<p>I want to spare you from personal details which have brought us to where we are today, but my kid had to go to a college abroad which her father selected and to a major he selected as well. Now, in the middle of her fourth year she has decided to follow her heart and transfer somewhere else.. I want to make this possible. Please help.</p>
<p>-She has 211 credits (her university has quarters instead of semesters, hence the amount of credits). We don't expect any of them to transfer (although we do hope for at least enough to cover electives). She has senior standing.
-We just filed FAFSA and we got a EFC=O. We have never used federal financial aid (or aid of any sort)
-Never tooks standarized tests for they were not needed at her college.</p>
<p>I do know she did the best with what was available for her under our circumstances at the time, but I wouldn't like to live with a decision she did not make for herself. </p>
<p>Would it be possible for her to transfer to another university inspite of the credits she has already?
Would we be able to recieve financial aid?</p>
<p>The thing is, her major is a vocational major only applicable to the foreign country where she is living. I’d rather not go into this, in addition she doesn’t like the major at all.</p>
<p>Grad school for financial reasons, and others, is not in reach.</p>
<p>Please limit the answers to the questions I made, we have thought this through enough already… for our particular situation.</p>
<p>Yes she can apply for transfer! Many colleges and universities would accept her even though she has completed almost a full degree elsewhere.</p>
<p>She will need to provide copies of her academic records. Even if none of the credits do transfer, the places that she applies to will still want to see them. She probably should have these records professionally evaluated. One well-recognized company that does that is [World</a> Education Services - International Education Intelligence](<a href=“http://www.wes.org/]World”>http://www.wes.org/)</p>
<p>If you have been living in the same state for a year, it is almost certain that your daughter would qualify for in-state tuition and fees at the community colleges and public universities in that state. These would be your most affordable options. Since she was able to file a FAFSA, she is either a citizen or falls into an immigrant category that would qualify her for a work permit. That means that as soon as she gets to the US, she can find a job and start making money to help pay for her education.</p>
<p>The best help for her in navigating the US college admissions process may be the counselors at the EducationUSA office closest to where she has been living and studying. If she is still in that country, she could pay them a visit. [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php) If she’s already here, one good way to get advice would be to schedule an appointment with the admissions office at the community college closest to where you live now. The admissions officers there work with people who are changing careers all the time, and they have access to lots of useful information.</p>
<p>She should be eligible for financial aid, but the specifics of her situation as a transfer applicant who has nearly completed a college degree may affect the specific kinds of aid she qualifies for. Those questions should be taken to a true expert. There are some in the Financial Aid Forum.</p>
<p>this truly is a wonderful and helpful site, thank you for your replies.</p>
<p>She is a US citizen. So is her father, who no longer lives with us. We were sent abroad for work reasons, and decided to stay as we bought a house and so on. We have been evaluating if she should stay or not to finish the major. I would rather have her complete it so she can have a degree under her belt (even foreign as it is). We were not able, for many reasons to send her to the US for her degree, but things have been working out better lately. But D feels very strong on building her knowledge on another direction, she is set on following her heart on this matter. Of course, she would have to work and pay most of it herself. Our FAFSA was EFC=O.</p>
<p>Graduate school, with so little funding available (scholarships, grants) is out of question. </p>
<p>Would it be best for her to complete her degree and opt for a second degree back in the US, perhaps credits would transfer or GE may be waived. Or rather not complete the degree and apply as transfer as I suggested at the beggining of the thread??</p>
<p>Does your daughter have any idea which US schools she might want to attend? what areas? what does she wish to study? Schools really do have varying requirements. Private colleges are more likely to work with you, than big state schools.</p>
<p>Few 4 year colleges accept someone with senior standing. This is true of every state school I know. So community college really will be the most probable choice. If you have not been living here and don’t have residency in a state, this won’t be cheap. She will be borrowing to do this after her Pell Grant.</p>
<p>If she gets her degree, that will disqualify her for financial aid. There is no aid for second bachelor degrees.</p>
<p>I’m confused as to why graduate school is not appropriate. There is funding for PhD programs and some masters. Even some professional schools offer some aid. And loans are available for all. Realize even with a zero EFC, unless she can get into a top college, lots of loans will be necessary to just get the bachelors and then she may need grad school to depending on what she wants to do.</p>
<p>Well, close to where we live a few US colleges have established themselves, providing one or two years with very cheap (almost instate) tuition and afterwards the possibility to continue the degree in their US campus with instate tuitions. They even offer some degrees that could be fulfilled entirely in their campus abroad. </p>
<p>And yes, the decision to continue or drop her current degree does have somewhat to do with the possibility to be eligible for financial aid, as I’ve said before, tuition so far has cost us fair amounts which we’ve been able to pay for ourselves. And after a first degree she couldn’t opt for for Pell Grants, just Direct Stafford Loans. But I consider that having already a bachelor’s degree (although it would be foreign) would help her land a job (even part-time or so) that will allow her to help support her studies. </p>
<p>Graduate school is a bit more complicated. First of all, price tags are usually generous. And not because she’s my child, but she does have wonderful grades and performs many social activities and services. D is also fluent in two languages, as native speaker and speaks yet another. But she still doesn’t feel ready for an advanced degree, and I understand this. Academically she does great, and although up to her middle school education she was taught in English, D insists that she needs more knowledge (HS and College level writing and so on) in order to be competetitive in an advanced degree. And as I mentioned, she isn’t really inlove with the major she is taking, and being it vocational, that is pretty much all she knows -it lacks diversity of knowledge, it’s quite narrow-, so an advanced degree in a field different from her current one might be a stretch. Also, I consider a Master’s degree or PhD should help you in a field in which you work, not ‘just because’, and we agree she should have work experience before she actually considers these types of degrees.</p>
<p>D doesn’t really care for brand name schools or anything of the like, she wants to study what she loves. And if that will lead her close to the career path she wants, I think I ought to help her find a way to make things happen.</p>
<p>If she is very close to finishing, and there is any chance that that degree would be useful in the US job market, it might be best to just finish it. At some point, I take it that she is planning to move back to the US. Any skills whatsoever that she has are going to make her more employable. After working a year or so, she can sort out what it is she wants to do, where she wants to study, and whether or not she needs a full second bachelor’s degree or just some undergrad coursework in the new field of study in order to change directions. She would be an independent student at that point, and she’d have in-state residence where she’s living. </p>
<p>However, if she’s so fed up with the first degree program, and she really truly is focused on the other major field, then starting sooner rather than later makes more sense. Check out the extension programs for the US universities that are operating near you. Make sure that they are regionally accredited back here. University of Maryland University College offers live classes on and near US military bases all around the world as well as an extensive online program. Penn State has a similar distance program, and there are others.</p>
<p>happymomof1, I do think she wants to move back to the US. Specially now that she’s come in contact with her cousins and other relatives living in the States. As for her degree it’s in law, which I don’t think would be marketable for they use a different system -although it does provide her with skills and knowledge- which I hope are somehow useful in the career path she wants to follow. I have heard of 2 or 3 programs close by, and will check U of Maryland and Penn State to be sure, I’m grateful for your comments.</p>
<p>Fed law requires completion of GE if go to school in the USA. There is also a cap on credit hours attempted and earned that when you hit the max are disqualified for financial aid.</p>
<p>I don’t understand quite what kmazza is saying about GE and financial aid.</p>
<p>You should take any questions you have about financial aid to the experts in the Financial Aid Forum. There is some flexibility in the rules to accommodate students who change majors, transfer to other institutions, etc.</p>