 2 years, then i can go back to the US as a legible citizen and transfer or apply as a freshmen again.</p>

<p>My question is:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If you went to a college for 2 years, does college grades count more than high school ones?</p></li>
<li><p>Is it better to transfer or apply again as a freshman?</p></li>
<li><p>Do I have to take the SAT again?</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thank you. Please help!!</p>

2

<p>“I just need to go to school here for 2 years, then i can go back to the US as a legible citizen and transfer or apply as a freshmen again.”</p>

<p>You have several distinct issues here:</p>

<p>A) Your immigration situation needs to be addressed with USCIS, and you may want to find a competent Immigration lawyer to help you with this. To start with, the only visa status that I know of that requires a two year stay outside the US before returning is J-1, and not even all J-1 visa sponsors have that requirement. If you were in the US on a J-2, you should have been eligible to switch to an F-1 when you started at GWU.</p>

<p>B) What makes you think that your family will have enough money to pay for your education if/when you come back to the US? It might be better for you to get a job and save your money so that you can pay for your studies when you return. There may not be a good reason to be in college right now. </p>

<p>C) Each college and university sets its own policies about who is and who isn’t a transfer applicant. You really do have to ask each of them separately. However, it is very unlikely that any of them would consider you a freshman applicant if you have a semester of credits from GWU and two or more years of credits from a university in Korea. You will almost certainly be a transfer applicant. GWU may have special policies that apply in your case, so contact GWU, and ask what you will need to do two or three years now if you want to be re-admitted there.</p>

3

<p>replies for your points:</p>

<p>A)I don’t have to worry about the visa problem because I know that I will get the green card in approximately 2 years. And I have to go to school in Korea to prove that I was doing nothing for 2 years and just waiting around for the green card.</p>

<p>B)I’m sure I’ll get financial aid or loan. </p>

<p>C) I do not know if I want to go back to that school…</p>

<p>but thank you so much!!</p>

4

<p>“B)I’m sure I’ll get financial aid or loan.”</p>

<p>You need to spend some time in the Financial Aid Forum getting educated about the ins-and-outs of financial aid. Very few colleges and universities meet a student’s full need. Even when they do, they are the ones who get to determine what your need is, not you. If after looking at your family’s financial information they decide that your family can shell out $XX.XXX for your education each year, then that is what they will expect your family to pay.</p>

<p>A student who is eligible to file the FAFSA (which you will be once you have your green card) can borrow Federal loans of up to $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, $7,500 junior year, and $7,500 senior year. This comes to a whopping total of $27,000 for all four years together. Any loans beyond that will either have to be parent PLUS loans that your parents take out, or private loans that will require a credit-worthy co-signer.</p>

<p>Students who file the FAFSA whose parents make very little money can also receive Pell grants, but the maximum Pell is only about $5,000 each year, and requires that the family have an EFC of 0. To find out if you might fall into that category, have your parents run their numbers through the EFC formula itself. The formula does change from one year to the next, but this year’s formula will give you a ball-park notion. <a href=“http://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2012-13-efc-forumula.pdf[/url]”>http://studentaid.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2012-13-efc-forumula.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Sad but true, there is not as much merit-based aid for transfer students as there is for freshmen. For ideas along that line, visit [Transfer</a> Students - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/transfer-students/]Transfer”>Transfer Students - College Confidential Forums) Start with the “Transfer Admissions 101” thread at the top.</p>

<p>Once you know where your parents will be living when their paperwork is finished, and you know whether or not that will qualify you for in-state status, you should start learning more about the public colleges and universities in that state. Chances are that one of those institutions will be your most affordable option for completing your education.</p>

<p>It may seem unfortunate that you had to go back to Korea for these two years instead of spending the waiting time at a local community college, earning credits that would transfer to a US college/university, and working on the GPA that might get you a transfer scholarship. However, I expect that studying in Korea works out to be more affordable for your family right now. Not to mention that having two years to perfect your Korean language skills will mean that you have access to careers where fluency in both languages are necessary once you do finish your education.</p>

<p>Keep focused on your long-range goals, and you will get there.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>