<p>My best friend is from Seoul. She doesn't have access to CC so she asked me to ask this question.</p>
<p>My bf's parents came to the US when she was like 2 years old. Her family was supposed to leave after two years but they didn't. My bf is very smart and has great test numbers, ECs, etc. Teachers love her and she should have no problem getting accepted into great schools. Because her father has to work jobs under the table she is somewhat poor. We always thought that she would have no problem getting great financial aid from a top school since these schools give aid based on financial need. This is what we believed until yesterday when another friend whose mom is a guidance counsellor at another school told us that my bf may have to apply as an international student even though she attended American schools her whole life. She also said that my bf may not get the financial aid she is expecting since international students get different packages. Without aid she won't be able to attend even a state school.</p>
<p>Are any of you familiar with this situation? There has to be tons of kids like my bf in American high schools. Are they viewed differently from the normal American applicant when it comes to acceptance and financial aid?</p>
<p>If she is not a legal resident of the U.S., then, yes her situation is different. Check on the individual colleges’ websites for instructions and ask your guidance counselor for advice on how she can approach the admissions process.</p>
<p>Only the very top private schools are need-blind for financial aid for international students. </p>
<p>There was an article featured on CC recently about a girl in a similar situation–you might want to try googling undocumented student.</p>
<p>You need to help your friend find out if the state where she lives will consider her an in-state resident for tuition and fees at public universities and/or community colleges based on the number of years she has been living in that state and attending schools in that state. Some states have this policy.</p>
<p>If she is not a citizen or permanent resident alien (green card), and doesn’t fall in one of the other special categories (mostly refugees) that would allow her to apply for federally determined financial aid with the FAFSA (details are at [FAFSA</a> - Free Application for Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/]FAFSA”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) ), she is considered an International Student for financial aid. It will be MUCH harder for her to get the money for her education. Sad, but true.</p>
<p>She needs to sit down with the guidance officers at her school, and find out what her options are.</p>
<p>Happymomof1: She lives in the Los Angeles area. My friend’s mom said that California doesn’t give in-state tuition to international students but my bf wasn’t going to apply to the state schools anyway. She would like to attend HYSP and her numbers and ECs will make her as competitive as anyone unhooked as long as these schools do not evaluate internationals differently. Do you know whether they do or not? If she can get accepted to HYSP then I think she will get a nice financial aid package because of her low income. We both keep reading that the bad economy may influence these schools to take fewer kids who need big FA packages but aren’t they supposed to be need blind? Sorry if I am rambling but I am kind of panicking for my friend.</p>
<p>I think princeton is need-blind in admissions for internationals. I know harvard yale and stanford are not. However, because princeton is need-blind for internationals, and typically only fairly strong internationals apply to the top schools anyways, I’m fairly sure chances for internationals to princeton go waaay down. And chances for internationals at stanford and other places needing aid goes waaay down too. Part of the reason is that schools are only given a limited amount of visas per year. Most schools can’t have more than 10% of their students be international, and some not more than 5%.</p>
<p>Can it be done? yes. Does it hurt your bf’s chances? Also yes, by a large degree. I know it sucks, and I wish people who’ve been living in this country and working hard for years didn’t have more barriers to cross than naturalised citizens (i.e. if she has a little sibling born here, that sibling wouldn’t be an international). But until laws are changed, it is what it is.</p>
<p>Your BF really needs to get to someone who actually knows the answers such as a counseling group for illegal immigrants. She has a major problem and needs to start now to see what the potential solutions are.There is no guarantee she is good enough to get into private colleges such as HYSP – they reject 9 of 10 people who have grades and test scores high enough to “have no problem getting into great schools.” And it is incorrect to believe that they will necessarily give her financial aid even if accepted. She is not the normal “international” who can easily provide financial information of her parents (who are working “under the table”) so the school can determine proper financial aid. You seem to be hoping for an easy answer here, but the easy answer is she should not assume at this point she will get any financial aid anywhere and thus she should go searching for all possible advice from those who usually deal with this situation.</p>
