I am planning to attending Howard University in Fall 2015. However, I also plan transfer from there to other colleges with better academic environments. As an International student from asian, I would need full Aid to study. Is it even possible? Could you please suggest some colleges I could transfer to?
Thank you.
“I would need full Aid to study”
It will be almost impossible for you to transfer and get full aid. If you did not have grades and test scores that were good enough to get you into any other place that would give you full aid this year, you should not expect to be able to transfer into one of the few places that would give you that kind of aid next year.
I could improve my GPA and test scores. The problem for me is a lack of recognized scoring system and large scale extracurricular in my country. So I go to the US to find such experience. Anyway, there are A FEW places right?
@Happymomof1 is telling you exactly how that would work.
One thing that international students don’t seem to understand is that money for education is very limited.
Since it is the US, the government is obligated to fund its taxpaying citizens first. This happens for mostly freshman candidates. International students have to hope for merit and need based aid. This is extremely competitive at the freshman level. As an international transfer, leaving and transferring from Howard, money will be almost non-existent.
So are you saying that you will be taking a gap year to improve your GPA and test scores? Applying again to the same schools will probably give you the same results.
I would not love a gap year. What I mean is that If necessary I may retake the test and improve my scores.
I understand that it is extremely difficult for intl to transfer to other US colleges with full aid. But how about top colleges? NYU? I have just looked through the list of successful transfer students and found that some of them are intl. So isn’t there a chance?
Thank you for your realistic information. And sorry for any unclearance as I have just started researching on this topic today.
And btw, I would not transfer in my junior but sophomore year (if that makes any difference)
NYU is well known to give very good financial aid to a very, very, very small number of students that it wants. Most students who are admitted there get very little financial aid. Don’t waste your money applying.
Your problem is that you need full financial aid. That is hard for international students to get. It is hard for US transfers to get. So as an international transfer, it will be almost impossible. That is the plain and simple truth. Did any of the lists of successful international transfers include the words “full aid”? Go back and check. If you can find an international transfer who did get full aid, contact that person and ask for the details.
If you don’t want to graduate from Howard, then don’t enroll this fall. Take a gap year and reapply to the places where you really do want to study. If you do something interesting during that gap year, maybe you will get into one of those other places with the amount of aid that you need. Just be sure to reapply at Howard as well so that you have an affordable back-up.
Transfers “fill the gaps” for students who left freshman or sophomore year; because so few leave top colleges, there are VERY FEW spots and for internationals, none where they promise to meet need, let alone “full aid”.
If you don’t want to attend Howard and need full financial aid, then you need to take a gap year and reapply.