*Newly Minted US immigrant (green card holder for just over one year)
Not Yet a resident of any state
Lebanese American University (abroad, 1st year student)
Male / Middle Eastern Christian
First Generation to College
Economics / Accounting
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
HS GPA: 83 / 100 Top 10% in 10th and 12th grade. Rank 1 in 11th grade (It was a pretty difficult, prestigious private school)
College GPA (for transfers): 3.9
Awards
10% Scholarship Award (I’m not even thinking of including that)
Extracurriculars
Ranked 1st at the Regional BlomInvest Stock market Trading competition. Currently participating in the national competition.
Volunteer math tutor to middle school kids from underprivileged backgrounds.
Member at Economics Club & Consulting club
Model United Nations participant (that was in middle school)
Essays: 5/10
I’m thinking of applying to Utah State just cause it’s affordable and offers scholarships. I’m looking for spring transfers currently.
So could we do a reverse chance on this guy, cause as a new immigrant, i’m just quite confused.
What is your budget for university? What can you afford to pay in total per year without taking on any debt at all?
What state do you currently live in? Are your parents also living there and do they also have green cards? When would you establish official residency in that state?
I think my parent’s budget would be about 20-25k a year, maybe 28k at most. Note that I meant my family’s income is <25k a year, not a month. It was higher prior to an inflation crisis in Lebanon so we have savings aside.
My brother is a software engineer and he said he’s willing to help me fund my education. I haven’t talked with him much about it however.
Currently I’m abroad. My mom has a green card. My parents haven’t moved yet cause my dad has some paperwork left. I have no idea what my parents are planning to do though, so not really planning much around that. My brother is in Massachusetts, so I thought of moving in with him if possible. But the public universities in Massachusetts are really expensive for out of state students, and establishing residency there is very difficult. I applied to Boston University, haven’t heard back yet, and might apply to Northeastern for Spring. I also might add Babson. I can’t afford the sticker price obviously, but I heard that northeastern can be generous.
I would suggest taking classes at a community college. You would be more comfortable as a student in the US, cost is low, and it is easier to transfer from a CC than as an international freshman. You’ll also have a better understanding of the college system and the related costs.
I am heavily considering University of North or South Dakota. Also BYU and Utah State University. CSU Fullerton is also an option but I don’t think it makes much economical sense.
Thanks. I was considering that but there’s the issue of finding student housing for community colleges. Most community colleges don’t have that. Those that do are usually in really isolated rural areas, at least in the states I’m looking at. I don’t think my parents would approve of me moving into the middle of nowhere without many college students nearby of a similar age. I don’t mind, but I don’t see how I can get my parents’ approval.
Can you live with your brother and attend CC? And then increase your tuition for the last two years? Because depending on how your early units transfer (or not) you could very likely 3-4 more years.
In terms of aiming for public U’s, Utah would be advantageous because they allow students to establish residency without a parent living there. You could also look into U of Utah, or maybe into a pathway into UofU from a nearby community college, where you could earn credits for the year that it would take to gain residency.
It will be hard to get merit money as a transfer, but you should be eligible for whatever need-based aid you qualify for at full-need-met schools. The caveat is that many schools are need-aware for transfers even if they’re need-blind for first-years, so you’ll need to be strongly qualified in order to counterbalance having high need. Full-need-met schools that have relatively high transfer acceptance rates include U of Miami, BU (which you’re already considering), Kenyon College, Connecticut College, Trinity College (CT), U of Richmond, Skidmore, Dickinson, St. Olaf, Union College (NY), Denison U, Franklin & Marshall, Notre Dame, Lafayette, and Wesleyan U.
