<p>I made a profile just for this thread</p>
<p>NYC resident. I currently go to Queensborough Community College. Freshman. I want to transfer. I graduated high school with a 78 average so I don't really know what kind've GPA that is.
Honors English and Social Studies classes
1650 on SATs
really high on Reading Writing Grammar section
a bit below average on Math section
I have a couple college credits from some summer classes and stuff as well as a boat load of extracurricular activities
I want to major in the Business field. I also have experience working at a CPA firm if that helps.</p>
<p>I can't really afford school but I NEED to dorm. I need to grow and there's no room here. My mom is out of work and my father is retiring at the end of the year, December 31st. I live with my two sibilings however one of them is moving to California, so I would like to maybe find a school in Cali?
I don't know, I'm 18 years old and I haven't been past my own backyard without the leash around my neck and I'm expected to make really big decisions right now. Currently, I'm paying my tuition at QCC and FAFSA and the Pell grant is taking care about half of that tuition, I believe they would've covered more, but I applied late.</p>
<p>I feel like I just wrote down my whole life story, dorming is important to me, but honestly a solid future is what I'm really looking for.</p>
<p>I guess I just need some advice, some suggestions? H E L P M E</p>
<p>1) FAFSA is not a source of money. It is a form that you file so that the college you are attending can determine whether or not you are eligible for certain types of aid from the federal government. Filing it “late” does not mean that you get less money in your Pell Grant. If you qualify for X, you get X. Filing “late” can mean that you miss out on a Perkins Loan (if your college awards them) or on federal work-study money. But given that you are in NYC, you should be able to come up with some kind of part-time job if you need one. </p>
<p>2) I don’t know if NYS TAP money has a cut-off date for filing the paperwork, but the financial aid office at your CC can surely tell you the answer to that. In any case, for next year, don’t delay the paperwork.</p>
<p>3) Until you qualify as an independent student for the FAFSA application (married, 24 years old, military veteran, etc.), your home state for tuition and fees purposes will be where your parents live. Before you move out of the state where your parents are, check the residency policies at the community colleges and 4-year institutions in the state you think you’d like to move to. Each state (and often each college and university within that state) sets its own policy. It is unlikely that you would be able to qualify for in-state tuition and fees in CA before you classify as independent for the FAFSA.</p>
<p>3) The best money for transfer students goes to those who have tippy-top grades at their first college/university. A 78 is not a hideous GPA, but in your case completing your full associates degree where you are and graduating with a 4.0 from your CC will greatly increase the possibility that you will get better aid. Make an appointment with the transfer counselor, and find out where the top graduates of your CC have gone in recent years, and whether or not they managed to score some merit-based aid.</p>
<p>4) If you are just fed up with NYC and with college in general, there is nothing whatsoever wrong with taking a break for a year or two (or more). You could move to CA with your sibling, get a job, and start a new life. But you would have to be able to live with that sibling until you are making enough money to get your own place - in other words, you might be stuck living with each other indefinitely.</p>
<p>5) There also is nothing wrong with studying part-time and working full-time right where you are. Save up your money so that you can move out - either to a dorm when you are ready to transfer to a 4-year college or university, or just into your own apartment when you have enough money to do that.</p>
<p>If you’re tired of NYC, you could also transfer to a community college in the state but outside the city. You’d have to find a job and roommates, but it’d be different from your current situation. Just make sure you choose a community college that has a guaranteed agreement with SUNYs and to get almost all A’s.</p>