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College, transferring, out of state, etc.

B

Barnaby W. Füi

Elite Member
Ok so I'm going to community college because I did sh!tty in high school, and I'm poor/broke/cheap/whatever so it works out well money-wise too. I'm majoring in CS (so far) and I plan on transferring somewhere after 3 or 4 semesters or somewhere around there. Now, the path of least resistance would be to transfer to somewhere in-state, which would transfer all of my credits easily, and would be cheaper than out of state. But the thing is, I live in Iowa, and I'd prefer to go somewhere else. I've been here all my life. So the first question is:

what part of the country do I want to go to?

The west coast seems too obnoxiously liberal for me to be able to stand, and in general the west coast personality/lifestyle/whatever doesn't seem to fit me very well. The southwest is too hot for me, the plains/midwest I've already seen (and they're not that special), the south is.. the south. So I'm thinking the east coast, like new england. The "feel" of it appeals to me more than anywhere else as far as I can tell. The weather isn't overly hot, which is a good thing, and I can handle cold (midwest has plenty of that too).

For now I'll assume new england is where I want to go, unless I have some revelation in the future. But now, out of state tuition is a lot more expensive. Question #2:

can I afford it?

I don't mind taking out student loans, which is what I'm already doing. But will that cover it? Don't they only loan you a certain amount? I get zero $$ from my parents and I by no means have money laying around. I currently live with my mom, and I'm 21, and make <$10k a year flipping burgers part time.

So assuming I could afford it:

what school do I go to?

It would probably be a public university (cheaper), but where? What state? What school? Why? Since I'm not from new england, it's a big unknown. And on top of that, there's a lot of schools over there. I am not a partyer, so I'm not looking for a party school. Then again, I don't think I'd want to go to a tech/engineering/whatever-oriented school, to avoid a sausage fest. 😛 Again I'm majoring in CS, and a school that's more unix-oriented would definitely be preferable. I absolutely would not want to go to a microsoft-heavy school.

So that's where I'm "stuck" currently. Those are the three big questions nagging me in my head. My first "semester" was this summer; I took two summer classes. My first real semester starts here pretty soon, in fall.
 
fill out your fafsa

loan/student aid depends on alot of stuff, need, grades,...

a out of state college will cost more then a private university but they are all going to e more $$ then in state

look at any of teh big state universities in Mass, vermont Ct...
 
Originally posted by: Anubis
fill out your fafsa
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I have; I'm already in school.

loan/student aid depends on alot of stuff, need, grades,...
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I live with mama, she makes probably $20k or less. I make <$10k as mentioned. My mom's "expected parental contribution" is $2k/yr or so, but hah, that's not going to happen.
 
if you are independent, you will get alot of grants from FAFSFA, since you make very little money. Declare your independence from your parents, even change your mailing adress if necessary.


For public schools in New England, check out the UMASS Computer Scienence Program, it is a very strenuous program that is well respected in the industry.
 
Originally posted by: rpbri2886
if you are independent, you will get alot of grants from FAFSFA, since you make very little money. Declare your independence from your parents, even change your mailing adress if necessary.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was aware that living with my mom hurts me as far as how much $$ I get, but there's not much chance of me being able to move out. I could lie, but I wonder how risky that is?

For public schools in New England, check out the UMASS Computer Scienence Program, it is a very strenuous program that is well respected in the industry.
Click to expand...

Hm cool, thanks.
 
Originally posted by: rpbri2886
if you are independent, you will get alot of grants from FAFSFA, since you make very little money. Declare your independence from your parents, even change your mailing adress if necessary.


For public schools in New England, check out the UMASS Computer Scienence Program, it is a very strenuous program that is well respected in the industry.
Click to expand...

Uh you can NOT declare independence. Except for VERY rare occassions, you have to be the following to be independent.

1. married
2. have children
3. a ward of the state
4. a member of the armed forces
5. 24 years of age as of the year you are applying for
6. working on a graduate degree
 
Originally posted by: BingBongWongFooey
Originally posted by: rpbri2886
if you are independent, you will get alot of grants from FAFSFA, since you make very little money. Declare your independence from your parents, even change your mailing adress if necessary.
Click to expand...

Yeah I was aware that living with my mom hurts me as far as how much $$ I get, but there's not much chance of me being able to move out. I could lie, but I wonder how risky that is?

For public schools in New England, check out the UMASS Computer Scienence Program, it is a very strenuous program that is well respected in the industry.
Click to expand...

Hm cool, thanks.
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It doesnt matter if you live with your parents or not. Its how much they make, and you are tied to them inregards to financial aid until you are 24 unless you meet one of the requirements I stated above.

