<p>I have a green card and lived in US, my father worked for US government research. </p>
<p>I attended middle school and freshmen highschool year in US, the rest in my country</p>
<p>I started college here and I am in my 2.5 year. But my family is moving back to US due to violence reasons. I need to leave my college, but : </p>
<p>Can I take the normal SAT and apply as a freshman in US, eventhough I am 21 and have started college abroad? Should I just "lie" about starting college in my country? </p>
<p>Can anyone clear these up for me? How is it possible to start college in US</p>
<p>I don’t want to lie. But can I apply as a freshman eventhough I started another college in another country?</p>
<p>My plan is to have high SAT scores, so they don’t take into account low college scores (the system here is different, the college scores aren’t used)</p>
<p>“But can I apply as a freshman even though I started another college in another country?” Not without lying.</p>
<p>There’s a practical side to this as well. You said your college performance has been OK to this point. Then why not see what credits transfer into an American program and graduate earlier and without having to pay for additional years? Applying as a freshman yields you no benefits. You won’t be applying to very competitive programs anyways. Graduate early as you can and begin your career or post bachelors work.</p>
<p>You do not understand this, my country is close to civil war… I cannot stay more 2 years here, my family is moving.</p>
<p>Why cannot I apply for the entire 4 years? That is my plan. I do not plan to transfer (my GPA is low here, because college grades in my country are discarded, you take tests for post-graduate stuff). If I get high SAT scores, can I not do it?</p>
<p>You’re 21 years old, want to come and take the SAT to do what? Lie and apply for Fall of 2014 as a freshman in college? Do you think you’ll score high enough to apply to Princeton? You’ll graduate with a bachelors in 2018 when you’re 26 years old. And you’ll be competing with 21 and 22 year olds for entry level jobs ($12/hour).</p>
<p>Your best route is to visit nearby colleges in Atlanta, see which program best fits you and can accept as many credits as possible. Apply as a transfer and get through as quickly as possible. I would use your language skills to make yourself as marketable to employers as possible. A 23 year old applying for a job with Portuguese language is better than a 26 year old applying for the same job.</p>
<p>T26E4… I do not want to go to a Princeton or ivy league… I can go to Georgia State, Tech, anyone. </p>
<p>But why is it so bad to start at 21? I recall that 40% of students aren’t the usual 18 year old freshman… Forget about the lying thing. I am just wanting to apply for the full 4 years (eventhough I have started in some foreign country)</p>
<p>I do not think transferring is possible. Anyways, if I stayed here, I’d do 2 more years in college, 2 more years in Masters to be able to get into a masters in economics in US</p>
<p>If I go now and start over, I do 4 years+2 masters in US… Thats 6 against 6. </p>
<p>I want to do a M.A in economics also.</p>
<p>So, is it possible to start over eventhough I begun college overseas, that is all I am asking</p>
<p>You want someone here to tell you, “it’s OK, lie.” And we won’t, because it’s unethical and just wrong. If you lie on your application, and you’re caught, you could get expelled. Do you really want to take that kind or risk, considering how much money it costs to study here? (You’ll likely have to pay out of state tuition until you establish residency.)
(BTW, ethics are taken pretty seriously in American schools. You can get kicked out for plagiarism, cheating - all kinds of unethical behavior.)</p>
<p>Why do you think a transfer isn’t possible? Have you even looked into it?</p>
<p>As a transfer student, you’re likely to lose some credits and will likely have to do at least two, two-and-a-half more years, so you’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the American college experience, get to know the American college system and still be able to apply to good grad schools.</p>
<p>Lying starts your American education experience off on the wrong foot, and no one here will encourage you to do it, just like no one here will encourage you to lie in your application essay or cheat on your SATs.</p>
<p>The answer is no, any US college will consider you a transfer applicant. Whenever you apply to a college you are required to send transcripts from any previous college work.</p>
<p>You need to apply as a transfer student. Get in touch with the closest advising center for EducationUSA, and find out the correct steps to take to get official copies of your academic records from your high school and your current university. <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php[/url]”>https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php</a> And yes, you will need the records from that old university when you apply to grad school one day. It is part of your academic record for the rest of your life.</p>
<p>Any college or university that admits you will determine for itself which of your previous courses can apply toward a degree. This means that it is entirely possible to be admitted as a transfer, and still end up being at that new university for a full four years. </p>
<p>How soon will you be back in the US? It would be nearly impossible for you to gain admission at a 4-year university for this fall. However it might be possible to enroll this fall at a community college. Check the websites of the ones that are near where you expect to be living.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot. So its impossible to apply as freshman? I always heard of people who quit colleges and started new ones, I thought it was possible in U.S (can you clear it up?)</p>
<p>So… the grading system in my country is discarded (you take a national exam to enter M.A), so my GPA is not good, its a practice here to get zeros when you abadon the subject, etc. </p>
<p>I was wondering if the GPA thing is a real block for me, given that my institution is really different from US ones, not really compatible. I was wondering if a good SAT could get me into a Georgia State type of ranked college in economics. I’m planning on going in August to apply @ end of the year. Can you give an honest opinion on this? </p>
<p>Wait, if you need 4 more years <em>after these two in college</em> to get to a Masters (I’m quoting your message above), what your country calls “college” is likely “11th and 12th grade” or “college” in the British sense (“6th form college”)… and then you ARE a freshman applicant.</p>
<p>However if you are 21 I’m not sure how you could be in high school (even if I know that in many countries secondary school students can be 20 or 21, especially in vocational programs that require a circuitous route or if they had to take a break during their academic pursuits).</p>
<p>If your college does not have a GPA, you don’t have a GPA. you can’t “make one up” to satisfy US universities. Does your college give credit per course, per year, or only after you’ve taken comps (comprehensive exams at the end of the program)? </p>
<p>Right now, you and your family need to get out of the country safely. Have ALL your middle school, high school, and “college” transcripts photocopied and certified (stamped) and put the copies in two different places.
