<p>hi
since 4 year colleges are so expensive and they also requires to take SAT(in my country sat exam is not held).i am considering studying in a community college and then transfer to a prestigious university.i am interested in majoring in computer science or electronics .and since California has got a some of the best universities in computer and engineering ,i prefer to go there . here is my situation</p>
<p>financial: my parents can give me 70k for my four years so obviously i need at least 40k to complete my education(scholarships,jobs,financial aid)</p>
<p>GPA 3.80 TOEFL :i have not take the exam but i expect myself to get 90 </p>
<p>any advice and suggestion would be appreciated</p>
<p>Why don’t you just try applying to some prestigious private colleges which give out a lot of financial aid to international student? Believe me, 70k is a huge sum of money! If you divide that money into four years, you get 17.5k for every year. And that is really a lot of money! Your GPA also seems to be fine for most of the prestigious four year colleges.
Regarding the SATs, you will be absolutely fine. There are many countries in the world where SAT is not administered. China, for example, doesn’t have the SAT examinations. Still, it sends the highest number of students to the US. Colleges will not ask for things you won’t be able to get. So, stop worrying about the SAT and try doing some research over four year colleges! :)</p>
<p>For admissions to a top college, you would need a TOEFL>100</p>
<p>But with that kind of support, I would recommend applying to the colleges that are need-blind for International students (H,Y,D,M,P,Amherst), and the ones that are almost need-blind (mostly well-endowed LAC like Williams, Colby etc)</p>
<p>Here’s the problem: most of the need-based financial aid and merit-based scholarships for international students are only available to first-year applicants. If you go to a community college now, you will close off most of your funding options.</p>
<p>On the bright side, $70K plus income from a job (say $20,000 over 4 years) might be enough to pay for community college and a cheap university in an area with a low cost of living. (That’s not California, by the way.) Just don’t expect Berkeley to offer you a scholarship when you are done with community college.</p>
<p>Last month I checked out several community colleges for the child of an old neighbor of mine in Venezuela. The Cost of Attendance (COA) for international students at each of them was at least $22k. I was really surprised! You need to do more research about the ones that could work for you. They might be less expensive - especially if you could live with a family friend or relative.</p>
<p>It is very difficult for transfer students to get financial aid. It is very difficult for international students to get financial aid. This means that it is extremely difficult for international transfer students to get financial aid. Your best bet is to apply to places now that offer some good scholarships for international students. Even if there is only one scholarship offered each year, that college should be on your list.</p>
<p>Oh, and loans are probably not a good idea. Sometimes students and their co-signers can get a loan for one or two years, but then they can’t anymore, and then the student can’t finish college. In addition, if you don’t make enough money to pay back your loan, your co-signer will have to pay it. Unless your co-signer is rich enough to not care about having to pay for your education, don’t ask that person to help you this way.</p>