Preparation for transfer admissions to US from UK HELP!

Transfer Students
21

<p>It is very simple to live in US and get immigration status, you just have to find an US citizen to marry to. Going through a work visa is going to be very difficult.
Your problem is that you did everything backwards.
You first decided to apply those TOP schools that are lottery schools for anyone and did not have a safe/match school to fall back on.
Second, you think you can sail through those TOP schools with your A level HS grades but with a “below average” SAT, not saying your SAT is not good, it is just below average for the schools you are applying . There are students with A grade score and 2400 SAT got rejected by those schools.
Third, you did not use the NET PRICE calculator to find out which school will meet your FA needs, scholarships or otherwise.</p>

<p>Now you have several choices:</p>

<ol>
<li>Take a gap year, improve your SAT and essay, try it next year. Apply widely.</li>
<li>Improve your SAT and try it after one semester at Imperial. Your SAT must be real good, even better than in #1 and your scores at Imperial must be sterling. As it is more difficult to transfer with FA needs.</li>
<li>If your first semester grade at Imperial is not sterling, take another year at Imperial and transfer for you Jr. year, the doors are more open at that time for most schools.</li>
<li>Finish Imperial and try US schools at graduate level. Engineering is a subject gets a LOT of FA at graduate level.</li>
</ol>

<p>If you plan to spend your life here in the US, what is one, two or even four years will make that much of a difference? I have been immigrated here since 1975, I was drafted in my native country for two years in addition to a gap year to study for my college exam, looking back, those three years were just memories, no impact on my life in the US for some 40 years.</p>

22

<p>@megpmom - Thank you for your advice. Yes I think my SAT score was a bit of a disappointment, but I thought US universities would be ‘slightly’ lenient with internationals in terms of the SAT score. In the UK, for example, we have no formal multiple choice exams. I took the exam twice (improved by 200 second time) - I would have taken it again, but it was better to spend more time on other bits of application. I may have done better on the ACT…</p>

<p>@aunt bea - ok thanks… but I did apply to some need-blind schools (their average financial aid package is very, very good). </p>

<p>@artloversplus - Yes you have outlined all my choices. </p>

<p>Technically I will be graduating from high school this week (when results come out). If I was to take a gap year (spend some time improving my SAT and essays), my application would have to be completed by december. This means that I have 4 months to do something (meaningful for my application) BEFORE I submit my application. (I will be deciding over the next two weeks whether I should take a gap year or not) OR should I do something after I submit my application (but detail it in my application)? I was trying to apply to some summer programs by US universities, but the start dates conflicted with my exams…</p>