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It’s not part of my blog about gaming career.
I’m writing this in regards to get more information and share my feelings.
My English isn't good enough(especially in writing) so please take into consideration and if there are any grammatical mistakes please let me know!
After hearing valuable information from my friends, I noticed that real world is harsher than I thought. Even though If I make decent SAT and TOEFL scores, I would not be able to go regular 4 years Universities in the states because I might not be able to afford the tuition.
Moreover, living expenses are also unaffordable. The only choice that I have at this moment is going to Community College and transfer to 4 years regular school.
Since I am an international student, possibilities to get scholarship converge to 0.
I have to face with the fate, initiate another CHEESE for my life.
My current plan is prepare for the TOEFL test whenever my work is done and if I get decent score then I will apply for the CC.
The only advantage that I have at this point is my programming career.
If I fucked up in CC(drinking all day and mess up my GPA) then it will be end of my life.
I don’t want to live like a fool talking about heroic exploits and shit.
I’ve made terrible decisions ever since I quit gaming so I will make discreet decisions this time.
The bright side is that I saved most of my prices for the future and I have learned English and they are supporting me a lot. If I didn't save that money I would not be able to think about going abroad.
Thanks for reading. I only stayed in the state for 3 months so I don't have enough information.
I'm wondering if I go to CC and economize a lot, I can graduate CC with $30,000?
As far as I know, tuition for CC is less expensive than regular school, it only costs $10,000 per year which I can afford it.
I would like to apply for the spring semester if I can get decent TOEFL score.
when is the deadline for the spring semester registration?
If you have any tips or information that might help me, please share with me !! :D
twitter : @rainpsy
 
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I live in Texas, and I think $30,000 will cover tuition and living expenses for a 2 year CC here. Living expenses are not too high if you choose a CC in a smaller city. I attend Texas A&M University, and there is a small, less expensive college, Blinn, which allows students to take classes at both schools so it is easy to transition to A&M after 1 or 2 years at Blinn. At Blinn it is automatic acceptance into the school as long as you meet a few requirements, and I think you can register for classes right before the start of the spring semester (January). I'm sure there are similar programs elsewhere in the United States, but I know less about them.
I hope that was a helpful response, and I wish you the best of luck! Stay positive; I bet something great will work out for you.
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Hi Rain! I'm glad you're still updating us with your situation.
It's true that US universities are very expensive  Community college is definitely cheaper but unfortunately I don't attend one so I don't know the details. Are you in Korea or the US right now? Which city do you live/plan to live?
I don't think you'll have trouble getting into some college. There are a lot of people trying to get their lives together like you. As a former progamer, you definitely know how to work hard and if you do, you will succeed. Good luck and fighting!
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The question is where are you planning on going to school? $30K is enough money to attend and graduate Community College in some areas, but not in others. That amount of money is enough to pay tuition, but the cost of living in the area around the Community College is going to determine the affordability. If you pick a place with a lower cost of living, you should be fine.
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@Ideal26 / @slowbacontron
Thanks for your answers.
It helped me a lot and I sincerely appreciated it!
My original plan was going to California and transfer to UC universities.
I heard there are some advantages if you graduate CC and transfer to university in the same states.
However, one of my friends says there are so many Koreans in California and it will interrupt learning English so basically I'm planning to go to the countryside 
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Not a CA resident, but I've heard of a lot of successful transfers from CC to a UC, so I think that would work, esp. if you work hard. However, you should also look up the chances of getting financial aid as a transfer student (and as an international). $30k is fine for a few years of CC, but if you are planning on transferring, you'll also need to keep in mind the future expenses at the UC.
Anyways, here are a few useful pages I found:
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/transfer/requirements/index.html
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/international/index.html
http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/files/tag-matrix.pdf
Only students transferring directly from a California Community College are considered for a TAG, including international students (those with a visa). The University of California defines a CCC transfer student as: one who has completed at least 30 semester (45 quarter) UC-transferable units at one or more California community colleges; and the last college the student attended in a regular session (fall/spring or fall/winter/spring) before admission to a UC campus is/was a California community college. All UC TAG campuses require students to meet this definition. (from third link, talking about guaranteed admission from California CC to UC).
