Transferring as H-4 dependent international student. Need financial help.

Paying for College
21

Jheepu- stop for a second.

I am sure you can compete. That is not the issue here.

You have three issues:

1- getting accepted as a transfer. It is tough. Most transfers are going DOWN the food chain (from a state flagship U to a less competitive state college). Why? Because a college which would have rejected you if you had applied in HS needs a reason to accept you now. (so that SAT score? If you couldn’t get into Amherst from HS, you would need to be an absolute superstar as a college student to get admitted).

2- Paying for college. Getting enough money as a transfer to afford a private college is really, really tough. Some colleges are happy to admit you without enough money to help you pay for it- they assume that if you really want to attend your parents will take a second mortgage on the house and take on private loans. If you are contemplating grad school for any reason- this is a really, really bad idea.

3- Your academic goals. if you are serious about med school, stay where you are, fulfill the med school requirements and get really good grades, major in anything you want. That’s a plan for med school. Transferring to Colby, taking your engineering requirements at Dartmouth JUST so you can major in something you don’t need for med school- this is not a plan.

You need to read the fine print (and it might not be on a website- you need to make some phone calls). Colby likely has a requirement that you need to be ON CAMPUS for a certain number of semesters in order to get a degree from Colby. So picking up and moving to NYC to take engineering classes at Columbia (in one of the most expensive cities in the world, btw) means EXTRA semesters at Colby- thereby prolonging the time and costs to get your degree.

The military- incredible programs to help pay for med school. They screen very, very tightly to make sure they aren’t admitting someone who isn’t interested in becoming a flight surgeon or serving their country but is just doing it for the dough. Just something to think about. You need to carefully assess how many years of your life you would be committing to the US Armed Services and what that commitment will be like.

I have a good friend who did one of the Armed Service programs. He served nobly in Iraq and Afghanistan. When he was accepted into the program, most of the MD’s he met had served on US bases in Germany (an ally), the UK (an ally, plus all those free weekends in London and Paris!) or stateside. And then we became a nation at war. You don’t get to tell your commanding officer “I don’t really want to go to war” or “I didn’t sign up for this”.

This is what you signed up for. He spent months being a doctor on a tiny helicopter trying to save young soldiers from dying from shock and blood loss after stepping on a land mine. And yet- all the MD’s he’d interviewed with had fun stories about Oktoberfest in Munich and traveling the world.

You need a plan-- and Colby followed by the military might not be it.

22

Again…you need to set your priorities.

First…you parent has an income. Schools like Colby and Amherst WILL consider that income when they craft a need based financial aid award for you IF (and it’s a BIG if) you get accepted at all). Your parents WILL be expected to contribute to your college education.

Find a place that is affordable. Start there. You can take prerequisite courses ANYWHERE for medical school.

But you have to be able to pay the college bills.

23

I am not following post #20. Columbia and Dartmouth are at least a 5 drive apart. FYI, Dartmouth doesn’t have semesters. You need to do some serious research before you get your hopes up on any of these schools. Colby, Dartmouth, Columbia? Not only are you in 3 states, you are all over the map in your wants and expectations.

24

I have planned to serve for the military for the rest of my career. My father and I went over this my sophomore year in High School.My uncle is a medical officer in the military and has also served in bases located in Germany and Japan. I have also discussed concerning this topic several times (not face to face) with him, and I have already told him that I am fully committed to the plan.
I never applied to Amherst as a High School student. I applied to only one college out of state which was University of Washington in St. Louis and I got in. And I am sure with better SAT score, which I am going to take this January and am actually gonna “try”, I would like to think good of my chances since I got into University of Washington (another selective university) with the current “not so high” SAT scores. And I only used Colby as an example. I am not that seriously thinking about applying there. I just thought, when I was researching, that it would be a great place to just apply if I have no other options.

25

FYI the military option:

Doctors in the military are officers. Officers must be U.S. citizens. It sounds like OP is waiting on a green card. How long will it take after that to become a citizen?

26

That is what I said. Those institutes are pretty far apart. I am not denying that fact and never said they were close. And when I was talking about semesters, I was talking about semesters in Colby not in Dartmouth.

27

Just keep in mind…some colleges will not consider SAT scores taken while you are IN college. The test really is for students in HS…not students who have already taken college courses.

And it’s Washington University St. Louis. Just FYI.

You might want to check the % age of transfer applicants that school takes as well.

And it doesn’t solve the “how will you pay for this” question.

28

Amherst will not consider the income as a factor to getting accepted. I have already talked to one of their admission administrator.
It will only take a year to become a citizen after enlisting, its not that long considering I have to serve for atleast two year before applying to medical school.

29

I am certain Amherst takes SAT scores. My bad for some reason, I was thinking of University of Washington from Washington state as I am been following their football team lately. Amherst is also one of few colleges that is willing to give full or high percentage of tuition IF I get accepted so payment isnt a big deal as of now.

30

OP- best of luck to you.

You are not the first young person to post here asking for help and then rejecting the advice you get. And you won’t be the last.

But before you get too caught up in transferring, med school, military, etc. just remember that you need to pay for each semester THAT semester. So if you don’t have the funds next August to pay for whichever school you plan to attend, you won’t be attending. It’s that simple. Your long range plans may or may not pan out- but in the near term, it seems like you are applying to unaffordable options for next year.

Which may mean taking time off, even if you think you don’t want to do that. That’s what happens to kids who get accepted to schools they cannot afford. They get a job, they wait a year, and they apply to more affordable options. And it’s becoming increasingly clear to me that this may be your best option.

