<p>Hi and welcome.</p>
<p>Your email with your CWID will come in a couple of business days. </p>
<p>I think Bama will convert your O Levels for you. Your GPA will be fine, so don’t worry.</p>
<p>You should visit the Bama forum here on CC…it’s very popular.
[University</a> of Alabama - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/]University”>University of Alabama - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>Thank you so much mom2collegekids. I also wonder what are my chances of getting into Alabama State University (ASU)? apart from SAT, i’ve also gotten 640 on the paper based toefl test, with 5.5 on the TWE. any help would be really appreciated</p>
<p>You will have no difficulty at all being admitted to Alabama State. It’s unlikely a student with a 1340 SAT would find it a good fit, however. The 75th percentile SAT there is 940.</p>
<p>Describe what you are looking for and we can probably suggest better alternatives than Alabama State.</p>
<p>Voltabolt…</p>
<p>I don’t think ASU is a good fit for you academically. Alabama would be a much better fit, and I’m glad you applied. </p>
<p>Can you tell me what interested you in ASU? Were you interested in attending a HBCU? If so, I think there are ones that would be better for you academically.</p>
<p>What is your major?</p>
<p>Just curious is someone can explain the difference:</p>
<p>“assured for stats” (which is different from automatic)."</p>
<p>I’m torn between Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science at the moment but i thought ASU was a much cheaper alternative than Alabama…? I don’t really know the rankings and all but if Alabama is a better fit, I will probably end up there. First time college goer and I’m kinda new to applying to schools and stuff > <
Alabama was the very first college I applied after reading <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a> I’m so glad i came across this forum with so many people to help me. thank you very much guys</p>
<p>If you are looking for a school with Aerospace Eng and CS that might give a bigger merit award than Alabama, try Mississippi State. It is not guaranteed, but they have large merit awards available and your scores would be attractive there.</p>
<p>There’s not really a good guaranteed scholarship alternative, unless you could get your SAT up to 1400 or so.</p>
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<p>Alabama State does not have aerospace engineering (or any engineering).</p>
<p>i meant to say university of alabama…</p>
<p>IJust curious is someone can explain the difference:</p>
<p>“assured for stats” (which is different from automatic)."</p>
<p>they’re the same thing…however, please note that many have scholarship app deadlines that you cannot miss. Those deadlines are usually months before the school app deadline…so many kids miss those earlier dates.</p>
<p>There’s a big difference between The University of Alabama and Alabama State Univ. UA is the flagship and has students from all over the country, therefore it’s a residential campus ASU is mostly commuter and mostly only instate students - it’s also a HBCU. </p>
<p>Are you Black? If not, then you might feel that a HBCU isn’t right for you. </p>
<p>Can you tell us more about your situation?<br>
Are you an int’l (i’m assuming since Toefl)?<br>
Can your family contribute some to the cost? If so, how much?<br>
Can you work over the summer and put that towards college? …and work part-time during the school year?</p>
<p>Some eng’g students at Bama do co-ops to help fund their education. Since there are many aerospace companies here, there are opportunities. The state is home to the second largest research park in the nation. However, if you’re not a citizen then some co-ops may not be available for you in the aerospace arena. However, there would be other companies.</p>
<p>What is your goal? To work in the US? If so, you’d need to get your status changed if you’re an int’l</p>
<p>BTW…I don’t know if you’re fluent in English, it appears so, but if you’re not Bama does have classes just for ESL students.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think one of the following would make you more employable…</p>
<p>Elec Eng’g
MechE
ChemE
ECE
Comp Sci</p>
<p>Are you Black? If not, then you might feel that a HBCU isn’t right for you.
No, I’m chinese x(</p>
<p>Can you tell us more about your situation?
An international student from Burma(Myanmar) seeking a deegree in engineering or computer science in a US university. Hope to get as much scholarship as possible with the follwoing credentials :
SAT I ( Math 770, Writing 670[10], Reading 570);
SAT II ( Chemistry 620, Math lvl 2 690, Physics 650 );
TOEFL PBT (640, TWE:5.5);
GCE O Level (Math,Pure Math,Chemistry,Physics=A , English=B) GPA = (4+4+4+4+3)/5 = 3.8?</p>
<p>Are you an int’l (i’m assuming since Toefl)?