Will you be staying with family/relatives while you're schooling in the States? I would heavily advise it, since you can cut down on a lot of housing expenses.
I don't think you should worry so much about there being too many Koreans in California. Just heavily insist on speaking English or hang out with people who insist on speaking English! ^^
EDIT: I will add that another possibility is to attend a college in Korea that has a partnership with a USA college. This will enable you to do study abroad in the States if you wish. Obviously, I don't know if that is harder/easier than getting into a US college, but it's probably cheaper. >_>
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Hi Rain.
I am a former California resident, and have gone through the U.S. university system. I can recommend two good or very good community colleges: De Anza Community College and Foothill Community College. Both are fairly inexpensive, and I understand that they offer guaranteed admission into a UC, if you finish successfully. Which UC you go to depends on your GPA, but there are several world-class universities in the UC system, including Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego.
As an aside, why have you ruled out normal universities because of price? It is very common in the U.S. to take out loans to fund education. While this is not always worth it, it can be a good value, particularly if you have the opportunity to go to a top-tier school rather than a community college.
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On November 11 2013 13:51 Random_0 wrote:
Hi Rain.
I am a former California resident, and have gone through the U.S. university system. I can recommend two good or very good community colleges: De Anza Community College and Foothill Community College. Both are fairly inexpensive, and I understand that they offer guaranteed admission into a UC, if you finish successfully. Which UC you go to depends on your GPA, but there are several world-class universities in the UC system, including Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego.
As an aside, why have you ruled out normal universities because of price? It is very common in the U.S. to take out loans to fund education. While this is not always worth it, it can be a good value, particularly if you have the opportunity to go to a top-tier school rather than a community college.
As an international student, he'll probably have to pay the full sticker price (likely $30,000+ per year). While some loans are not bad, that's just brutal, even if you're going to a place like Berkeley. Unless he can get accepted to the really top-tier schools like Harvard, Williams, Stanford, etc. that do offer decent aid to internationals (but only after a brutal admissions season), I don't think it's financially feasible (nor advisable) for him to complete all four years at a four-year university, unless his parents are willing to shell out the money for him.
A better question is this: Rain, is there a reason why you don't want to attend college in Korea? Sorry if this is too personal a question, but it just strikes me as much more practical. =X
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Thanks for your answers @esReveR, @babylon and @Random_0
It helped me a lot!
The reason why I don’t want to attend school in Korea is because I used to stay close with international student and I don’t like systems in Korea.
Actually, I secretly stayed at Cornell dormitory for a while.
During this period, I met a lot of genius international students and it stimulated my fantasies in US University like American Dream lol.
Also I’m really interested in learning English.
There won’t be any family/relatives in the states.
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Ahh, I see. I have a Korean friend who also doesn't like the system in Korea either. He wanted very badly to get out, but he didn't have the financial means to do so (even though he was accepted to some really good private universities). He ended up going to KAIST for undergrad (and will prob. continue there for grad school), but he's still harboring hopes of somehow leaving Korea. I don't know if it'll ever work out for him though. He'll probably stay in Korea until he completes his PhD, but that is several years down the line. :/
Sorry for the depressing story. Attending the typical four-year school in the States as an international student is almost hopeless unless you're incredibly smart and/or independently wealthy. Most of the international students who were at my college for undergrad were either filthy rich (and so could afford it) or were on scholarship deals from their governments. I don't know if the Korean government offers scholarships like that, but you could look into it; there was a Singaporean guy here whose government was paying him to study English at my school, but the catch was that he'd have to graduate in three years, and then go back to Singapore to teach English for 2-3 years. (The rest of the funded Singaporeans were studying economics, lol.)
