<p>I'm from Sweden and wants to study in the US starting this Fall semester. I have finished one year at university here but will have to start college there since the grades can't be converted over the sea.</p>
<p>Is it too late too apply for the Fall semester? </p>
<p>I want to attend med school after college so I'm looking for a CC that can offer me the prereqs I need. These are some cities I want to live in: LA, Miami, NY, San Diego, San Fransisco. Any recommendations of colleges?</p>
<p>Try Hofstra in Hempstead, New York...(40 min outside of NYC)..they were advertising on the radio yesterday that they still have openings for fall 08</p>
<p>The majority of community colleges will still have openings -- you will have to inquire if they can still grant visas to internationals for study in the US. That will probably be your biggest hurdle.</p>
<p>Some smaller state schools may also have openings -- cost may be a bit more, but you wouldn't have to transfer to a 4 year school to complete your degree.</p>
<p>Are you thinking of applying for med school in the US? If so, do you realize that it is very, very difficult for an international student to be accepted into a US med school? If accepted, it is very expensive -- the international student is required to deposit the full 4 year cost of med school into an escrow account before even beginning school. Here is an excellent link with info: International</a> Students and Medical School Policies</p>
<p>Okay, do you have any more recommendations? Colleges that can offer the prereqs and are quite big?</p>
<p>Yes, but if have a "green card" I will not be an international student anymore, I will be regarded as a national student and I will have the same chances as you guys. Although it is very difficult to obtain a "green card".</p>
<p>Errr...well I don't know how interested you would be into going to Anchorage, Alaska but the University of Alaska Anchorage has open admission until July 1st. It is a pretty decent school for prerequisites and has ~15,000 students so it's not too small either.</p>
<p>CA has a strong system of community colleges so that might be your best bet. They are not cheap for internationals though, so what's your budget?</p>
<p>I would suggest looking at the various CCs in SF and SD and calling to inquire about visas.</p>
<p>Getting a green card as a student from another country is virtually impossible based on my cousins experience. Even going to Harvard and a Harvard grad school, he had to find an employer willing to sponsor him after he graduated and it was very hard.</p>
<p>to be honest, while there are still many community colleges with openings left for fall semester, it doesn't seem like you have done the research on all the other aspects of college admission: area cost of living, financial aid, visa requirements, etc.</p>
<p>there are kids living in the US for the past 10 years who still can't get a green card -- so if you are thinking of applying for a green card this summer to study this fall, it isn't going to happen (unless you have special connections).</p>
<p>Even community colleges are going to be expensive -- and I don't know of any that offer FA to international students. You will have to pay room/board/living expenses/books/transportation on top of that -- maybe you have the money to do this, but if you don't you are out of luck. </p>
<p>if you do get a student visa, I think you are limited in your ability to work and earn money -- there are just alot of things you need to look into.</p>
<p>There are absolutely a ton of schools where you can still gain admission for the fall and will have the pre-med program -- but you need to tell us what you can afford and if you will need a student visa.</p>
<p>I just checked on my local flagship university -- University of Colorado at Colorado Springs -- the cost for an international student would be ~$30,000 US plus transportation and no financial aid is available for internationals right now.</p>
<p>SMC is right next to the beach in Los Angeles and has a huge international population and many of the students finish their pre-reqs and transfer quickly to very good schools (a good percent to UCLA and USC).</p>
<p>Of course I havn't looked at every aspect, I started researching like five days ago and the US is a big place.</p>
<p>I will not need FA, since that is taking care of from here (our government have great loans for students) and the visa will be no problem for college, it's when it comes to med school I will need to have the "green card". An ordinary student visa is taking care of over a week (I checked with the ambassy).</p>
<p>My budget for college is about 40-60 thousand dollars for the for years (10-15 per year). It depends on how much I will have to pay for a place to crash. Since I will travel there with just a big backpack I sure can live at the school if I could, but I guess that's not permitted.</p>
<p>Since I have probably finished many courses and will just have to do the exams to get a grade (I have finished the entire calculus, linear algebra, statistics, classical mechanics and a couple of programming courses), will it be easier to go to a 4-year college right away, so I can take the courses in the order I prefer?</p>
<p>fangsup15 had a very good suggestion -- Santa Monica College. They are relatively cheap (~$19,000 US/year estimated living expenses) and they are very familiar with internationals. It sounds like they could get you admitted and get you the paperwork for the visa in a matter of weeks. It is a two year college -- so once you have two years out of the way, you can transfer to one of the Universities of California. Keep in mind that a 4-year college costs quite a bit more (the cheapest will probably be ~$30,000/yr for total cost).</p>
