Urgently need advice: blowing off FULL 4-year scholarship?

College Search & Selection
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<p>I know this text is long, but it would mean a lot if you'd read it and share some of your knowledge and experience with me on this. I REALLY need an advice and any constructive response would be greatly appreciated.
No one around me understands the process of applying to US, know much about different options for careers or been able to give me any constructive advice on this. And I'm really getting desperate :(</p>

<p>I am an international student who applied to US colleges this year. But I have done poor selection of schools, and did not do my best on apps and ended up with 4 rejections and two waitlists. Back then, I was fine with picking only 6 schools to apply to, as I have thought that I could always attend a college in my country if nothing worked out.
One of the biggest reasons why I decided to apply overseas was that I have no clue what I want to study or do with my life and US allows students to be "Undecided" while European colleges ask students to select majors right away.
I have eclectic interests that are not really possible to combine here - arts (photography and visual arts), psychology, philosophy, physics and (maybe) anthropology.
If I chose to study at an university here, I have no idea what my chances of employment are afterwards. If I studied any of sciences, I could either be a teacher at a school (not too appealing), or a researcher (but only a few people per year get jobs in such fields as we don't have many scientific institutes) and my life would end up being pretty monotonous with a very low salary. </p>

<p>However, bright/dark spot in all this is that I actually have one acceptance within my country - to an American college in my town with 4-year full scholarship.
I realize it will ease financial burden on my parents if I decide to stay home and attend this college, but the problem is that this school is more of a professional school than academic one. People that study there become managers and I am not sure if I am into that. And also, that would mean staying home, living with my parents, and practically, lacking independence :(
Bright side is that this school requires students to work over the summer and school offers various internships all around the world (most kids choose USA if going abroad to work). Opportunities that this school provides are great and it will let me live abroad at least on summers and I'd meet international students that came to study here.
... but I keep feeling like I want something more academic :( </p>

<p>So I talked to a friend of mine who is lot like me in many ways who attends this Am.coll.
She told me that if I didn't have anything specific that I really wanted to study in our country to enroll to AmColl, because the administration and the teachers are of better quality than our country's coll's. It also gives great internships and chances to travel if only you're there to take it. But she acknowledges the lack of academic challenge, practically none-existent college life in our town and lack of good peer-group (though she managed to find her niche and very good friends) but her saying "if I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same" is encouraging. </p>

<p>My biggest problem right now is that I will have to decide on what to do with my scholarship as soon as possible. I don't know whether I should turn it down and decide on a major in an university in other town and wonder if it was worth blowing it off
or
I should just accept it and enroll there and try out different options once I am a college freshman and then try reapplying to both US and other college in my country while I pursue my manager studies? :(
This friend of mine suggested that I could enroll and then just explore my interests or just go to a really good grad-school. </p>

<p>I am clueless right now and when I tried to seek advice from my parents all my mother talked about were the financial aspects and my dad just told me it was all up to me. And nothing constructive came out of it. </p>

<p>And if I decided I hated this school, I could quit and then try entrance exams next year to some other college within my country.
If I accepted their offer, I'd still have 3 more months of preparations until the date of entrance exams which I might even try to go take. If I pass the entrance exam, it seems just wrong to play around with my scholarship college and accept scholarship to eventually turn it down and mess up someone else's opportunity to receive this money. </p>

<p>I will stay on waitlist of one school as I really love it, but I won't expect anything out of it. </p>

<p>I'd just rather want to try applying over again as a freshman to US next year, but it'd be impossible if I enroll. :( And chances of international transfer is just... too low. </p>

<p>I know it's all my fault for predicting wrong and procrastinating too much, but I really need some urgent help, so PLEASE do reply on this long mixed up thread, it would mean SO, SO much.
Thank you for reading this long!</p>

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<p>Since you don’t really know what you want to do with your life, I’d follow your friends’ suggestion and go to the local American College. You can find some creative way to make your interests fit with the majors available to you – like arts management, which would be an ideal major for an art gallery manager or museum curator. The internships will help you determine your interests and focus them in real world income earning directions. Socially, there will be other students who are there for the same reasons you’re there, so you will have friends and academic peers with whom you can form study groups and discuss various opportunities as they arise. Once you complete your undergraduate degree, if you still want to further your education you can always attend graduate school in the U.S.</p>

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<p>Wow, thank you.
You’re the first person after my friend today who had some actual advice!</p>

<p>So you think I should just give up on academics for now and just get myself a career?
And not even think about transfering?</p>

4

<p>^ Take the scholarship at the American College…Free money is hard to pass up, plus it sounds like a great school. Take advantage of the international summer internships to explore your interests, like dntw8up said.</p>