If you have nobody to stay with in the States, it could be very difficult financially. Cost of living is different in each area, of course, but unless you're willing to live in progaming teamhouse-like conditions, you'll probably have to pay something like ~$5000+ a year for an apartment (and that is pretty low already)*. On top of the money you will have to pay for your classes and then smaller expenses for food, it'll be pretty tight, I think.
* I don't live in CA, so I don't know the exact cost of living there, but that's low for my area (Chicago).
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On November 11 2013 11:42 Rain wrote:
It’s not part of my blog about gaming career. This isn't a blog about my progaming career.
I’m writing this in regards to geting more information and sharing my feelings.
My English isn't good enough(especially in writing) so please take that into consideration and if there are any grammatical mistakes, please let me know!
After hearing valuable information from my friends, I noticed that real world is much harsher than I thought. Even if I make decent SAT and TOEFL scores, I would will not be able to go regular 4 years Universities in the states because I might not be able to afford the tuition.
Moreover, living expenses are also unaffordable. The only choice that I have at the moment is going to Community College and thentransfer to 4 year regular school.
Since I am an international student, possibilities of getting scholarship coverage is 0.
I have to face up to the fact, initiate another CHEESE for my life.
My current plan is prepare for the TOEFL test whenever my work is done and if I get a decent score then I will apply for the CC.
The only advantage that I have at this point is my progaming career.
If I fuck up in CC(drinking all day and mess up my GPA) then it will be the end of my life.
I don’t want to live like a fool talking about heroic exploits and shit.
I’ve made terrible decisions ever since I quit gaming so I will make better decisions this time. Discreet is usually used when you don't want to offend. In this case, I think making better decisions is a better word choice.
The bright side is that I saved most of my money for the future and I have learned English and my parents/family are supporting me a lot. If I didn't save that money, I would not be able to think about going abroad.
Thanks for reading. I have only stayed in the States for 3 months so I don't have enough information.
I'm wondering if I go to CC and save a lot, I can graduate CC with only $30,000?
As far as I know, tuition for CC is less expensive than regular school, it only costs $10,000 per year which I can afford.
I would like to apply for the spring semester if I can get decent a TOEFL score.
When is the deadline for the spring semester registration? The deadline varies from school to school so you'll have to find out which school you want to apply to find that out. I know my student's deadline for Fall 2014 semester is about March 2014 so its always 6 months or so before.
If you have any tips or information that might help me, please share with me !! :D
twitter : @rainpsy
Hi Rain,
I think your English speaking skill is good overall. I've added comments in italics and mistakes are underlined. Currently, I'm an English teacher in Vietnam at the moment and actually tutor a private student on the TOEFL test. Some advice I would give you about applying to University in America:
1) It's great that you're looking into CC which a lot of international students choose. In America, not everybody goes to University 4 years. Many transfer from a CC after the first two years then do their specific degree program during the last 2 years at University.
2) If you are crunched for money, you also have the option of working while you are studying. You can make pretty decent money while studying as long as you plan wisely. Focus should be on school first then making some extra money on the side.
3) Choosing a low cost CC and University are good ideas. Keep in mind that a lot of your money will go into your living expenses (about half). The lower your living expenses, the easier it will be for you to afford. Choose a place that has low rent/close to University/good public transport, etc. Also cooking at home, not drinking beer, smoking, sharing a room with roommates, etc. will all save you money in the long run. Depending on what major you choose to pursue as well so choose a school that has a strong program in your major.
4) With the TOEFL test, it's both a measure of your English skill and test taking skills. There are many resources online. Currently I'm teaching from the Complete Guide to TOEFL which has audio CDs available so you can practice writing, listening, and reading. Everything is timed so you should practice in the same time constraints. Don't be afraid of taking it 2-3 times, because as you do it more, it will be easier as well. The higher your TOEFL score, the less remedial English you'll have to take which will save you money.
Some questions I have for you:
Are your parents able to help you any?
What major do you plan on studying?
