I currently am a rising sophomore at Colorado College. I don’t think the block plan is right for me, and their department for my major (Computer Science) is very small. I’m there on scholarship, but they offer me thousands of dollars in loans that I am unable to pay off … my parent’s house is in foreclosure, if that gives you an idea. I feel uncomfortable staying at a place that doesn’t fit.
I would love to transfer to an institution of similar or higher quality since CC is a hidden ivy. My dream is Rice since I’m originally a Texas girl, but anywhere with more name recognition and financial aid would work. I’m not sure my stats are up to par, though. Here they are:
2040 SAT
29 ACT
3.6 GPA Freshman year of college
First gen, low-income, 1/4 mexican, autoimmune disease, job experience, but no real community service
Hard to get good recommendations because the block plan really doesn’t allow for bonding between teacher and student
How are my chances at getting in somewhere else? Is it possible or should I just keep going with CC? I wouldn’t hate it since I have a job and friends, but I feel I could be better off without the pressure of heavy loans. CC’s total cost of attending went up to $71,000 and I don’t think it will decrease any time soon.
You can’t afford CC, so take a leave of absence for next year, and look around at your options. Go to the Financial Aid forum and ask for advice there.
Where else were you admitted last year?
Would you consider one of the women’s colleges? Most of them offer good need-based aid.
I wouldn’t go into debt to study computer science at Colorado College. There are a lot of universities that are very good and will have a stronger computer science program for less cost. Given how late it is in the year you might need to take a gap year, but life is not a race and you can get where you want to be at your own pace.
If your parent’s house is in foreclosure, then you should understand the importance of minimizing debt. Also, this makes it sound like having your parents co-sign a loan might not be a good plan.
Do you have good in-state options? I am not familiar with Texas but it seems that there must be very good CS programs in-state in Texas. Note that computer science is a very good major in which there are jobs, and in which the “prestige” of your university pretty much does not matter at all (companies will care about what you can do, the lack of importance of “prestige” in computer science has some relation to the tee shirts and jeans which are so common in the field). I wouldn’t worry about finding “an institution of similar or higher quality”, I would try to find an institution which has a very good CS program and is less expensive.
I’m currently at community college looking to transfer, and I understand the back-and-forth about it being a good or bad decision. I didn’t have to go to community college–I got into plenty of fantastic 4-year schools, but not my top choice. I made the decision to go to cc because I didn’t want to waste my time and money at a school I hated. It doesn’t sound like you hate it, but the money is a huge issue, and I know from my older sister that the post-college debt can be a gigantic burden.
If you’re a Texas resident, I’d definitely consider a local school. If you’re in dire straights and need to get financially stable, go to a local cc and transfer back to an in-state 4-year instead. I know a ton of kids from my high school that went off to big universities, hated it/couldn’t afford it, and came back to my cc the next semester. At my cc, there are a ton of Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG) programs, and even a Transfer Admission Program (TAP) where my cc has a special relationship with UCLA to give me priority consideration when I transfer. See what your local schools have, as well as financial aid packages. That sounds like it might be better for your family.
Overall, I’m happy with my choice, but I’m excited to transfer to a university soon. It was financially a great choice and a good way to get some GE classes out of the way (and much cheaper than a 101 at a university, since every school offers basic 101s). Hope that helped!