You'll be able to get finanical aid but you will need scholarships from either the schools or independent groups. Federal grants and loans wont cover all of your out of state tution, let alone all your expenses.
 
Also what are your grades? That will play a huge part in going to out of state schools. Most publics admit very few out of state transfer students. You have to have extremely good grades to transfer into a good public university.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
California isn't really any more liberal than New York or Massachusetts or most of that area.
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Northern California is extremely liberal, the rest of the state is moderate to conservative.
 
what part of the country do I want to go to?

The west coast seems too obnoxiously liberal for me to be able to stand, and in general the west coast personality/lifestyle/whatever doesn't seem to fit me very well. The southwest is too hot for me, the plains/midwest I've already seen (and they're not that special), the south is.. the south. So I'm thinking the east coast, like new england. The "feel" of it appeals to me more than anywhere else as far as I can tell. The weather isn't overly hot, which is a good thing, and I can handle cold (midwest has plenty of that too).

For now I'll assume new england is where I want to go, unless I have some revelation in the future. But now, out of state tuition is a lot more expensive.
Click to expand...


I know exactly what you're talking about with the "feel" of things. I've lived all over the US. I'm in Connecticut right now. I like the attitude here a lot better than other places I've lived, except maybe for San Diego (pretty laid back there). Even my fiancee wants to live here because she likes the feel of it better than out west (also except for Cali, but Cali is mad expensive, and we're both still students on student budgets).

The majority of the people are pretty nice, it's decently spread out (not like New York etc)...it's nice and relaxed, I guess I'd say. The only drawbacks here are that people are nuts when driving (they really enjoying honking too) and driving in the snow (I don't care for it...pain in the neck when you really need to get somewhere and not just do donuts in parking lots).

As for student loans, I think they go up in the amount they give you for each additional year of school you take. I'm starting my sophmore year this next semester, as well as looking into student loans. They help take the headache of having to worry about finances all the time away. Just don't blow your money on eating out all the time and buying computer toys and stuff. I'm sure eventually you'll get to the point where they'll give you whatever amount of money you want...just don't blow it...you don't want to graduate with $80,000 worth of student loan debt.

Moving out and living on your own is kinda hard when you're doing it for the first time. I wish someone would write a book on what you need to know - renting an apartment, car stuff, insurance, bills, tuition, etc. I've decided to continue living with my parents until I get married next year, since my school is 20 minutes away. It's hard when you're going to school full-time AND working to pay your bills, when all you can get is a restaurant or retail-type job for less than ten bucks an hour.

As for what school...just make sure it's fully accredited (ie recognized all throughout the country so you can transfer and things will be fine later). I got a nice offer from the Art Institute of Philly, but iirc they weren't fully accredited. So I'm going to school locally at a community college to raise my grades, getting my Associate's degree in Computer Engineering Technology there, then transferring. School is school...you'll learn the same stuff at a community college as you will at a university. It's just cheaper initially to go locally 🙂

Oh, and get a credit card if you don't have one. Start building up your credit, you'll need it later.
 
Originally posted by: notfred
California isn't really any more liberal than New York or Massachusetts or most of that area.
Click to expand...

I agree, but we are talking about someone who's been in Iowa his whole life.

So it's good he's getting out to learn some things. Eventually he'll find out that there's people nice people and assholes both liberal and conservative at virtually every part of the U.S.

Actually, as far as colleges are concerned, there's actually a huge number of extremely liberal colleges in the East Coast....Sarah Lawrence, Wesleyan, etc..
 
Originally posted by: Kaido

but Cali is mad expensive
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Yeah, that's another thing I want to avoid.

Just don't blow your money on eating out all the time and buying computer toys and stuff.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm pretty good at not spending money, when it's important. (I manage to save some money, even considering how little I make)

Moving out and living on your own is kinda hard when you're doing it for the first time. I wish someone would write a book on what you need to know - renting an apartment, car stuff, insurance, bills, tuition, etc. I've decided to continue living with my parents until I get married next year, since my school is 20 minutes away. It's hard when you're going to school full-time AND working to pay your bills, when all you can get is a restaurant or retail-type job for less than ten bucks an hour.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've actually lived on my own, well, with someone else, for a while. Although living with your parents can suck big time, I prefer it over constant financial headaches. I'll wait until I make reasonable money before moving out again.

Oh, and get a credit card if you don't have one. Start building up your credit, you'll need it later.
Click to expand...

Yeah actually, that is on the todo list..

edit: jesus, every reply here starts with "yeah" 😛
 
Originally posted by: milagro
Originally posted by: notfred
California isn't really any more liberal than New York or Massachusetts or most of that area.
Click to expand...