What colleges/Universities are you looking at?
Where in the USA do you want to stay?
Do you have friends currently studying somewhere?
What do you plan on doing after you finish? Where will you look for a job?
Good luck in your efforts!
Henry
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Ever thought of Canada instead? 
It seems much more affordable here. It's pretty much the same thing ;D
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Thanks for replies !
@htn2481 Thanks for specific information.
here are my answers.
Are your parents able to help you any?
Not for 4 years, but I think they might can support me for 2 years tuition.
What major do you plan on studying?
I'm currently interested in Computer Science.
What colleges/Universities are you looking at?
Well, I know it might be hard, but my goal is most top 20th schools
Where in the USA do you want to stay?
California
Do you have friends currently studying somewhere?
I have a couple of friends in the states and one of them is attending North Western for the graduate degree
What do you plan on doing after you finish? Where will you look for a job?
Probably have to do military service in Korea, unless I get married with US Citizen xD
The best scenario is find a decent job in the states where can sponsor me to get permanent residency.
I know it sounds pretty silly because my goals are too big.
However, I think I can make it that's why I decided to put all of my properties in studying overseas
First of all, I have to improve my English skills, mine looks really bad compare to yours ;(
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I graduated from UCSD, and you can go to a community college in CA and transfer to a UC school or a California State school. I can't speak for the CS system, but UC's have been pretty rough lately. Ever since the budget cuts and tuition increase, a lot of students have been hard pressed lately. Also, the sad reality is how the enrollment (at least in my school) got a lot more competitive. Luckily, you are planning for a transfer, so you got a good shot (at least, in UCSD, I have met a LOT of international students and transfers)! :D
Nonetheless, I think being in a Community College is a good call. I think if you just work your way up, you will be fine.
Also, if you are interested, UCSD and UCLA have a pretty strong Korean presence. It's basically like a community there. So, if you are still not confident with your English after doing well in Community College, you should check out those schools because the Koreans speak Hangul a lot and collaborate on their studies (Computer Science is no exception).
I hope we can hear more from you very soon, so we can help you as much as we can! :D
If you want to know more about the UC schools, PM me!
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yo rain, many of my friends are from Korea and are doing exactly what you are trying to do. Some of them came to the United States earlier in their life to make it easier to get into the 4 year university. However, many are taking the community college route like you desire. This is completely doable and simple. All it takes is that visa and finding a Korean home stay family you can live with while you conduct your studies. After 2 years in CC, you can transfer to the 4 year if you wish and if you get good enough grades. Even if you stay in the CC for 4 years and graduate, your opportunities will be A LOT better than if you stay in Korea and graduate from a mediocre Korean university. trust me, you want to get out of the Korean system unless you want to end up working overtime for shit pay the rest of your life at some dead end job.
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Norway28582 Posts
Your English is improving really fast from what I've seen. I can see clear improvement from your first blogs until this one, if you keep practicing like you have been doing so far, then it's not gonna be a factor holding you back from studying. I don't have any real information regarding studying in the US (I am Norwegian) but I think your plan sounds realistic and I wish you the best of luck.
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Korea (South)11570 Posts
There are a lot of scholarships available to students studying in America, especially international students. And, sometimes if you are a very promising student you can receive reductions / etc...
Don't give up! The application period for community colleges last until the semester starts, although you might have to apply earlier for visa etc...
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Rain, if you want to improve your English skills the best advice I can give you is to read more and to write more. Write blogs as often as possible. Write essays on topics that you find interesting or that you just want to write about and post them on TL. Have people help you edit them and explain why something should be changed or how it could be made better. With lots of practice you'll improve a lot.
The only other thing that I have to offer is that you may be eligible for financial aid if you go to a 4 year university. Going to a community college and then continuing on to a 4 year university may assist you in qualifying for financial aid, so don't eliminate that as a possibility. Good luck with going to college though. If you keep progressing this quickly in English I'm sure that you will do very well in college.
