Please help, I'm so confused!

Applying to College
1

Hey, sorry it’s so long, but here I go,

I just moved here to Mass in April from London having graduated high school there. I’ve come here to study undergrad education, as I have some family over here. So since I moved here in April, I’ve missed all the deadlines to apply for the Fall 2015 semester.

Since I have to stay in Mass, some colleges do have spring admissions for freshmen like Umass, BU and Brandeis. But I really liked Northeastern Uni, but they do not have spring admits. When I talked to the admission advisers there at NEU, they told me that I should go to a community college for Fall, and then apply for a Transfer for Spring’16 semester.

My question is, If I do join a community college and then transfer in the next semester, what are my chances of getting in? And since I have no experience with the USA education system, will it be really hard? (I want to do biomedical engineering) And if it is hard, and I don’t do well in the semester at CC, will I ruin my chances of getting into a good university??

What do you guys suggest I do? Should I just forget about NEU, and go for the other universities, and sit at home till January, or should I go to the CC and then transfer?

PS: My current HS grades are decent, I have a 3.9 GPA according to the conversions of my London grades into a USA equivalent grade. I gave the SATs last Saturday and I’m hopefully getting around 2150 (fingers crossed). So at this state, I will be able to get into those universities for spring, but if i go to a CC and do terrible there, will that ruin my chances of getting into a good uni?

PPS (If that’s a thing): I DO NOT WANT TO WAIT A YEAR. Please do not suggest this.

I would really appreciate ANY advice, and thanks for reading all this if you did!!
:slight_smile:

2

With your grades, I can’t imagine why you think you might do poorly at a CC. I suspect the real risk is that you won’t be sufficiently challenged and will be bored. But why get stuck on the notion of attending one college? Apply to the schools that offer spring admission and see how you fare. You might decide one is the right place for you. I’m not going to address the issue of finances, but as an international student, I hope you’re aware that if it’s needed, financial aid is a giant issue for you at a US school.

3

And if it is hard, and I don’t do well in the semester at CC, will I ruin my chances of getting into a good university??

Yes, if you do poorly at CC, you will not be able to transfer to a good university. And all universities will require that you submit your CC grades. Also, there are many fewer slots for transfers than for direct admission as a freshman.

I agree that you are unlikely to do poorly - but it is a big adjustment to change educational systems. Since waiting isn’t an option for you, you will need to look for schools with spring admits. And you will definitely need to apply to several places.

4

What is your immigration status? That will affect your ability to get financial aid.

How much can your family afford to pay? That will affect where you can attend college/university.

If you would need a lot of financial aid, it is better to wait and apply for admission for fall 2016. Transfers rarely receive aid that is as good as the aid awarded to freshman applicants.

If you don’t need any financial aid (or if you are in an immigration status that allows you to file the FAFSA and you don’t need any more aid than the federally determined aid that is awarded based on that), then starting at a community college and transferring makes perfect sense. There is a new thread in the Transfer Forum on the topic of doing well at community colleges and then transferring to good universities. Go to the main page where all of the forums are listed, and scroll down to find that forum.

Make an appointment with the Transfer Advisor at the community college that you are thinking of attending, and get some advice that is specific to your situation. That person’s whole job is to help students who start at that CC find good places to transfer to.

5

@N’s Mom
Thank you so much for replying!

You said there are very few slots for the transfer applicants, so does that mean it will be more competitive? Because I’ll be competing with other transfers and not other high school students? Or will it be easier, cause not everyone aces their first semester in CC?

6

@happymomof1
Thank you so much for replying!

Yes, I’ve already submitted the FAFSA as I am a citizen over here, and yes any financial aid would be great, as I’m not exactly going to be able to afford the whole tuition by myself.

Oh okay, that makes sense! What if I were to apply as a freshman applicant in the spring semester, instead of transferring; like just taking a semester off. Will that increase my chances of getting more financial aid from the colleges?

Thanks for the advice, I’ll definitely go check out the transfer forum and talk to a transfer adviser. :slight_smile:

7

@MommaJ
Thank you so much for replying!

Oh I didn’t think the the courses at the CC would be that easy? So you’re suggesting I apply to all the colleges which offer spring admits, and just wait till January, and hence take a semester off?

8

Generally speaking, the best financial aid packages are awarded to incoming freshman for the fall semester. If you need financial aid, and you want to start in the spring semester, you need to ask the admissions and financial aid offices about how things work at their particular college or university. Don’t be afraid to ask. It is perfectly OK to do that!

Some places will consider you to be a transfer applicant if you have taken one college course after finishing secondary school. This means that if you do need a lot of aid, it will be better to not take any classes at a community college while you are waiting to apply elsewhere. You could get a job and save money for your college expenses during that gap semester or year.

Each college and university has a Net Price Calculator right on its website. Run them for each place on your list. This will give you an idea of what your aid package might look like. The NPCs often are not accurate for families that where there has been a divorce, that own a business, or that own property other than the family home. In your case, it also is important to know whether or not you qualify for in-state tuition and fees at the public universities. If your parents aren’t in the US right now, you might not be considered in-state.

9

@happymomof1
Thank you for your reply! :smiley:

This is really great advice, thanks a lot! I’ll check out the NPC’s and ask the counselors about all the financial stuff!

Okay so transfer applicants don’t get much financial aid compared to freshman applicants? I’ll definitely think of all this now, thanks a lot!