Please someone give me advice
As you guys know i have been accepted UIUC for electrical engineering for class of 2018. But I didn’t got any financial aid so I will be paying full fees for non-resident. I am going to San Diego community college right now.
So I have a decision to make. I can either go to UIUC this year pay full fees for rest of the years or wait one more year in community college and go to UCSD, UCLA or UCB ( not sure yet really good chances for Berkeley and LA). I will be paying apprx 25k less at UC’s. I cannot go to UC’s this year because they need 60 units to transfer.
But as we all know the earlier you transfer the better it is UIUC is a great school. I really want to get into the research environment and get hands on internships. I would starting all this 1 year later at UC’s. Can you guys suggest if I should wait for one more for UC’s or go to UIUC and try to get scholarships next year.
How will you be paying the difference? If this is a situation where your parents are paying full tuition and cost isn’t really a concern, then I’d say go for UIUC. However, if this difference in tuition is being compensated by student loans, it may not be as good of an idea.
I had almost the opposite problem. Originally I wanted to transfer to UC Berkeley. However, after seeing the incredibly high out of state tuition costs, I changed my mind.
Are you positive that you didn’t get any financial aid? It could be that your award letter simply hasn’t come yet. I haven’t gotten one yet, but I’m definitely eligible.
Hey comfortablycurt, I’ve heard that Illinois does not give much financial aid. I will be an in-state student if I get accepted next year. I know that you are an in-state student as well. Do you receive any kind of financial aid from the state or UIUC?
Yes, I’m in-state. I haven’t received a financial aid award letter from UIUC yet, but I’ll let you know when I do.
I’ve gotten the full possible financial aid for the last three years though. Full Pell and maximum allowable (for my CC) MAP grant, along with a smaller SEOG grant. My situation is a little different than some though. I’m 28, so it’s based solely on my personal income, and I have a 0 EFC. I’ll most likely get a good financial aid package.
One thing that I’ve always heard is that UIUC doesn’t have much in the way of transfer scholarships. They’re mostly departmental and not everyone gets them.
yeah I received my financial aid award letter. It says zero grant and zero scholarships. But my main question is
Is it worth going UIUC for 3 years and paying 52k per year ( considering no scholarships ) rather than waiting for a year for the UC’s. I will be paying for tuition at either place not my parents. Will staying at CC for an extra year, change my chances of getting into that big research, internship environment.
Also isn’t it unfair that I got no grant and scholarship because of my dad and now she saying to take student instead of him taking loan. I mean its kinda like I am independent. Should I talk to them. Help me I really wanna go there.
Thanks for ur comment @comfortablycurt It took me 2 days also to get Financial award letter.
As far as the schools themselves are concerned, I think UIUC and most of the UCs are on a pretty equal playing ground. My situation was the opposite, I wanted to transfer to UC Berkeley, but the annual cost of attendance for out of state students was about $55,000 a year. My estimated cost of attendance at UIUC is about $30,000/year after housing and transportation etc.
If you’d be full pay with out of state tuition for three years, with zero grant/scholarship money, you’d be looking at around $150,000 in student loan debt. Is it worth that much debt to get out of CC a year sooner? I can understand wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. I wish I could have transferred sooner, but I’ve ultimately been at my CC for three years now, and I don’t regret that choice. Student loans wouldn’t even be enough to cover those costs. I’m not an expert on the topic, but from what I’m seeing it looks like the maximum Stafford Loan for a second year student who is a dependent is $6500/year, of which only $4500 can be subsidized. You could also be eligible for another $5500 in Perkins Loans. That makes $12,000/year. How would you cover the rest?
This is a decision that can only be made by you, but if I were in your situation I’d most likely stick it out at CC for another year and then transfer to a UC.
The funny thing is my dad will not be paying for it. I will be staking student loans @PitLV2109
Yeah I am thinking of sticking to my current CC. Because if I choose to go UIUC, I will get really bound. I might not be able to pick a job which I really want and have to go after a high paying job because I have to pay my loans.
You seriously still haven’t heard? Wow. That really sucks. Have you called there or anything yet?
@Zoo218 - I believe freshman register for classes after transfer students. That’s what I found according to this blog post on the UIUC Admissions page.
So I called and it turns out they want my spring grades before they make a decision, and little frustrating that I had to call to find out. Is this a sign that I have a good chance of getting accepted?
^
I think your stats are not impressive enough to get you to UIUC right away, and they are not bad enough to get you rejected What major did you apply to?
Question: When I sign up for my classes at my community college in Illinois, should I follow the list of required classes at Transfer Articulation Guides for specific community college or Transfer Handbook? For example, when I look at the required classes for Computer Science, College of Engineering, I have to take Chemistry I and Chemistry I Lab. However, when I look at the required classes for CS CoE from Transfer Articulation Guides, I need to take Chemistry I and Chemistry II (there is no lab).
Oh wow. That really sucks. At least the end of the spring semester isn’t too far away. Although from your perspective it probably feels a lot longer away. I’d say that as long as you get good grades this semester, you should be in.
Junior transfer with 60 credits from an Illinois CC and 3.7 gpa. I have all A’s in my classes right now. So I feel that if i finish with all A’s for the semester I should be accepted, otherwise what’s the point of postponing the decision and asking for my spring grades, right?
This sucks that I have to wait like another month for confirmation, really messes with living arrangements and other things, but I guess it’s better than getting denied right away…
What major did you apply to?