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Hey Rain ! Your english is improving by the minute, congratulations :-)
Any reason on why you absolutely want to study in the US ? Have you considered Europe, too ? It's usually fairly less expensive than the US.
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I've been reading your blogs and I just want to echo what others have been saying, your English is really good and you can even see the improvements on each blog. Keep up the good work and thanks for writing these.
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What about going to a Korean college and then doing an exchange program? I don't know the details of how they work but I've heard it's a cheaper way.
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Living costs in the U.S. probably aren't better
My community college was only 3.5k per semester, and I don't think living in the dorms pushed it over 7k per semester. This was one of the cheapest schools in New York State though, and the dorms were absolutely disgusting.
Try a country that isn't awful about investing in higher education, that's my best advice :/
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I don't know anything at all about international students, but a lot of what has already been said should be helpful on that front.
What I will say is that my experiences with Community College were great, and that even if I had paid for it, it would have only been about $2000 a semester at this particular school for full time. The most important thing I can suggest is to ask about grants. What many people in America don't realize is that there are grants all over the place if you know who to ask and where to look. My example is that I first went to a community college in my home state (Connecticut) and went straight to the financial aid department. I let them know what my income/savings were (very little and nothing) and asked about scholarships. The man I spoke to was extremely helpful and was able to find me grant money based on my SAT scores (just above average) living conditions, and work experience that paid for the entire cost of tuition as well as my books and some extra for the drive back and forth.
Mind you, I lived at home at the time, so this does not include living expenses at all.
From what I've experienced, schools in the USA are always looking for international students, but I've only known international students who either had greencards and had moved here already, or were transfers from other international schools.
Have you considered applying for work from an American company, and going to school part time? I don't mean to imply that it's likely, but you never know if a US company wouldn't be willing to pay you low-ish wages to do a job for them in America (thus providing you with a work visa) that might allow you to go to school as well? I'm really not sure how that works, to be honest, but it might be something to consider.
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The thing with going to Community college as an International student (at least in California) is that it's going to cost you a lot more than it does for local students. Cost wise your looking at about 12k a year in tuition alone (400 dollars a unit assuming 15 units a semester) and that doesn't include books or room and board. It's still a lot cheaper than going to a 4 year colege (which costs aroun 55k for international students for a UC as an example.) I assume you'd be able to do work study to reduce the cost but I'm not entirely sure.
That being said a lot International students go to community colleges, again this is for California.
My dad's a counselor at a Community college so If there's anything else your confused about I should hoipefully be able to help.
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I'm in your same page as far as TOEFL is concerned, I will apply for a PhD next year and I also have to take the GRE... maybe I'll stay in Europe, I don't get why I should pass 2 exams while even the top european universities like Oxford and Cambridge only ask for the TOEFL/IELTS...
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The GRE is an exam for all people to do graduate school in the US. If anyone wants to get into graduate school, you will take that exam. It's totally unrelated to international students and English proficiency.
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Why do you want to live in CA over other states?
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Damn... I was wondering if it has to be the states. I first wanted to suggest that you study in sweden, since you would not have to learn swedish as they offer many degrees completely teached in english and do speak english in generall, however, It only took one google search to find out that they actually charge insane tuition fees if you are not a citizen of europe.
In germany, there are no tuition fees. OK, ok, there are in about 3 german states + Show Spoiler +Yes, states, not universities, the state handles tuition fees here
Then again, our living costs are a joke aswell (as in very low) compared to other countries.
I don't know about france, but the language would still be the bigger problem. England has tuition fees aswell.
Your english has become so much better! There are still some obvious mistakes, I might have time tomorrow to correct them. Good night for now.
PS: You might want to check australia, New Zealand and south africa aswell for studying abroad.
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Good luck to you Rain. The only advice i can give is everything is more expensive then you plan.`
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I wish they all could be California girls~
Thanks to everyone who replied on my post.
I read those comments over and over and it helped me a lot.
Basically, many people think that attending CC is a fairly good idea.