<p>Thank you, chsowlflax17. Princeton is one of her top choices so that was good news. What’s so troubling for my bf is that she didn’t even know the truth about her situation until last summer when she asked her dad if she could get a job. Her parents never told her the truth. I hope some top school will understand and accept her. Can you imagine working so hard for four years and then not bing able to meet your goals because of something you had absolutely no control over?</p>
<p>I am looking for an easy answer, drusba. Sorry if that makes me look like Pollyanna. We’ve been bf since 3rd grade. We’ve approached life the same way, taken the same classes, etc. for a long time. We even hoped to go to the same college. I just found out about her situation in April. At first I assumed that being an international is no big deal. Now I’m learning otherwise. I will tell her to seek assistance. Thanks for your input.</p>
<p>Take drusba’s advice. It’s way more sound than mine, and there may be a way she can get her situation resolved, but honestly I don’t know about it. And lots of people work their entire lives for a goal that they never realize, because of something they have no control over. So yeah, do some searching, try and figure out if there’s someone who will work as an advocate for her.</p>
<p>The UC’s do offer instate tuition rates for anyone who attends a California high school for three years and graduates. But, your “friend” will be ineligible for need-based financial aid at UC. </p>
<p>The number of need-blind, meet 100% need, schools for internationals is around seven.</p>
<p>Just adding my 2 cents in saying that I know from personal experience that Yale is definitely need-blind as I was accepted and needed quite a bit of money to be able to go and Yale went above and beyond for me as far as financial aid without any need for negotiation etc.</p>
<p>I went through a very similar situation. My parents were married here, had their first two kids here. Then they went to their home country. They had me there. I came here when I was 11 and even though my parents were residents my papers did not come through in time. I was accepted to Brown, but Brown is not need blind for internationals (I found this pretty funny because I spent most of my education here). Needless to say, I was not able to afford school because in my state people who are not residents have to pay for out of state tuition (something I could not afford, even in a public school). We went to lawyers, we talked to counselors; whichever way i went I still needed to wait for my papers to come through. INS is absolutely the worst entity (bureucracy wise) in this country. It took me… almost a year and a half to get those papers (even though my parents asked for me 5 years earlier). Thank goodness my papers came by in time and I am finally able to start Brown (finally!) this fall.
Unfortunately for your friend this is not a good situation. A year and half ago a legislation went to the floor that helped illegal kids with good grades get an education in their public schools and finally an opportunity to become legalized. Because this situation had to deal with illegal immigrants (something that is a very controversial and delicate topic in this country) the law did not pass by 5 votes. I tried very hard to get that legislation passed because I had lived skin and bone the tragedy of getting your education taken away.
My advice is research colleges asap (I know there is a college in New Mexico that gives scholarships for kids with no legal papers). Plus, there may be some colleges that are need blind for international (like someone else mentioned here Princeton is need blind). Unfortunately, it is very very very hard to get into a school as an international looking for aid.
I hope the best for your friend, because what she is going through is not easy.</p>
<p>Oh UC schools give aid to kids who are legally residents of the state, therefore they dont offer aid for people who are illegal. I know this for a fact because around a year ago there were protests in Sacramento to help pass a law that helped illegal kids pay instate tuition. This law was thrown down by organizations that are anti immigration (you wouldnt believe who many of these are out there), therefore the governor did not sign it.
There are a couple of states that help illegal immigrants pay in-state tuition, I know for a fact that Illinois is one.</p>
<p>Wow, I can’t believe how many good responses were given for the OP’s question. I saw an message like this a few months ago and it received 0 replies. I am excited to read so many good replies because I also have friends in this situation. In many border states there are literally thousands of very good students who feel as American as I do but who can’t get into their dream college because of their immigration status and inability to qualify for some aid. I did a research project on this subject last year and it was very heart-breaking.</p>
<p>Don’t mean to be a downer, but again, there are less than 10 colleges in the US that are need-blind in admissions for internationals (which includes undocumenteds), AND that meet 100% of need. And those colleges are the hardest to get into. HYP, Dartmouth, Amherst, etc. While the UCs do offer instate tuition rates to anyone who attends for three years and graduates a California high school, the UCs do not offer any need-based financial aid to undocumenteds.</p>
<p>Your BF should also look at the women’s colleges. While they aren’t need-blind for admission, as a rule they do have very good financial aid packages for international students that they do admit.</p>