<p>Hey I started working on the CSS and FAFSA today and realized that I could not get far without a SSN. How did you guys work around this? And is there any other steps I have to take differently due to my citizenship?</p>
<p>You are not eligible to do FAFSA unless you are a US citizen or eligible permanent US resident.</p>
<p>So how would I apply for financial aid to those schools that put Canadian citizens in the same pool for financial aid as American citizens (Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, Yale etc)? </p>
<p>By the way, I am attending high school in Michigan and have been for 3 years. I have a J2 Visa and my mom has a SSN… I don’t know if that makes a difference.</p>
<p>You do not appear to be an eligible permanent resident then (J2 is derivative visa instead of the full permanent resident status of the green card.) You will not be eligible for FAFSA, but if you were from Ontario for example, you are eligible for OSAP (or for Canada Federal Student loans, to be specific).</p>
<p>For the institutional financial aid at the schools you mentioned, you would file the CSS and make clear your citizenship status. (Different form, different place.) So you’d be entitled to their aid just not the Pell Grant or Stafford loans etc. You should contact the FA departments and ask how they’d like you to file your info (if they require anything beyond the CSS.)</p>
<p>PS Also note that instead of a SSN, you can get a “Taxpayer ID” which you likely already have if your parents claim a deduction for you. But the taxpayer ID does not make you eligible for FAFSA.</p>
<p>Okay, thanks a lot for your help.</p>