I think my family and I can afford if I attend to CC, it's not hopeless so far :D
My pressing concerns have been solved. thank you again!
Now I have to decided which city do I have to go, and which semester do I have to apply(Spring or Fall)
If it's closer to the country side expenses goes down right?
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T.O.P.
Hong Kong4685 Posts
On November 12 2013 10:53 Rain wrote:
If it's closer to the country side expenses goes down right?
Maybe, but I think it will be more comfortable to live in the city. One expense that you have to consider is transportation. In the city, there's usually some public transportation so you don't need to buy a car.
You might also have a tougher time assimilating in the country-side. If you live in southern california, you'll probably be treated better because there are plenty of international students like you. The professors will probably be more understanding of your english level. The people there will be more used to a multi-cultural society so it will be easier for you to make friends. If you have a desire for korean food, there will be plenty of quality options.
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Yo Rain. It's not going to be that much cheaper living in a rural area. If I were you, I would stick with an urban area because you will be a lot happier with the experience, even if you pay a bit more. University should be a good experience for you and your environment has a lot to do with it. I don't want you to isolated in a rural area and have a shitty time. It's California ffs.
Btw, you should really look into home staying with one of the thousands of Korean families in Cali. It's actually quite cost efficient since they will do all the cooking for you and if they are nice, you will be like family to them. This is what most Koreans do, unless they are rich and their parents can pay for everything. Plus, staying with a family has a lot of perks like networking with other Koreans and such. Most of my friends who are from Korea are with home stay families.
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Hi Rain, I know you said you want to live in California, but the living expenses there are pretty high! So I wanted to share an option that you could consider.
You said you are interested in Computer Science. Also it seems you want to live in a more urban city (instead of countryside, if possible), and I assume you would like it if there's a decent amount of Koreans that may be in the same boat as you (also international students, also trying to become fluent at English).
You could consider studying at a CC in Michigan, then possibly transfer to University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It's not a really top top school, but it is still relatively high tier, and its Computer Science program is known as one of best in the US.
I don't know about other states, but here in Michigan there's a lot of community colleges where international students can pay as little as $6000 a year. Since University of Michigan is a big college, a lot of people transfer from a CC into UM. So, there are a lot of CCs where a lot of the classes will count as transfer credits.
It is not a rural town, but not like a huge Californian city either. It's still urban, there are buses and public transport, and you can get by without a car, but it is a college town, so the price living here isn't that high. You could live in a single apartment for ~$450 a month or share a room with someone for $300 (you will have less space but there are many libraries and private places you can go to do study, do homework, or play games).
There are a lot of international students at UM, so you might find it a little more comfortable! About 12% students are Asian American. Not as much as California, but UM has one of the highest ratios for international students; about 12% students are international students and Koreans make up 2-3% of that. So combined, 24% of the students are either Asian or International.
The international student tuition for 1 year is $40,000. It's still really high, but not as high as the good Californian universities.
At UM, I also see a lot of students who have "Work Study". This means they have a part-time job while going to school. They get a lot of benefits for working. One of the most important is that you make almost double the amount (so about $18/hour!) if you qualify for it. So this could really help you earn some money.
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There's also the option to go to a European university! I don't know much about how it works in other countries but in most of Western Europe Universities are basically free to attend (something like 500$ per year). You just need to find money for rent and food.
Not wanting to hate on the American system, but why would you seriously want to pay 30'000$ for mediocre education going to a below average american university when you can get awesome and free education in Europe ?
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On November 12 2013 13:57 T.O.P. wrote:Show nested quote +On November 12 2013 10:53 Rain wrote:
If it's closer to the country side expenses goes down right?
Maybe, but I think it will be more comfortable to live in the city. One expense that you have to consider is transportation. In the city, there's usually some public transportation so you don't need to buy a car. You might also have a tougher time assimilating in the country-side. If you live in southern california, you'll probably be treated better because there are plenty of international students like you. The professors will probably be more understanding of your english level. The people there will be more used to a multi-cultural society so it will be easier for you to make friends. If you have a desire for korean food, there will be plenty of quality options.