It is hard to get accepted as a transfer. it is really hard to get accepted to a school which promises to meet full need (as they define it- not what your Dad says he can afford). So this is your reality.

Your uncle, your military service- all of that is great. But you don’t seem to understand what you’ll be required to pay in Sept. 2017… based on your parents income and assets.

Good luck.

31

I am not rejecting any of the advices. Dont get me wrong, all these suggestions are great and I really appreciate them. Its just none of it is viable option for me.

My plans ARE for the next semester. The only reason I brought up my long term goals was because other users from the threads brought it up. I am trying my best to find a viable option that is financially suitable just for the next semester.

And I do understand what I will require to pay for next year, thats why I have here in this thread to asking for advices. Its just that I am in such a tough situation that there is little room for me to advance.

Anyways, thank you for your help!

32

@juheee

Please remember, your parent contribution will be based on your family income…so…what is that?

In addition, the schools on your list also require a student contribution and that can be several thousand dollars. Will you have that amount too?

You seem very sure about the affordability of these colleges. How is that?

33

I would not prefer to say the exact amount but my family income is below “average.”

Yeah I can afford to pay few thousand dollars with the help of my savings and other private scholarships.

I am not anyway close to certain about affordability of these colleges. I am just very optimistic. I might seem a little hard headed but one thing I have learned over the past few years is being confident and “believing” can take you a long way.

34

OP- before you get excited about Amherst or any other “meets full need” college, you need to sit down with your dad and run your family income and assets through the net price calculators. YOU read “full tuition scholarship” and think it applies to you- because you NEED a full tuition scholarship. The amount that Amherst will offer you- if you get accepted- is what THEY think you need, based on income, assets, etc. plus- as Thumper points out- a contribution from you based on your summer or during the year earnings.

Run the numbers first.

You are in a tough situation- I grant you that- but you are making it more difficult for yourself than it needs to be. You do NOT need to major in something special or unusual to get into med school- right there, this opens up a range of more affordable options. You need to understand how unlikely it is for you to get into a college with odds like Amherst.

So maybe get your backup plan in place first? Amherst isn’t going anywhere…

Where are the colleges you can afford?

35

At most generous, meets full need schools like Amherst, any outside (private) scholarships you receive will reduce your grants from the school, because your need will be reduced. Yes, that reduction may be applied first to self-help (work study and, once you become eligible, federal loans), but if your plan is to get a lot of outside scholarships, at a school like Amherst they will not reduce your institutional EFC.

36

Just remember…the net price calculator likely won’t be accurate. This is an international student.

So to the OP…just keep that in mind.

37

<<<
with him, and I have already told him that I am fully committed to the plan.
I never applied to Amherst as a High School student. I applied to only one college out of state which was University of Washington in St. Louis and I got in. And I am sure with better SAT score, which I am going to take this January and am actually gonna “try”, I would like to think good of my chances since I got into University of Washington (another selective university) with the current “not so high” SAT scores. An
<<<

If you got into WashU, why didn’t you go there? Don’t they give int’ls aid?

What is your home state? Once you get a green card, you’ll get instate rates.

If you’re also considering UWash in Washington, that will be too expensive for an OOS student.

38

Agree with @blossom

You have been given really good advice by the posters here who have experiences with their children in colleges and med schools.

I think you need to use your optimism to find a school that will take you and give you funding because I don’t think anyone here has any other suggestions for an international transfer student who can’t afford to pay for his full education.

FYI: Everyone pays, thats the way it works now.

39

OP- you don’t seem hard headed at all to me. You seem uninformed about how need blind admissions operates, unsophisticated about money and college financing, and naive about how to create a realistic life plan given the challenges in your particular situation.

That’s not hard headed. And that’s not a crime. But your optimism and believing that just because you got into Wash U means that you’re going to get in to a comparable school WITH ENOUGH MONEY to attend, without bankrupting your family is likely to distract you from what you need to be doing right now- sitting down with your parents and having a clear headed discussion about finances, AND coming up with a realistic list of affordable colleges which are likely to admit you as a transfer.

I am optimistic that I can dance with the Bolshoi ballet. But given the odds- surely you’d be counseling me to come up with a more realistic plan, no? And that’s without even seeing me dance.

If you were my kid or my neighbor I’d be telling you to ditch the bio engineering. That seems to be the constraint which is going to push you into a school which you cannot afford, leaving you without an affordable option. If you really have a budget of a few thousand dollars (and that’s it) start close to home- draw a circle around your house and figure out what your commutable options are.

That becomes your backup plan if in fact, those schools are commutable and affordable.

Then you can go crazy thinking about Colby and Amherst.

40

The kind of dual degree program you are looking at usually means spending the first three years at A, and then two years at B. You will only be accepted into B for the second part of the program if you fulfill very specific requirements (courses, grades, etc.) at A, and there is no guarantee that the second part of the program will be affordable for you because A and B usually have different financial aid policies.

You don’t need bioengineering to get into med school, you just need the pre-med courses. You need really good grades, a really good MCAT score, really good letters of recommendation, and to fulfill the required job shadowing/hospital volunteer work/etc. The usual advice is that students attend the college/university that is going to be cheapest for them and where they are likely to get the best GPA. Choosing an engineering major over a plain old biology major has kept any number of people out of med school because the engineering classes wrecked their GPA. so do keep that in mind as well.