Should I Transfer colleges?

I am currently a freshman in college at Florida Atlantic University. My dream school was always Florida State University however i played around in highschool and earned a 3.4 GPA and while my SAT and ACT were well above the requirements for FSU; I waited to apply until the day of the deadline (I was still a dumb lazy high schooler) so that factor culminating with my GPA being 0.2 points lower than what they asked for, I was denied.

I had given up hope on FSU and said screw it I’ll just go to FAU all 4 years and lied to myself that I was happy with FaU. However I know that I want to reapply to Florida State for next fall (one year after already being in college since this past summer term.)

My family is not financially the greatest but I’m making it work. My stepdad makes all of the money In my household (parents divorced since 11 months old, estranged with my father) and my mother makes less than 25k a year, however my stepdad makes 120k so my financial aid is minimal to nothing due to him yet I don’t get any help from him(aside from being “allowed” to live in his house as he likes to remind me). I commute to FAU and work two jobs to pay for my car insurance, phone bill, food, etcetera and whatever is left over of my tuition/books that my scholarships don’t cover. I have straight A’s from all past and present college courses with the exception of a C- in Math at the moment as that is the subject I struggle most in, culminating so far in 20 credit hours, and transferring to FSU next fall (August 2018) should be possible with one more math credit I plan to pick up this Spring term at FAU and with the added expense of Room/board (if they accept me obviously) which I’ll need to take a loan for or perhaps find more scholarships than the ones I already have. Leaving my two jobs here also shouldn’t be an issue as I have a social/family connection in Tallahassee with whom I may have an employment opportunity.

A strong kicker for Florida Atlantic however is that I have the opportunity to potentially become an Orientation Leader at Florida Atlantic for the 2018 school year as I had previously applied for the position and I have been a rather busy bee as far as social networking and kissing up to officials and administrators around campus. If I plan to transfer to FSU I will not be able to take the O.L. position and will miss out in that opportunity.

The flip side of that coin is that Florida State offers a particular study abroad opportunity for students in my major that I’ve heard of (haven’t looked into yet) that Florida Atlantic does not offer.

If I do end up taking loans then at the end of my 1 year at FaU and 3 years at FSU (2021) I will have about 15k in student loans but if I stay at FAU (commute from home) i will only have 5k in debt. I just recently drove up to Tallahassee to visit some friends from high school who attend FSU and just being on campus solidified my already deep desire to go there(mind you I’ve seen it before but just really appreciating what it would be like to live there did it for me)

I’ve heard all about “wait until you get your AA and then transfer” but you have to understand I had/have my heart set on FSU and I feel like I’m wasting time already by missing out on one years worth of attendance there and I want the full experience of living away from home and chilling out in the cafeteria or doing my homework in the library all afternoon as opposed to my reality at the moment of wake up, drive to school, drive to work, drive home, do homework, repeat.

I am going to school for Criminal Justice with a minor in Public Management and plan to attend NYU If I can get in for Law school, if that makes any difference.

Do you think this is worth it? Any suggestions as to what I should consider?

(Edit: This post isn’t to brag or make myself seem good, I’m simply giving every scenario and facet of the situation)

Submitted October 25, 2017 at 10:49AM by Fapasauriis_Rex http://ift.tt/2iz1O68