There's basically International students everywhere in Californi acommunity college wise since so many want to go to the UC system. I live about 2 hrs from the Oregon border and the Community College I go to still has quite a few international students.
Transportation is a big issue, If you're not somewhere like the bay area (or like maybe LA but don't take my word on that) it's incredibly difficult to get anywhere without a car. again Good Luck
One bit of advice I'd have is to try to find someone who makes it there job to know about this stuff and talk to them, there should be at least some group or something I'd guess since so many people do it. All we can do is offer up speculation and general stuff.
response to Geiko (not trying to be argumentative just thought you might be curious.)
+ Show Spoiler + On November 12 2013 16:50 Geiko wrote:
There's also the option to go to a European university! I don't know much about how it works in other countries but in most of Western Europe Universities are basically free to attend (something like 500$ per year). You just need to find money for rent and food.
Not wanting to hate on the American system, but why would you seriously want to pay 30'000$ for mediocre education going to a below average american university when you can get awesome and free education in Europe ?
I don't know much about European Universities so I took out what I wrote because I realized it was completely useless and added nothing. The main reason fo going to a Community College in California is that it basically gives you all the classes you need to transfer to a UC school which is where everyone wants to go. A ton of international students do it because UC schools are expensive for international students and its a hell of a lot cheaper ( about 70 thousand dollars) plus it's easier to just go to a CC as opposed to applying to a UC as an international student who's a freshman. and pretty much every UC, even Irvine and Riverside, are considered very good schools (no one cares if you went to community college all they care about is where your degree's from). quoting from google about the UC system "Eight of its undergraduate campuses are ranked among the top 100, six among the top 50, and two among the top 25 U.S. universities by U.S. News and World Report." and while the US may lack in a lot of areas there Colleges are pretty decen.
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The biggest problem I see for you is the cost of living in California is so much higher than other parts of the US. There are other large citys that have much better living expenses, much of the mid west for example and still have top 50 universities. Im from Ohio and you can get a nice apartment 15 minutes from the large Universities for 300$ a month and CC tuition is only 6000$ a year for out of town students. But even larger cities like Chicago is much cheaper than Cali. Also my car was a 2004Dodge Intrepid that cost me only 2000$ and I have had it 4 years with no problems so a car isnt that big of a deal in this area also.
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Have you considered moving to Europe, where you don't have to sell your bodyparts to afford a good university?
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x 2 for Canada. There may not be any Harvards, but all the universities comply with national standards so there is no risk of going to Hamburger U or whatever shady non-licenced universities they have in the US. This is coming from a guy making a lot of money after going to a Canadian university (UWO).
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On November 11 2013 11:42 Rain wrote:It’s not part of my blog about my gaming career. I’m writing this in regard s to get more information and share my feelings. My English isn't good enough(especially in writing) so please take that into consideration and if there are any grammatical mistakes please let me know!
After hearing valuable information from my friends, I noticed that the real world is harsher than I thought. Even though If I make decent SAT and TOEFL scores, I will would not be able to go to regular 4 years Universities in the states because I might not be able to afford the tuition. Moreover, living expenses are also unaffordable. The only choice that I have at this moment is going to Community College and transfer to 4 years regular school. Since I am an international student, possibilities to get scholarship s converge to 0. I have to face with the fate, initiate another CHEESE for my life. My current plan is to prepare for the TOEFL test whenever my work is done and if I get a decent score then I will apply for the CC. The only advantage that I have at this point is my programming career. If I fuck ed up in CC(drinking all day and mess ing up my GPA) then it will be the end of my life. + Show Spoiler +No it won't. You will get a job in an electronic store, one day you will buy this guitar someone sold to the store and found a future glam/punk band I don’t want to live like a fool talking about heroic exploits and shit. I’ve made terrible decisions ever since I quit gaming so I will make discreet decisions this time. The bright side is that I saved most of my prices for the future and I have learned English and they are that is supporting me a lot. If I didn't hadn't + Show Spoiler +That is a really small mistake. Using "didn`t" implies you are not sure if you did or did not. save d + Show Spoiler +Save without d was correct with "didn't". that money I would not be able to think about going abroad.