Berea College in Kentucky could be a really good place to apply. It is only for low-income students - every student receives a full-tuition scholarship, and all students work a series of on-campus jobs to cover their living expenses. Berea has a strong alumni network and secures great opportunities for its students. It has a business and econ department that seems to fit your interests well. About 8% of Berea students are international, so although many of the domestic students come from the Appalachian region, it does have students from all over the country and the world. The transfer acceptance rate is over 40%, higher than the first-year acceptance rate. I believe they only accept fall transfers, but they review applications on a rolling basis so you probably wouldn’t be waiting until spring for a decision; if you were to get in there, it might be worth the wait to start in the fall, for a great, debt-free education. Use the tools here to make sure you are financially qualified to apply: Berea College - Quick Estimator - Net Price Calculator
Hey, thank you for the helpful advice. I just checked Berea but it seems that the deadline for transfers is over. As for the colleges you listed above, do I have a good chance of getting into them?
Utah State University offers a $15,000 scholarship for transfer students with a GPA of 3.9, so that’s what drew me in. But the caveat is that the deadline is over, so I’d have to apply for spring.
Probably not unless he moves elsewhere. The tuition at public universities in Massachusetts is extremely high. That might be a good idea however if I move on to attend a private university or a cheap public university after completing community college.
Will your parents be living in a US State next year?
I don’t think you can start college this Fall. You could move in with your brother and work.
Since you’re already a transfer, you could check to see if a CC near where he lives would admit you and charge you the resident or in-district tuition - that would likely be sufficient for you to start college in the Fall, but I think it’s too late for a 4-year college. Working and taking gen eds that’ll transfer should help you regardless of where you go to college.
Spring admits rarely get sufficient financial aid so you’re looking at Fall 2022. That gives you enough time to figure things out.
As a US permanent resident, you’d be allowed to get Pell Grants and you could get the 5.5K federal loans (which you could “bank” for your next year).
Got it. I’m looking at University of North Dakota, which could be a good idea or not since it’s still accepting admissions. But I’m hoping for something better to be honest. What colleges do you think I should shoot for with my scores? I don’t have much knowledge as to what colleges I could shoot for. I heard not all universities accept community college transfers.
MY parents might or might not be moving so I’m not really looking to count on them in any shape or form.
I don’t think University of North Dakota, just because it’s a university still accepting applications, is a real possibility. Going from Lebanon to small-town North Dakota without really wanting to… not a good idea.
It’s probably tough for you, but you CAN come to terms with the idea you’ll start university in 2022. It’ll just mean having better choices later.
In the meantime you can add a CC where your brother lives, commute from there. Look into transfer rates to UMass Amherst as an idea of the CC’s academic quality.
You could apply to Brandeis, for instance.
Run the NPC (net price calculator) for every college listed on this list.
You’d have a lot more choices applying in July&August for Fall 2022 and you wouldn’t shortchange yourself.
Your HS GPA will need context, not only in terms of your rank but also in terms of results for national exams (eg., “an 80% from the school means students rank in the top 10% nationally”.) By any chance did you take the baccalauréat or A-Levels?
The Lebanese Baccalauréat was canceled that year because of covid. I’m considering CC cause there aren’t many universities with admissions open that I want to enroll in. Thank you!
Weren’t you awarded the diploma though? What happened with that?
See if your brother lives near a CC with easy access through public transportation.
You’d be allowed to work and take CC classes. If you apply for your Pell Grant, attending the CC should be very inexpensive or even free. You could thus set money aside and try to take gen eds or at least get A’s to beef up your credentials. It wouldn’t be ideal but it’d be a start.
What classes did you take already as a freshman?
If you were awarded the Lebanese baccalauréat what were your “advanced” or “specialty” subjects (like: philosophy, literature, English, Physics, Calculus…)?
Yeah, I was awarded the diploma. The nationals exams were cancelled, however. My speciality was in sociology & economics. In College I was an economics major in the first semester then I switched over to accounting in the second semester. I’ve taken macro, micro, calculus 1, financial accounting, intro to political science, intro to marketing, intro to management, English 202, statistics, and some other course i can’t seem to remember right now. I got an A on all of them except for english 202 and calculus 1, which i scored an A- on.