<p>It is great that you won't need FA -- but keep in mind that borrowing ~$100,000 for undergraduate studies is a ton of money. I know that your government has great rates on the loans and stuff -- but still, that is going to be a heavy burden to bear for many years. If you get into med school, that is also going to be all loans -- and much more expensive (think ~ $150,000/4 years). After both undergraduate and med school, your debt would be over $250,000 -- will your government loan you that kind of money and what are the terms for payback?</p>
<p>You aren't going to find a school that costs $10,000 -- $15,000/yr for an international student (because you will be paying out of state costs at the cheaper state schools). </p>
<p>I would suggest you post in the international student forum -- you will probably get some really good info there.</p>
<p>Definitely check out the ability to get a green card -- I was under the impression that you couldn't get one while in the US on a student visa, but I might be wrong.</p>
<p>I am currently waiting for a answer from the embassy regarding green card, hoping they can provide a way to get it in a couple of years.</p>
<p>Well, I can get more loan if I want to. They will loan me a total of about $250.000 and I also have some that I got when my grandfather died. The payback time is 25 years from when I start working and it's almost no interest.</p>
<p>But if I apply for a CC, I wont have the same possibility for finished a lot sooner? I'm thinking to save some years and money I could do a bachelor degree in two years. It might be easier if I'm at a 4 year university since they offer all the courses I need?</p>
<p>^Unless your classes transfer (ie all of your calculus credits), you're not going to be able to get a bachelor's in two years. That would just be insane.
[quote]
But if I apply for a CC, I wont have the same possibility for finished a lot sooner? I'm thinking to save some years and money I could do a bachelor degree in two years.
[/quote]
It doesn't work that way. It's not about having the amount of courses necessarily. CC's just don't offer bachelor's degrees - they typically offer associate's (and some nursing degrees, certificates, etc).</p>
<p>But if I don't get the calculus credits, I will just have to do the exam then I have them in the US? I do not mean to sound cocky, but my friend who studied with me here is now doing twice the speed at college in the US writing straight As. But I guess I will just have to wait until I'm there to make that call.</p>
<p>What do you mean by it's not about having the amount of courses?</p>
<p>If I do more courses in a year, will I still pay the same amount or do I pay per credit?</p>
<p>I think what the poster meant is that at most US schools you won't get credit for a class by taking an exam. You can use an exam to not have to take calc, but they won't give you credit towards your degree for that. </p>
<p>One thing you can do to get credit is to take AP exams, almost all CCs will accept those but they are only given in May.</p>
<p>While you may be able to pass a calculus placement exam and be exempted from calculus, you should not do it. Medicals schools require that you have actual course numbers and grades for all required pre-med classes on your college transcript. Medical schools will not accept course credit based either on AP or IB scores or placement exams. </p>
<p>Also medical school require all candidates to have completed bachelor's level degree. That means unless you already hold a bachelor's degree, you must take the full number of courses required by your college to complete your degree. You can't just take the medical school pre-reqs and apply to medical school.</p>
<p>One last thing--many medical schools will not accept community college coursework for core medical school pre-reqs. I know that organic chemistry frequently is mentioned by posters in the medical forum as one course NOT to take in a CC. There may be others.</p>
<p>As for the cost, most colleges have a base cost for a normal courseload--typically 17 credits or less per semester. If you enroll in more credits per semester, you have to pay additional tuition on a per credit basis for the overload classes. CC charge on a per credit basis-- you pay separately for each class you enroll in.</p>
<p>Okay, I think I have misunderstood something here. When you take, for example, a calculus course, what are the requirements to get a grade? Here, you just register on the course, then write an exam and the grade is yours. So if you'd like, you can just register on a couple of courses then pass by to write the exams (there are lectures given, but they are not compulsory). Of course, this doesn't work for courses including labs, but math courses don't.</p>
<p>Sounds like the smartest thing would be to go to a 4 year university and take as many credits as I can handle per semester, and don't care about if I need to wait with some courses.</p>
<p>I understand I will have to get a bachelor degree, and I almost have one here but that will not be enough (I talked to a couple of medical schools).</p>
<p>Oh, I understand now, you're already in college.</p>
<p>You need to apply as a transfer student and then some or all of your grades will transfer. Anyone who has attended another college anywhere must apply as a transfer.</p>
<p>If you are close to a bachelors degree, a CC won't work for you. They are junior colleges and don't offer the advanced classes you will need.</p>
<p>There is a list that floats around this site of schools that still have openings for the Fall. Of course they are not our best colleges but I think with top grades many colleges will get you into med school.</p>