What would be the best choice for me? Need outside advice

Applying to College
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Hi everyone. I got waitlisted (international full aid needing student) at UNC,Tufts,Connecticut College and Bryn Mawr during two years (2021 and 2022). I graduated high school in 2020. I am out of school for 3 years as of 2023.

I was wondering if I can transfer to these colleges especially if they already waitlisted me. As in,are my chances better if I already gotten waitlisted? I am predicated to get a first (UK uni so a 4.0) in my freshman year.

I also think that maybe I should wait to not apply this fall but next year so in 2023-2024 which would been if I get in to college then I will enroll and start my studies as a 24 year old and will be out of school by 5 years which would also make me eligible for the Yale Eli Whitney program and Brown program as well plus give me more time to better my ecs and essays and prep and give SAT because I applied test optional before. And I might go over for study abroad and am looking into unis all over the world (any advice on that or tips to make the most of it) I am wanting to do my undergrad in Computer science or doing a double major in with minor OR doing undergrad with a masters together. I am fine with either starting over again as freshman but I am open to transfering too.

I am also open to American Uni in Cairo and AUC in Amsterdam and American Uni of Paris but the latter two don’t have a strong CS department. And top unis in Canada as well as Top unis in UK like UCL and Kings college and Oxford or Cambridge but for that I need time to prep for the specific comp science exam but i can do my undergrad in 3 years and may do a joint masters if I am eligible but funding is an issue.

I am worried about getting recommendations again from my high school cause I am not in contact with them but the unis I applied before should have my recs and transcripts in their system I think (if I am applying as a freshman)

And I am worried that transferring might be difficult because my uni is online and I don’t think I am eligible for transferring in that bases cause the lectures are recorded but some are live and also getting recs would be difficult as we are not in a traditional school envrioment so I think the recs will be generic and vauge.

Any tips or advice or suggestions or personal stories are welcome. Thank you

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Why would you apply to UNC?

“Unfortunately, only Permanent Residents or citizens of the United States are eligible for need-based federal and University funds.”

Tufts

If you were a full need student to Tufts, they are need aware - and few schools want to have to pay full - so that’s why you wouldn’t have gotten in. Full need students should not have used this list. Nonetheless. your odds of getting a transfer deal at Tufts is even less.

“Although the financial aid budget at Tufts is substantial, it is a finite resource that is available on a limited basis to entering transfer students.”

Connecticut College

They are need aware - same as Tufts, they’re not going to cover the full amount. They also say – At a minimum, all international students are expected to fund transportation costs and personal expenses.

So you’re not getting full there.

Same with Bryn Mawr.

You needed to apply to need blind and 100% meets need schools - I don’t know if they are for transfer but applying to need aware schools and expecting them to pick up the full tab is unrealistic.

They are:

Amherst
Bowdoin
Brown - starting in 2025.
Dartmouth
Harvard
MIT
Princeton
Yale

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It seems unlikely that you will get in with full aid as a transfer. But nobody should stop you from giving it a try if you like.

As an aside, I would not bother taking the SAT as a college student - the exam is meant for high school students. Nobody will be impressed by even a very high score on a standardized test taken as a college student.

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Well…you were waitlisted but it sounds like you were subsequently NOT accepted. Is that accurate?

Also, you are a full need student, and all of these colleges are need aware for international students.

Where would you be transferring from? And why not just stay put and get your bachelors degree there?

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As you already learned from your experience, a chance to get a full ride for international students is slim to none. Sorry about it, but someone needs to pay a bill, and the US tax money goes to American students. Only very rich private colleges with huge endowments can afford to bring the best of the best international students. Do you understand how many foreign students from all over the world want to study for free in the US? Many American students cannot afford colleges too. That is why some are choosing Community Colleges (instead of Tufts or Harvard) to study… Then they take loans. As a foreign student you are not eligible for loans.
So I am sorry, but you need to move to plan B. Not American college…

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Your old letters of recommendation were for previous admissions years…and colleges don’t just roll those over to new applications.

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Waitlist for an international full need means they woulf have admitted you but just don’t have the money.
There’s even less money for international transfers than for international freshmen. It’s over for these colleges.

PERHAPS you can try&apply to Berea college. They MAY admit one student from your country and it MIGHT be you.

If your UK college is online and you’re currently getting a First, your goal should be to attend a physical UK (or European) college.

You can also try to apply early to Canadian universities (McGill and Concirdia Montreal, Waterloo, Simon Fraser and UBC…) looking at applications for merit scholarships (they don’t all work the same way, some have you apply only after acceptance, some don’t have applications, and some do have one which is due early.)