You’ll take care of college once you’ve arrived in the US. IF you have refugee status your situation as an applicant will be different from the typical situation for international students. However as a permanent resident you wouldn’t also be a refugee, but a green card allows you access to financial aid even as a transfer which is good for you.
Once you’ve arrived, enroll at community college and start on general education and prerequisites for your intended major. You’ll see from there. But right now you mustn’t worry about freshman vs. transfer, you need to get all your papers in order and get out before the war breaks out.</p>
<p>Actually, if I wanted to live in US and get M.A or PhD, all the experiences I know is that you must before take a M.A in home country and then apply for an M.A in US. So that is 2 years that remain on my college, 2 years of M.A in my country = 4 years. Which is exactly the amount of years in undergrad US, so its the same.</p>
<p>Is this community college thing the only solution? How long does it take for me to be able to transfer to a better college from there? </p>
<p>Is my plan of going in August, doing the nearest SAT and TOEFL and applying in end of year too “dreamy”? I’m going for Georgia State or equivalent, which isn’t highly rated in my course (economics)</p>
<p>Please, I’m sorry for bothering but I’m kind of desperate</p>
<p>In your original post, you stated that you have legal permanent resident status. That makes you a US applicant who has been living and studying abroad. You will not be treated as a completely international person.</p>
<p>Send an email to each of the places you would like to apply to. Ask each of them what you need to do. Get their recommendations about having your foreign school and university records evaluated. One organization that many universities like is [World</a> Education Services - International Education Intelligence](<a href=“http://www.wes.org%5DWorld”>http://www.wes.org) but other places also offer that service.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s school, they would accept some overseas students with some college as freshman. The transcripts were still submitted and reviewed. For your case I would contact each school and send a short clear explanation of your situation–don’t withhold information-- and your desire to enter as a freshman and find out from them.</p>
<p>Community colleges accept anyone with a secondary school diploma/certificate.
They don’t need your grades and their TOEFL requirements are usually fairly low (61).</p>
<p>You will need to enroll at Georgia Perimeter College because it has an agreement with Georgia Tech called the Regents scheme (RETP is the real name). That means that, as long as you have A’s in all the required program classes and sign a “TAG” (preferably as soon as you register), you’ll be admitted to Georgia Tech after 2 years and you’ll graduate from Georgia Tech.
[Regents</a>’ Engineering Transfer Program (RETP) | The College of Engineering at Georgia Tech](<a href=“http://coe.gatech.edu/content/regents-engineering-transfer-program-retp]Regents”>http://coe.gatech.edu/content/regents-engineering-transfer-program-retp)
[Transfer</a> Admissions Guidelines | The College of Engineering at Georgia Tech<a href=“note%20that%20you’ll%20have%20to%20take%204%20or%205%20classes%20each%20semester%20and%20do%20well%20in%20EACH%20of%20the%20classes%20in%20the%20chart%20-3%20or%204%20a%20semester%20-%20but%20of%20course%20not%20fail%20the%20%22general%20education%22%20classes%20that%20are%20not%20in%20the%20chart,%20likely%20a%20total%20of%203%20classes%20in%20the%20humanities,%20art,%20and%20social%20sciences,%20over%202%20years.”>/url</a>
<a href=“http://depts.gpc.edu/tag/#.UemUfW2AfLI[/url]”>http://depts.gpc.edu/tag/#.UemUfW2AfLI](<a href=“http://coe.gatech.edu/content/transfer-admissions-guidelines]Transfer”>http://coe.gatech.edu/content/transfer-admissions-guidelines)</a>
Additionally, you can still apply and start in August, and it’s less costly than universities.
<a href=“http://admissions.gpc.edu/[/url]”>http://admissions.gpc.edu/</a>
I’m not sure if you’d be a non-traditional freshman or an international since you’re a permanent resident but your HS diploma isn’t from the US. You should email them.
Also you’ll need to give proof that you’re a permanent resident.</p>