<p>You could try to transfer to a US university, but I would wait until sophomore year and apply as a junior. This allows yourself to experience your home college and the opportunities it will offer you. Your interests may change too.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>I don’t think of attending American College as “giving up on academics.” You will still be studying academics, just not the academic subjects that you thought you would focus on in college. With some effort, and perhaps advice from your professors, you can find a way to use the opportunities at American College to carve out a career path with which you will be happy. Rather than focusing on what you won’t be doing, focus on what you can do with the opportunities you have at American College. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t even think about transferring for at least a year, otherwise you won’t give American College a real chance to work for you and you will feel like you are only there temporarily and won’t feel motivated to make it work. If after a year at American College you find you are miserable, then you can entertain the idea of transferring, but I doubt that will happen. You have a great opportunity at American College and you can make it work for you, it will just take some extra thought and cleverness on your part, but challenges are good and much can be learned by rising to meet them.</p>

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<p>Thank you for reply to both!</p>

<p>Well, this school specializes in hospitality management. So it naturally sends students to various hotels, resorts etc for internships. While it seems very interesting, I am not sure what exactly you guys think it will help me explore emy itnerests. I suppose it will help me figure out if I like it or not.</p>

<p>And this AmColl has quite a bad reputation among my peers. I go to a quite competitive school in my town, and when I won the scholarship everyone asked me if I’ll attend it. I told them that I didn’t know for sure yet (back then, adn well, still, lol) and they’d always give me some variation of “Oh, good, because you know, you’re too smart for that school. That’s where stupid people that don’t want academic challenges go!”
And that was really discouraging :frowning: When I asked my friend about it, she doesn’t hide that there are people like that, but told me that this school’s what an individual makes out of it.</p>

<p>But my biggest regret is that all my thoughts of how my future would be in some academic field are now fading and going away. And that’s what really saddens me, I guess.
That and the fact that I seriously don’t know what to do :frowning:
My life is taking an unpredicted turn all due to my lack of judgment. And now I have to find a way to get a grip quickly. But you’re right, dntw8up, I shouldn’t focus on what I couldn’t have but on what I could and how I could get the best out of it. You make really good points about giving this school a chance.
Faculty seems nice enough and I’ll get a chance to get to know them (and for them to get to know me) as it’s a small private school.</p>

<p>So if I take the scholarship, instead of mourning over where I could have ended up, I should probably do the self-study on academic fields that interest me. Because they’re studying algebra as highest math :frowning: and I need something more difficult than that. (and I don’t think they’d be willing to set up a Calculus course just for me) Should I try self-studying in Physics etc. just to not let my mind completely abandon academia? I just hope I’ll have enough will and sources to do that. </p>

<p>And if I graduate from here, but decide that I still wanted something else, too, should I enroll to some other college after I already graduated one? (say, I suddenly decided I really need art in life and go to art academy or that I get sudden urge to research effects of radiation on Himalayan mushrooms)</p>

<p>And I am also apprehensive about my chances on getting into good grad school. And I’d like to pursue graduate education abroad.
It’s a hospitality&service management degree I’d be getting, so I don’t know what I could do with it exactly. I could go more in depth about hospitality management or running a business… but would I really want that?
Do you know if I could use my degree more creatively or should I just wait and ask my future professors at this school about these kinds of things?</p>

7

<p>I don’t know anything about your country or your college. If you really don’t like the schools in your country and are intent on attending college in another country, there are schools in Canada, like University of British Columbia, and schools in England, like the London School of Economics, that are still accepting applications. Regionally accredited online degrees from U.S. universities are also available.</p>

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<p>No, it’s not that.
I don’t want to go abroad just for the sake of going abroad. (nor do I have resources for such)
I simply liked the American system of education, that it allowed two more years of being undecided. Europe doesn’t have that, and I was attracted to American schools because of more free curriculum that (mostly) made students study all the kinds of subjects, as I am the one who can’t settle for just one thing, but have a constant need to fuse things.
And as most of college-bounds, I also want an option of being away from parents, being independent. Also, my town is small, so I was hoping I’d get to go to a bigger place once I’m in college so I could expose myself to more things. Thus the college in other town seemed appealing, too.
It might not even be about the academics, maybe about wanting a different lifestyle. Or it might be little bit of both. I don’t know, I am way too confused.
Maybe I should just settle on leaving home and being alone only during summers on my internships :frowning:
And as people at some other threads have pointed out, going to a college close to home (or being right at home for college) might not be that bad. No extra costs at all.
Still…</p>

<p>Sorry if I was asking too many questions and started to nag, but you have no idea how much the posts of you two have helped. Thank you.</p>

