<p>I am attempting to transfer from a community college. All the schools I have been accepted to do not cover enough finances for me to attend after factoring in the Pell Grant, state financial aid, maximum Federal loans and work-study. The financial advisors at these schools told me that as an independent student with no credit, my only option would be to get a cosigner, but I don't have anyone willing to do that for me. Is it possible to take out loans without any credit or cosigners?</p>
<p>Sorry, no.</p>
<p>You’re going to have to apply to other schools. Is there a univ that you can commute to?</p>
<p>I’ve applied to all the applicable local colleges and in-state schools, so I’ve exhausted all the plausible school choices. I was either rejected or the school’s financial aid policy was the aforementioned description.</p>
<p>You will have to finance yourself and that means getting a job and saving up.
How did you pay for community college?</p>
<p>Financial aid covered community college entirely. In fact, I got some extra money back each semester.</p>
<p>If you stop school to work full time, will your loan repayment kick in?</p>
<p>I have no loans at the moment. The only detriment about taking off from school is that PhD programs in the hard sciences seem to be wary of breaks in academics, not to mention that flipping burgers for the next 5-10 years to save up for school is not exactly appealing. After such a long hiatus, I’m not sure I would be able to transfer to any programs without retaking 60 credits worth of math/science courses over again to show that I retained my knowledge (which financial aid wouldn’t cover, so I’d have to work for even more years).</p>
<p>Ok…so you are eligible for the maximum Pell? That is $5600. The Direct Loan for a junior independent student is $12,500. Total $18,100. You say you got a refund on some of your financial aid. Did you bank it…or spend it? Do you have a part time job? </p>
<p>ETA…you say you also have state aid which can be added to my $18,100 total. </p>
<p>$18,100 plus would cover tuition costs at MANY instate public universities, so if you could commute from home, and got a part time job, you should be able to cover your costs.</p>
<p>no. not possible to take out loans without any credit or cosigners.</p>
<p>Agreed, the reality is that no one will lend you money without credit or a co-signer. It just never happens. </p>
<p>Your only options are to either find a school you can afford or take time off and work. That’s reality.</p>
<p>*I’ve applied to all the applicable local colleges and in-state schools, so I’ve exhausted all the plausible school choices. I was either rejected or the school’s financial aid policy was the aforementioned description.
*</p>
<p>?? </p>
<p>Please explain. Which local and COMMUTABLE schools have you applied to? And what were the results.</p>
<p>What is your home state?
What state schools are near your home?
What is your GPA?
What is your major?
What is your intended career?</p>
<p>You could cover all direct costs (tuition, fees, room, board) plus books with the maximum Pell grant and direct student loan at Minot State (North Dakota). From their website, it appears that transfers with a 2.0 GPA are accepted. There are other low-cost options in the northern Great Plains, upper midwest, and some southern states.</p>
<p>I am in New York. All of the public in-state schools I applied to, I was rejected from. Only a few private schools and some OOS schools that took into consideration my special circumstances saw past my past decided to give me a chance. The only thing about school options is that I intend to study high-energy physics, so I only applied to schools that have professors currently performing research in that area.</p>
<p>My GPA depends on how the adcoms want to see it. I went to college several years ago and ended up with ~0.5 GPA, but my GPA at my current institution is a 4.0, so averaging the grades/credits together it’s about 2.5. However, my math/science GPA is still a 4.0 as I hadn’t taken any math or science courses before matriculating at community college.</p>
<p>Did you talk to the transfer advisor at your community college? MOST community colleges have articulation agreements with four year public universities (not all, but at least some) whereby a student is accepted at the four year school IF they satisfactorily complete the CC coursework. Previous courses are not considered in most cases.</p>
<p>Go and talk to the transfer advisor at you CC ASAP. </p>
<p>There are a TON of SUNY colleges. Surely there is at least ONE where you would be accepted.</p>
<p>Between TAP, Pell, and the $12,500 Direct Loan, you should be able to cover the costs…I think!</p>
<p>Each SUNY has their own admissions policies. Some programs have a GPA requirement of over a 3.0. I think Binghampton and Stony Brook do. But you may be able to applied as undeclared and switch to your program later. </p>
<p>A SUNY only cost about $7,000 - $8,000 per year too commute plus books. The room and board at SUNYs tend to be a little high. The pell and tap grant should take care of most of the tution.</p>
<p>Which SUNYs and CUNYs did you apply to? They don’t all have tough req’ts. </p>
<p>Do any of them NEED more juniors and seniors? If so, apply to those.</p>
<p>Sure you’ll find some privates that will take you. There are privates out there desperate to put warm-paying-bodies into their seats. However, you don’t have the money for those.</p>
<p>Hopefully some of the NY public experts here can tell you which publics to apply to.</p>
<p>
That could limit OP’s school options.</p>
<p>This student needs to get a degree. It is possible that his prior poor GPA will affect his four year options, and ability to do research with these folks. He needs a plan B.</p>
<p>Thumper’s right. </p>
<p>the goal needs to be “get a degree” (in physics). The school doesn’t have to have profs specializing in high-energy physics if that can’t be had. That can be a grad school goal. </p>
<p>Students with issues (GPA, money, whatever) shouldn’t be putting up roadblocks that interfere with the goal to get their degrees. They can’t see the forest thru the trees. </p>
<p>This is what I suggest the OP do…make a new thread in the Parents Forum…put a subject line that includes something like:</p>
<p>Transfer student needs SUNY with good Physics that will accept an upwards trend GPA</p>
<p>Then in the body of the post, include the GPA issues (bad grades before, great grades recently…and so forth), include cum GPA.</p>
<p>Mention that the student is a NY resident, low income, needs affordable school that Pell, TAP, Stafford loans, summer job will cover.</p>
<p>include your recent courses and their grades.</p>
<p>List the SUNYs that have already rejected you.</p>