I agree, but we are talking about someone who's been in Iowa his whole life.

So it's good he's getting out to learn some things. Eventually he'll find out that there's people nice people and assholes both liberal and conservative at virtually every part of the U.S.

Actually, as far as colleges are concerned, there's actually a huge number of extremely liberal colleges in the East Coast....Sarah Lawrence, Wesleyan, etc..
Click to expand...

Iowa actually tends to vote to the left, and I live in the third largest city, so it's no conservative haven around here. I'm pretty much in the middle (more like far left on some things, far right on others, but whatever), but the west coast just.. rubs me the wrong way. I'm not sure how to explain it. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. All I can go on is "vibe" and that's the vibe I get.

I'm totally aware that there are nice people everywhere with all kinds of opinions. I think/talk about this kind of stuff *all* the time.
 
Originally posted by: digitalsm
Also what are your grades? That will play a huge part in going to out of state schools. Most publics admit very few out of state transfer students. You have to have extremely good grades to transfer into a good public university.
Click to expand...

My grades in high school were crap, and although I know I will do better in college, I'm not sure what kind of grades I'll get. I've only taken two classes so far, and I got an A- and a C. I'm working on my procrastination/etc. and hope to do better.
 
Obviously I've been wondering about how realistic it will be to want to transfer out of state, but more and more I get the idea that maybe I should forget about it. Maybe I should just go to ISU or U of I, but bleh, I've had enough Iowa.

:/
 
from my experience:

whatever you do, you HAVE to earn A or B in ur major course of work
--ex: me doing premed so i have no make no less than B in science and math courses.
get all your major course work done at community college. vERY easy and you can earn an associate degree while at it. less pressure when u transfer to a university and better impression torwards the admissions.
also you goal has to be atleast 3.5gpa+ to get into ur choice or school or atleast be considered competitive at a good publc school. anything less than a 3.0 you might as well to go a local university or some cheap university


fafsa: someone in my thread told me put only $50 in ur bank account, change ur home address if u can, but other than that list everything honestly.. i.e. IRS, tax info, and other aid info they ask. at the end of the student finance section (part 3?), fafsa will let you know if you are considered dependent or independent.

out of state: forget it... secondly if u are doing undergrad it really doesnt matter... just go to the best university in your state. make good grades and then tranfer to a credited school that is known for your major.... (MIT: known for engineering, hardvard: law etc...)

scholarships: at the last semister of your community college you should know or have target which university you will tranfer to. whatever university u decide, take a trip to their university, talk to the dean of the department where u will go, make good impression, go to scholarship office, and fill out the forms..

www.fastweb.com is a good site to start for scholarships.. its a search engine for all scholarships according to your status and your major


wish i knew which schools were good in iowa but research. make a time management table on what you want to accomplish everyday.. and always whereever you apply, write an essay, that will leave a good impression upon the admissions that you are trying


goodluck
 
Originally posted by: desiplaya4life

fafsa: someone in my thread told me put only $50 in ur bank account, change ur home address if u can, but other than that list everything honestly.. i.e. IRS, tax info, and other aid info they ask. at the end of the student finance section (part 3?), fafsa will let you know if you are considered dependent or independent.
Click to expand...

Hm, I don't think I'm going to try it; sounds iffy.

out of state: forget it... secondly if u are doing undergrad it really doesnt matter... just go to the best university in your state. make good grades and then tranfer to a credited school that is known for your major.... (MIT: known for engineering, hardvard: law etc...)
Click to expand...

What do you mean it doesn't matter? I don't want to leave iowa due to bad colleges, I want to leave iowa because it's .. IOWA, and I've been here my whole life. I might end up coming back, I don't know, but I at least want to experience some other places for a while. And I don't see myself going ivy league. 😛

wish i knew which schools were good in iowa but research. make a time management table on what you want to accomplish everyday.. and always whereever you apply, write an essay, that will leave a good impression upon the admissions that you are trying
Click to expand...

I'd already know that I'd either go to ISU or UIowa, but going to school here is only a backup plan.
 
if the West Coast is too liberal for you, you might want to reconsider the North East 😉

while we're not a flaky as our WC counterparts, most of the states north of Delaware and east of Ohio are hardcore blue states with liberal commie professors :thumbsup:
 
Originally posted by: loki8481
if the West Coast is too liberal for you, you might want to reconsider the North East 😉

while we're not a flaky as our WC counterparts, most of the states north of Delaware and east of Ohio are hardcore blue states with liberal commie professors :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Yeah I know, if anything it'll give me good arguing experiences. 😛

I'm not sure I can explain my bias against the west coast.
 
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