<p>But if anyone else has suggestions or ideas, I’d be happy to hear, too.</p>

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<p>BUMP!</p>

<p>I urgently need more advice on this matter, please :(</p>

<p>I don’t know if I should accept this scholarship and tell them I’d enroll there and then still try out on entrance exams for other schools in July. So if I get in in July (if I decide what I wanted to do by then), to tell this scholarship school I’m not going after all…
I don’t know if this would be too rude thing to do to this scholarship school. They’ve already extended my decision deadline due to my American college decisions, and I feel it’d be so rude to play around with them like this :(</p>

<p>Yet, I am not sure if I should turn down 4 years’ worth of scholarship :confused:
But staying in my small town with my parents throughout college is not so appealing… </p>

<p>What would you decide?</p>

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<p>Canadian schools also welcome undecided applicants and offer a curriculum that allows students to study a variety of subjects. Many have later application deadlines as well.</p>

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<p>But I practically need full financial aid if I were to attend a college abroad. :(</p>

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<p>Don’t give up on your dream so easily. There are many good schools whose deadlines have not passed. Your reasons for wanting to go to college in the US are good ones. Do your homework and start applying to some.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/webex/Getting_a_late_start_free.php[/url]”>http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/webex/Getting_a_late_start_free.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There is also a list that comes out in May with colleges that still have space. Last year University of Pittsburgh was on that list, not too shabby. If you go to a large public school, then you may be able to get into their honors programs, if not immediately, soon thereafter. </p>

<p>I would do the following

  1. Get the list of USNews and World Report Top Liberal Arts Colleges and Top National Universities. Don’t worry about the rankings, it’s just a way to pare down the list of colleges still accepting applications.
  2. Look for colleges on that list whose deadlines have not passed. Research the ones that are rolling or have 4/30 or 5/1 deadlines first.
  3. Go on <a href=“http://www.collegeboard.com%5B/url%5D”>www.collegeboard.com</a> and figure out if they offer international financial aid.
  4. Come up with a reasonable list and call them up and verify that they still have international financial aid to offer.</p>
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<p>Thanks, ClassicRockerDad!
That sort of sheds some light on my situation.
Before I decide to do that, I’ll have to get rid of thinking (that I have had for a while) that I could only find great peers if I attended only “the cream of the cream” colleges. (Well, because if I couldn’t attend top colleges, I thought, why going abroad for shabby education)
That US News list is huge, I’ll have to go through each college (as I have hardly heard of 90% of those) and get to know them :slight_smile:
Thanks, CRD, I wasn’t aware of this option. I hope some of them will be willing to give (almost) full-rides :confused: I heard international financial aid is so rare at state colleges. Is it true for all of them?</p>

<p>Do you know about transfer options?
If I got accepted with substantial aid to a state college’s honors program, would it increase my chances of transfer to some private LAC?
Or would my chances remain the same as if I attended a college in my country?</p>

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<p>I know Berea College (75 on USNews Top Liberal Arts Colleges) offers a full ride to all students. According to their Wiki page, they take one student from each country. You may want to call and see if that’s true and if there is a chance for you.</p>

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<p>Also check out “Colleges That Change Lives” [Colleges</a> That Change Lives](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.com%5DColleges”>http://www.ctcl.com). You can read the profiles of some very interesting colleges. Many of those colleges are on the US News list of colleges that are still taking applications: </p>

<p>Austin College 5/1 - 75 on US News Liberal Arts
Birmingham-Southern - rolling - 75 on US News Liberal Arts
Eckerd College-rolling
Emory & Henry College- rolling
Evergreen State - rolling
Hendrix College - 8/1 - 71 on US News Liberal Arts - Hendrix is ranked 28th in the nation among all colleges and universities for the percentage of graduates who earn Ph.D.s within six years of graduation - 99% receive financial aid
Hiram College - 4/15
Hope College - rolling - 97 on US News Liberal Arts
Lynchburg College - rolling
Marlboro College - (They are still taking applications)
Millsaps College - rolling - 87 on US News Liberal Arts
New College of Florida - 5/1 - 87 on US News Liberal Arts - public
Ohio Wesleyan - rolling - 97 on US News Liberal Arts
Rhodes College - rolling - 49 on US News Liberal Arts
St. John’s College - rolling - Great Books Program - large producer of PhD’s
St. Olaf College - rolling - 54 on US News Liberal Arts</p>

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<p>If you go to the hospitality management school, would you be obligated to work at a particular job afterward? In other words, would you owe them time? I am a little worried about why there is an American college like that abroad. Are they honest? Is it run by a reputable group of people? Are they just trying to help people or to train people to work for them only?</p>

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<p>Thank you for all your help, ClassickRockerDad.</p>