Thanks for reading. I only stayed in the state for 3 months so I don't have enough information. I'm wondering if I go to CC and economize a lot, I can I graduate CC with $30,000? As far as I know, tuition for CC is less expensive than regular school, it only costs $10,000 per year which I can afford it. I would like to apply for the spring semester if I can get a decent TOEFL score. when is the deadline for the spring semester registration? If you have any tips or information that might help me, please share with me !! :D twitter : @rainpsy
Your english has come a long way in a short amount of time. You are smart, you can do a lot of things with your life, chin up!
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@Rain:
I think Sacramento can be a good choice for you. It is the Capital of California, but not as expensive as Los Angeles or the Bay Area (San Francisco). The weather is great, and we have plenty of California girls haha. You can rent a room for probably around 300, or get a 1 bedroom apartment for about 600 to 800 a month. It is also one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world. The population is mostly white, Mexican, black, Vietnamese, Filipino, Russian, Korean, Chinese, Afghan, and Indian. Not that many Japanese or European people here for some reason.
The Los Rios community college district in Sacramento is very good. www.losrios.edu There are several campuses (Sac City college, American River College, Consumnes River College) etc and you can take classes at any of them and transfer the credits. It makes it easy to have a flexible schedule. Tuition is pretty cheap, about 46 dollars per unit or 1500 per year if you take 16 units per semester. Tuition gets you a free pass to use all the public transportation in Sacramento, buses and trains included. The transportation makes it easy to get to all the campuses and travel around downtown. Sacramento is a great mix of urban and rural. My lives 20 minutes from downtown and he has horses and chickens and stuff. However, I live in downtown and I can ride my bike to school and work, and walk to bars. Pretty nice.
I have taken a few classes in the Los Rios college district and I've always had very good professors, better than some of the ones at California State University, Sacramento. If you can keep your living expenses down, I think it will be manageable.
PS your performance at MLG anaheim 2010 was great. Good job!!
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Apply to the University of Texas at Dallas. They give out huge scholarships to international students. There are lots of korean students as well.
Good Luck!
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I would also suggest looking into attending a a college in Texas in either the Austin or Dallas-Fort Worth area. I'm originally from Texas, and it is very cheap to live there compared to other places (especially California). Transportation may be an issue if you don't live on campus, but if you live close enough you can manage by taking a bus. I went to UT Austin and got a computer science degree, and I think it would be good for you. UT Austin has a good CS program, I got interviews with good companies partly because I went to UT Austin(Google, FB, etc). Also, there are lots of Asian/International people as well, so I think you would be happy there as well. People are generally pretty friendly in Austin as well. Perhaps you can talk to Polt and ask him on his opinion if he's willing to talk to you? Austin is also a growing tech hub, and this is important when looking for jobs/internships. Also, I would mention that it's really hot. I moved out of Texas because I didn't like the heat.
Other than that, I imagine living somewhere in California would make you happy since there are lots of asians and international students. Can't say much about there since I've never been, but doing a CS degree there would be good as well because of your proximity to tech companies. For the same reason as Austin, I think its pretty important for finding a job/internship when you graduate. However, California I imagine california is really expensive.
Also like mrRoflpwn said, lots of colleges give scholarships to international students, so if you're willing to go somewhere you've never heard of, you could get a scholarship there. Although, from the blogs I've read from you, I think the financial trade-off is not worth the happiness you'll experience being in an environment where you'll be happy via California or Texas.
Hope that helps! Good Luck!
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Thank for replies a lot <3 <3
I sincerely appreciated.
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EPT
