I live in California and I have the options to transfer to any CSU in California, which is 3 hours or more away, and live on campus or to go 12 hours away to the University of New Mexico and live in an apartment with a friend. Wherever I’m going I’m getting financial aid, but other necessities will have to be out of pocket. I’m 19, by the time I transfer I’ll be 20, currently getting my AS in Business Administration at a community college, and pretty nervous about moving. I’ll be away from home regardless, but UNM is just further away.
How do you know you’re getting financial aid?
Have you already applied to, and been accepted with financial aid packages in hand?
Yes and I was accepted, but I decided to stay home and go to the CC and get Gen Ed done first.
The distinction should not be in state, or out of state, but rather am I close enough to go home for long weekends or not. Of course, then you want to think about how important that may be to you.
What I think is important, aside from that stuff, though, is getting cool life experiences. I would suggest getting away from home, but, more importantly, going somewhere very different from where you have mostly lived. Urban/suburban/middle of nowhere. Beachy/foresty/deserty. Etc… College is the one time where you can just go. I say take advantage of that opportunity to broaden your experiences.
Of course there are many other things to consider like where you want to work after college, your major and the respective programs, etc., but in terms of the how close to home question, I think the important thing is going somewhere that will give you a new experience.
Finally, for point of reference, I grew up in middle/upper middle class suburban beach town, and went to school in New York City as a junior, and then for grad school. I stayed on after grad school, and worked there for a few years, and eventually settled back where I came from. I am SO glad that I had that experience, and I think it set and sets me apart from others who never really left the area.
Oh, one last thing, unless I’m misunderstanding, I don’t see how having been accepted before guarantees you’ll be accepted after attending CC. If you end up applying as a transfer student, it’s a whole different thing. Thankfully for you it should actually be easier to get in to most of the CSU’s, but I can’t imagine you have any guarantee to all of them.
Do you have current financial aid packages from these schools? The aid colleges offer transfers is usually much less than what they offer freshmen, so the packages you might have gotten as a high school senior won’t be what you’ll get now.
Where you choose to go will depend on what you can afford. Do you qualify for the Pell grant or state aid? You can take the federal student loan ($7500/year), but won’t qualify for freshmen grants. Try running the Net Price Calculator on each school website to get an estimate of costs for transfer students. If your parents can’t help you pay, attending a college in your home state will probably be more affordable.
It is really a personal choice. Do what feels comfortable to you.
See which CSU’s you get into and then make some visits to see which one you like best. Both Slo and SDSU are good business programs and worth considering if you get in.
Oh so the financial aid package’s are different for freshman and transfer students. Thank you for telling me. I’ll do more research on that.