<p>What you’re suggesting is a really good idea that I wasn’t aware of at all.
However, what has been really important to me the most when selecting colleges to apply to is good peer group.
This worry started when I was at a certain school that had great teachers and good curriculum, but horrible (for me) peer group. Everyone was so disinterested in what they were doing and it was understood that no one was to be interested in the things they’re doing. When someone showed some interest and passion, they were seen as weirdos and on “verge of society” so all the people, even the ones who had true passions, showed that they cared of nothing, just so they could fit in. As a person who really cares about things that I do, I found it very difficult to be there as I didn’t see the point in hiding what I like or my enthusiasm about something. That resulted in not having a really pleasant experience in that small school with quite unified mentality.
So I took it as - people are what make the place.
And back then when I was selecting my colleges, I applied to only reaches (now I realize how silly I was) because I thought “If I couldn’t have amazing peer group, I’d rather stay in my country than go to a so-so school in US and be with miserable peer group because at least this way I know who I’d be getting.”
I know I am most probably wrong at thinking this way, but I just don’t know how to convince myself in opposite.
And when I remember of all the people (that I personally know) who got into schools that rank #30 to lower, and think that there are so many people that are like them on that campus, the idea of lowering my standards suddenly doesn’t seem so appealing. (Seriously, how could an international -Asian!- student that spent 4 years at a school in USA, whose english is not even that good so studies all the time -or watches cartoons on her laptop- just to have an overall GPA of 3.2 at a school that doesn’t really have THAT demanding academics get into UIUC that’s ranked #38 on US News? She also doesn’t have any major positions in EC’s either. Well, she can probably pay the full tuition so that might be it…)
I know this sounds very snobbish and stuck up and all around wrong, but I just can’t get that idea out of my head :frowning: And there certainly must be some wonderful group of peers at any institution (especially at larger unis) but I am very worried about the overall atmosphere of the school.
I was always looking at a college as a place where I could meet more people that would be passionate about something (if not about the similar stuff that I am)
If I had to choose between being at a school that would allow me to be undecided with all the good courses and teachers but miserable with peer group in a faraway country and having to choose my major right away with peer group that I know about what I’m getting in my country, then I’d always choose the latter than the former. After all, 4 years are too much of time to be spending them at a place that’s once again apathetic and unenthusiastic.</p>

<p>I really need someone to reassure me I am so so so completely wrong! :(</p>

<p>But ClassicRockerDad, your efforts won’t be in vain, I will definitely check out the schools you suggested. And see what my best option would be.</p>

<p>OneMom@
I don’t think I’d be obliged to work at a particular job. This school brings many recruiters and it advertises itself as a school whose like… 80% (? I can’t remember the exact figure, but it’s very high) of grads have jobs 2 months after graduation.
But on the other hand, some people (completely unrelated to this school) talk about some examples, like that of a person who couldn’t find a job after graduation so the government employment office told them to go take a plumbing classes because there are jobs for plumbers (?!). I don’t know if that’s only a myth or an example of just one particular individual.
The school and administration are quite reputable. They’re branch of a college in the US and they give both American and my country’s diploma.
I didn’t understand who you meant by “them” in “Are they just trying to help people or to train people to work for them only” but their grads go off working at many different firms within country and abroad (their website shows what some of their alums do). So I’d say this school is all about what one chooses to make out of it.</p>

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<p>I was actually worried that the school was run by a religious cult. But I understand now that it is all right, it is a normal school. You seem to be interested in a real college or university experience, though, and not a vocational college. It sounded as if it is not too late to apply for a university in your country. That may be a good idea. It seems to be hard for international students to find schools in the US that give full financial aid. Oh, if you do decide to wait a year and reapply, I would like to recommend Flagler College in Florida. They do give aid, and their tuition is much lower than most places for the people who do pay.</p>

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<p>Thanks, OneMom :)</p>

<p>I assure you, they couldn’t be less religiously affiliated.
College entrance exams in my country are fortunately held in first few days of July so I still have some time for preparation.
I will probably enter college either way, so I should probably focus more on investigating transfer.</p>

<p>I recently discovered a liberal arts college in Europe!
It’s called European College of Liberal Arts and it’s located in Berlin, Germany. Plus, it’s an international school so classes are held in English and they offer financial aid! I sent them an e-mail asking if their finaid consisted of grants only, loans only or a combination of both. Depending on what they answer, I might want to consider going there next year.
Unfortunately, presently they offer a summer program or a two-year program and I am not sure if I could get in there fresh out of high school as most of alums mentioned on website were current PhD students or students that just spent one exchange year there. (and I think I didn’t see any mentions on degrees offered on their web site?). Basically they put emphasis on critical thinking, developing thoughts etc through history, philosophy and literature courses. They also offer several ECs, and their alums seem to be attending great universities. </p>

<p>All in all, I am glad there are many options (colleges with late deadlines, my country’s colleges, this AmColl, maybe some in Europe) :)</p>

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<p>"<a href="http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/col...start_free.php"&gt;http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/col...start_free.php&lt;/a&gt;"
You will have to check out these schools one by one. Many on this list are not accepting any more applications.</p>