Yes, I am. btw, international = out of state right?</p>
<p>Can your family contribute some to the cost? If so, how much?
Depending on the type of school i get in, they can provide me around $10k-20k per year, but the thing is I don’t wanna burden them too much with my college costs since I have 2 more younger brothers in high school. It would be best if I got free tuition with my scores and if the residual cost isn’t higher than $10k, it would be perfect. </p>
<p>Can you work over the summer and put that towards college? …and work part-time during the school year?
Sure thing. Do i get to work in companies or just restaurants like KFC and McDonald (we don’t have those in my country…)</p>
<p>What is your goal? To work in the US? If so, you’d need to get your status changed if you’re an int’l
My aim is to get a deegree as far up as possible, and possibly get a green card and settle here for the next few years.</p>
<p>BTW…I don’t know if you’re fluent in English, it appears so, but if you’re not Bama does have classes just for ESL students.
Excuse my english… but it’s been 2 years since I’ve finished my O levels ( i was homeschooled; took tuitions only ) and my english is getting rusty with no friends to talk to… does taking ESL courses count toward my credit and do i have to pay additional fees to take the course?</p>
<p>To be honest, I’m more inclined towards computer science but my parents would like me to go work at NASA if possible. Plus im better at computers than studying physics or chemistry. i jus remembered, i ticked aerospace engineering in mybama app. will it be possible to change majors once i get accepted ?</p>
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<p>As the OP is an international student who is neither black nor white, it is not necessarily a given that an HBU is a worse fit than a mostly white school in the US (although Alabama State specifically seems like a poor fit due to not having aerospace or any other engineering).</p>
<p>Of course, being an international student can be more of an issue with scholarships and financial aid. Verify that the scholarships in question are available to international students, because many are not.</p>
<p>*Are you an int’l (i’m assuming since Toefl)?
Yes, I am. btw, international = out of state right?</p>
<p>Can your family contribute some to the cost? If so, how much?
Depending on the type of school i get in, they can provide me around $10k-20k per year, but the thing is I don’t wanna burden them too much with my college costs since I have 2 more younger brothers in high school. It would be best if I got free tuition with my scores and if the residual cost isn’t higher than $10k, it would be perfect. </p>
<p>Can you work over the summer and put that towards college? …and work part-time during the school year?
Sure thing. Do i get to work in companies or just restaurants like KFC and McDonald (we don’t have those in my country…)</p>
<p>What is your goal? To work in the US? If so, you’d need to get your status changed if you’re an int’l
My aim is to get a deegree as far up as possible, and possibly get a green card and settle here for the next few years.</p>
<p>BTW…I don’t know if you’re fluent in English, it appears so, but if you’re not Bama does have classes just for ESL students.
Excuse my english… but it’s been 2 years since I’ve finished my O levels ( i was homeschooled; took tuitions only ) and my english is getting rusty with no friends to talk to… does taking ESL courses count toward my credit and do i have to pay additional fees to take the course?</p>
<p>To be honest, I’m more inclined towards computer science but my parents would like me to go work at NASA if possible. Plus im better at computers than studying physics or chemistry. i jus remembered, i ticked aerospace engineering in mybama app. will it be possible to change majors once i get accepted ?*</p>
<p>I don’t think you can work at NASA w/o being a US citizen. That said, if you were to get citizenship at some point, NASA doesn’t just hire aerospace engineers…they also hire EE, MechE, Math, Physics, Comp sc, etc people. So, I don’t think it’s a good idea to limit yourself with AeroE when the other disciplines would be more marketable.</p>
<p>Yes you can change your major at Bama. You do it on MyBama, academics tab (which will appear once you’re accepted), scroll down, left column.</p>
<p>No, you don’t pay more money for ESL classes at Bama, but they don’t count towards an eng’g degree because they’re not part of the sequence. No matter, other ESL eng’g students take them as well if their English is a little weak. </p>
<p>BUT…the Frosh Comp classes for ESL students DO count for credit. :)</p>
<p>UCB…I agree. But, I always feel it’s necessary to point out such things (commuter campus, low middle quartile test scores, few OOS students, HBCU, whatever) to int’ls who can’t visit a campus, etc, because if such a situation might be an issue to them, they’d want to know before selection. </p>
<p>And as you mentioned, ASU doesn’t have eng’g so it’s not a fit.</p>
