Non traditional student with a bunch of random questions

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>Sorry if this is the wrong place to post this, but this is the section I browse the most and respect the opinions of the regular posters here.</p>

<p>I'm 30 years old and married with 4 kids. I'm currently attending my local CC and will hopefully keep my 4.0 gpa and have 26 credits by the end of this semester. Up until recently I was dead certain I was going to transfer to the University of Oklahoma next fall to do either mechE or EE. I've never wanted to finish my undergrad with a lot of debt and attending OU I could leave with zero debt if I play my cards right.</p>

<p>I've never even considered that there was a possibility of me attending one of the top 10 schools for engineering based on cost, having no shot at being accepted and no connections. Recently i've been speaking to some people and doing some research, and trying to figure out if it really is THAT crazy for me to attend one of these schools.</p>

<p>Firstly, I'm a permanent resident who graduated high school (with ****ty grades) overseas in 2000, and to be honest, before starting at my CC have not been overly productive, just random low paying jobs and working in the family business. The only thing I really have going for me right now is my gpa. Based on this alone, can all that be overcome by continually having good grades from now on and adding EC's (like doing some free tutoring/volunteering etc)? Would having a busier than normal family life making going to one of these competitive schools even possible?</p>

<p>I've taken Calc1-3, Chem 1, Eng comp 1, POLS and HIST so far, but hopefully by the time I apply I'll have at least a semester of physics, differential equations, humanities and more random gen ed classes under my belt. Besides this is there anything I can do academically to improve my chances of being accepted? I know I'll need to take various SAT tests...which ones and whats the best way to prepare? (i'm still very new to college life and the US education system for pre-college)</p>

<p>Probably the most important aspect...cost. I know I said I wanted to graduate without any debt or very little if possible, which is great, I can still go to OU and do that. Thing is i'm already going to be +35yo once I start looking for a job, I cannot afford to do all this to then worry if my college is recognized enough in the engineering world, or if by trying to go to the cheapest school, am I actually costing myself more down the road. I need to be able to work without too much hassle and i'd like to not have to take whatever comes my way if possible. For arguments sake, If I could get accepted to one of these +40k a year schools, are there ways of making it relatively affordable through scholarships/aid/work study type programs these top colleges offer..etc etc? What kind of debt would be acceptable to graduate with from a top school, vs little debt from unrecognized school? Would getting student loans be difficult (I have good credit but no job and nobody to cosign for me, my wife earns enough to support the family living expenses outside of school)?</p>

<p>My dream schools would be MIT, Gatech, UIUC and the like...are these THAT much better than OU that warrants the price different, nevermind admission requirements?</p>

<p>MY alternate plan was to attend OU, and once graduating with my BS hopefully attend a top 10 school for my masters...thoughts on this vs trying to do my undergrad at a top school?</p>

<p>Cliffs:</p>

<p>How/Can I get into a top 10 school, and if I can, should I?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance for any responses guys</p>

2

<p>Are you going to be mobile after you get your degree, or are you more likely to return to Oklahoma? OK employers might be impressed by a big-name degree, but they’re sure to be interviewing on the OU campus.</p>

<p>Likewise, assuming college wherever were tuition-free, are you mobile for the next 2-3 years? Can your wife support two households separated by a significant distance? Are your kids young / old enough that they won’t mind being uprooted now, and then again when you graduate?</p>

<p>My gut feel is that non-traditional students don’t necessarily get the same things out of the big-name schools that traditional students get, but that’s based on my personal non-engineering experience, having been both a traditional student at a big-name school and a non-traditional student at a “directional” state school.</p>

3

<p>Yes I am mobile, in fact even if I do graduate from OU I plan on moving away from OK, probably to the east coast. My kids are very young and we have no real family where wearer now so uprooting isn’t an issue. Living away from my family is not an option.</p>

<p>Thanks for the reply</p>

4

<p>Run the net price calculators, then, and apply anywhere you can afford. “Don’t borrow more than one year’s post-graduation salary” is a common rule of thumb; I had about two-thirds that much, and it was easy to pay off early.</p>

<p>If you don’t get in now, apply again for grad school. If you’re going to a big-name school for grad work, undergrad won’t matter much anyhow.</p>

5

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<p>If you get into MIT, they will meet your financial need without loans. What is your need? Cost less EFC (expected family contribution). So, basically, your cost will be the EFC. Run the EFC calculator to get an estimate, or submit a FASFA (you don’t have to send it anywhere).</p>

6

<p>Yeah I ran the net price calculator and based on my info it would only end up costing me around 4k to attend MIT, gatech’s calculator was down.</p>

<p>So now it’s just a matter of what it would take to get me accepted.</p>

<p>Appreciate the replies so far everyone</p>

7

<p>Try the net price calculator at each school to see if it is realistic financially.</p>

<p>While public schools are often the most friendly to transfer students from community colleges (particularly same-state community colleges), their financial aid tends to be best for in-state students, while they usually give little to out-of-state students (Virginia and North Carolina may be exceptions).</p>

8

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<p>Like ucbalumnus said, the publics are better with transfer students.</p>

<p>You really need to stand out in order to transfer into one of the top private engineering schools. Academics alone are not likely to cut it. They have more than enough academically outstanding students trying to get in as freshmen. They also do not loose many during the 4 years, so transfer opportunities are small.</p>

<p>What could get you in? Do some outstanding research with a professor. You need to show that you live, eat, breathe engineering, and at 30 years old, you are ready to take the next step (not the first step) towards realizing your hopes and dreams. Only continuing your research at MIT, Georgia Tech, etc. will allow you to do that.</p>

<p>Other than taking classes, what engineering related stuff have you been doing?</p>

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<p>Go to the SAT thread for how to prepare. For the SAT subject tests, take Math level II, and Chemistry since you have taken those classes at the college level.</p>

9

<p>I think you could get in based on your life experiences but I think transfers have a really hard time getting their costs covered. </p>

<p>My neighbor’s 48 yr old friend, is changing professions, got into UCLA’s program, but, his children are paying full cost.</p>