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Do you have a college to go to this fall? If so, I would do so!

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The SAT is a test for students in high school. Taking it “after the fact” wont move the needle much. You also have chosen one of the most competitive and desired majors in computer science which many schools view as an “impacted major” (too many students, not enough seats or staff to accommodate the thousands of students who want this major).

Are you taking classes now? If so, then you would probably be considered as a transfer student. You would not be eligible to apply as a freshman student.

Because you need full funding, and are an international candidate, as previously mentioned, your chances for admission with funding are very low.

Your selected schools are need-aware, and, the more you need, the less chances you will have for admission. The universities try to fund as many students as possible with their limited funds. The budgets are finite. They divide the pie to fund as many students as possible, and typically, that funding is prioritized for domestic students.
US residents are prioritized because a number of a school’s research and development grants are provided by the federal government which, in turn, is funded by US taxpayers, rather, those tax-paying parents of US candidate applicants.

You will be 24, according to your schedule, and you are continuing to apply, expecting to eventually be accepted by a US university and that might not happen if you cannot come up with personal funding. Plus, developing more EC’s and essays wont compensate for the fact that you cannot afford to attend these schools without significantly large amounts of money.

What will you do if you receive more waitlists notices with your next series of apps? You’ll get further and further away from your LOR’s, and the costs of attending a US university, will only continue to rise, as it has been.

Please make a plan for an affordable education in your country.

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Your best bet is to get into a degree with integrated Master such as in Scotland - the last year is devoted to research, either in an industrial (business) setting or in a lab. This would set you up well for a PHD program, which would be funded.

If you’re simply taking classes online and not enrolled at a university, you can take the SAT. The test can be difficult for students whose language is not English and/or who aren’t used to standardized testing but the actual content is relatively easy. A top1% score opens doors to programs such as McDermott at UTD. A perfect score together with a 4.0 gives you a full ride at UAlabama.

What colleges have you already applied to?
Would a major such as Data Science, Applied math, or Informatics be suitable? (Bc CS is very, very much in-demand and as a result it’s even more competitive than the rest.).

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Can you clarify your term “transfer”:
are you currently a full-time student (3rd year) at any university in any country. Or have you been working for the past 3 years, and are now considering college again as a first-year student?

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Agree with most of your comments…but I just don’t think even a high SAT score on a test taken by a student 3 years out of HS will impress anyone (OP graduated HS in 2020).

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I don’t think they’ll be impressed, per se, but at UAlabama and others a perfect score guarantees an automatic scholarship; it opens the possibility of McDermott.

All in all I really think the best strategy is an integrated Master.

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I did a two second search of the McDermott scholarship and it looks like it is not available to students who have taken a gap year. The OP should research further.

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:grimacing: good catch - they tightened the basic criteria then.

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I think some international students approach education in the US as a dream that has to happen or there is no other life…It is great to dream, but dreams should be realistic…Students have to move to plan B or C and not continue dreaming for the next 10 years. Unfortunately, colleges with waitlists do not help. They promote the idea that if some tiny things in applications will improve students will be accepted. In reality, it is a polite “no, we cannot afford to invite you for free…”

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Well said. And often, it is a " we would admit you if you had money because you’re clearly the type of student we’d want, but we have no money left" v. rejection (which is not as soft and polite).
It’s absolutely brutal for internationals.
In any case, applying to the same colleges, or to any college that doesn’t offrr automatic scholarships for stats, is pointless. And because many automatic for stats colleges are far below academically what this type of student could attend at home or elsewhere in the world, it’s not worth it and more efficient to go to plan B&C as you said - in this case, a degree from a well-known university, with evidence of solid research, for a funded PHD.

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Don’t think it’s even that, in the case of international students. Even if this student didn’t need aid, they’d likely still have been waitlisted.

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Why is that? The US colleges love full-paying international students. They are milking cows :slight_smile:. Many campuses are full of smart international students.

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OP, your best bet may be to finish your degree in the UK and to maintain your first, then to apply to graduate programs in the US. It’s not clear that transferring will be possible nor that it will provide an “upgrade” over your current degree.

Transferring with so much financial need sounds very unlikely. You will also need to get some support in that process from your current school, and you may want to use that goodwill for graduate programs. With that said, your best path for not being accepted is to not apply.

Also note that from a career POV, where you went to school matters little in the CS field once you start working. What would you hope an American uni would achieve for you that your current path does not?

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