<p>Have you considered attending a two-year community college in the US first and then transferring to a larger university? Your costs are going to be significantly lower, you will have access to all of the ESL-related support, and you get a chance to transition. When I worked at a California community college, I worked with many international students who enjoyed the smaller classes, more access to professors, the lower costs, and every one of them eventually transferred after getting their AA/AS two-year degrees to either a California state university or to the University of California. If you like the University of Alabama, perhaps checking out one of the community colleges in the area would be a good idea. Your first two years are general education classes anyway, and then you could transfer to Alabama to work towards your four-year degree. You could follow this kind of plan in any state. Here in Central Florida, there are many two-year colleges and then you could transfer either into one of the state universities or into a school that specializes in engineering. I am familiar with Florida Institute of Technology, and 1300 students out of about 4000 are international students. Now the school is extremely expensive - we live down the road and have an alumnus in the family, but my kids are not even applying there - but the school does draw students from all over the world, and engineering of all kinds is its specialty. Florida Tech has transfer agreements with Eastern Florida State College, a two-year community college (now offering a handful of 4-year degrees.) Of course, NASA is down the road. I don’t know if you could work at NASA without a security clearance, but there might be work, and if not there, there are a lot of companies in the area doing work associated with space. If you did really well at the community college, you might get some scholarships as an international transfer. Anyway, just some things to consider. Best wishes!</p>
<p>Homeland Security Website for Prospective International Student (you can search the list of schools in each state)
[Study</a> in the States - Students](<a href=“http://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/students]Study”>Students | Study in the States)</p>
<p>Magazine article affirming the experience I had with international students in California
[Why</a> International Students Should Consider Community Colleges - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/10/04/why-international-students-should-consider-community-colleges]Why”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2012/10/04/why-international-students-should-consider-community-colleges)</p>
<p>Florida Institute of Technology International Students page
[International</a> Student Services | Florida Institute of Technology](<a href=“http://www.fit.edu/isss/]International”>International Student and Scholar Services | Florida Tech)</p>
<p>Recent article about Florida Tech
<a href=“http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130813/NEWS01/308130028/Now-arriving-Florida-Tech-world[/url]”>http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130813/NEWS01/308130028/Now-arriving-Florida-Tech-world</a></p>
<p>Eastern Florida State College
<a href=“http://www.brevard.cc.fl.us/[/url]”>http://www.brevard.cc.fl.us/</a></p>
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<p>However, a school being an HBU does not determine those other more relevant factors from the perspective of an international student. While many Americans accustomed to a white majority environment may not feel comfortable with an HBU (or other school that is not white majority, or at least plurality), that is less likely to apply to an international student who is neither black nor white and comes from a place where there are few black or white people.</p>
<p>Have you considered attending a two-year community college in the US first and then transferring to a larger university? Your costs are going to be significantly lower</p>
<p>Costs may not be lower this way. Costs could be higher…MUCH higher doing it that way.</p>
<p>By going to a CC first, the student gives up the opportunity for merit when he transfers. (VERY few transfer scholarships for int’ls!!!) He’d be paying about $20k+ per year at a CC (OOS tuition, plus R&B & books and misc)</p>
<p>Then, when he’d transfer, he’d have to pay all the costs for the last two years. </p>
<p>I don’t see how that would be more affordable. I see it as being less affordable when he has other options.</p>
<p>OMG… i can’t apply for scholarship because im going there spring 2014 and this: “You must be an entering Freshmen or Transfer for Summer or Fall to complete this application.”
O.o!! what now? i can’t waste more time waiting for summer because i have already delayed applying for colleges this summer with my trip to china…</p>
<p>You’re going to find this to be the case at many/most schools. Merit scholarships aren’t usually awarded for incoming Spring students.</p>
<p>If you need the money, then you’re going to have to wait. And, Bama’s big incoming frosh awards are only for those who start in the Fall.</p>