Hi ^.^ Thank you so much for taking the time to at least read my question.
I am a fresh high school graduate who is currently living abroad and my goal is to study in the states once the virus situation has calmed down. The problem as of now, for me, is the finances. My mom doesn’t have all that steady of an income and it’s pretty low already considering the conversion to us dollars and I’ve heard of the mountainous college debts students usually fall under. I am actually planning on working as much as I can whilst schooling to generate some income for college and maybe send some back to my family if I can.
Other than the finance, I wouldn’t be a resident and I was told I wouldn’t qualify for a lot of scholarships in the States due to that. I haven’t taken the ACT test but I will be taking it pretty soon.
Also, I was actually planning on heading to Saipan (an island in US territory) but I was informed by my relatives living there that even with my high school diploma from here I would be forced to go back to high school due to the fact that I’d be missing some required units. They said it’d be better for me to transfer during my second year so that I’d only be retaking college units but then I don’t really want to start college here since I’ve heard that the best scholarships are usually given to freshman students. Would this situation be a problem for me in the states?
I’m just really lost on what to do and I really hope that you could give me some tips on what I could do?
I’m planning to take up BA Psychology by the way. I’m hoping I could get some recommendations on what scholarships or grants I could possibly turn to.
Also, if you live in some Pacific island areas or are of Native Hawaiian descent, you may be eligible for reduced (compared to typical out-of-state) tuition at University of Hawaii.
As a US citizen, you are eligible to file the FAFSA and can be awarded federal financial aid. You also are eligible for merit-based aid that your GPA and test scores qualify you for.
You can’t borrow more money on your own than permitted by the standard federal loans, so you can’t get into massive debt unless someone else co-signs private loans with you.
In some states, it is possible to get in-state residency on your own. So if you can move here, find a job and support yourself in one of those states, you could start college in a year or so once you do have residency.
Do not start college and plan to transfer. You are correct that transfer students usually do not get aid that is as good as freshman applicants.
Most of the world is shut down right now because of the coronavirus, so it will be hard for you to get advice in person, but you should still contact the EducationUSA advising center: https://educationusa.state.gov/find-advising-center The counselors there should be able to give you advice specific to your situation as a US citizen with a high school diploma from your country of residence.
As a U.S. citizen, you are eligible for any college scholarships that any other U.S. citizen would be eligible for. It doesn’t matter that you live elsewhere. The exceptions would be scholarships offered only to residents of specific states (usually at public universities)
As noted above, more info is needed to help you.
What was your SAT or ACT score?
What was your HS GPA?
How much can your parents contribute to your college studies?
The best scholarships come from the colleges to which you are admitted. So you need to look for places where you will possibly receive academic merit scholarships, or where you will be accepted and full need is met.
a. I am not all that sure of a price limit since our finances are really unsteady as of the moment. I will be able to get to the States but I am not yet sure how much my mom will be able to contribute to my studies. If possible, I want to be as self-sufficient as I can.
b. I graduated from one of the top universities in the entire Philippines and was under the Humanities and Social Sciences Track
c.My most recent GPA was 92
d. I have yet to take my ACT or SAT due to the lack of schedules
High school. The education system here in the Philippines has recently changed to the Kto12 program wherein students in Grades 11 & 12 are sorted into different tracks of their choosing (STEM, HUMSS, ABM, etc).
Keep in mind when you budget that a BA in Psychology is pretty useless. You need to budget for a Masters Degree immediately to get anywhere in that field.
“Pretty useless” is a very broad description here. I agree that for a person who wants to become a psychologist, a BA in psychology is pretty useless, by itself, as a means to the end. However, as a major in a liberal arts curriculum when the student is unsure about what kind of profession he/she wants to pursue, having a BA in psychology could be very handy.
I agree that the BS or BA in Psychology is a starting point for more education. Some acquaintances, from my college, used their BA’s to become insurance salesmen/women. My brother has a degree in psychology, but continues to work for his grocery store because it pays better than other options he had.
Hi. My daughter was in the same situation as you. She’s a US citizen living and studying in the Philippines. It was her goal to study in a US college but her dad and I cannot afford to pay for a US education.
In any case, she just completed 12th grade at the end of April, and she will be an incoming freshman in a US college for Fall 2020 (in whatever form that may be given the current Covid-19 situation). She actually received admission offers from 7 US colleges, all with significant scholarships and grants, which made it possible for her to pursue her dream.
Some of the things she/we did:
Get good grades in school, and the SAT/ACT.
Get an external college counselor who helped guide us through the entire process (her school had neither the capability nor the experience to help her).
Fill up FAFSA, etc.
There’s a lot of details to cover, but I think my daughter’s college journey might help you.
Hello ^.^ thank you so much for replying. How were you guys able to get a college counselor? I’m sorry for allt he questions but I’m trying to do as much as I can on my own to not bother or burden my mom as much. Do you think you could go into the details please? I’m really sorry if I sound pushy but truly thank you for the help. It is really appreciated and congratulations to your daughter by the way ^.^
Why can’t you go to college in the Philippines? Seems like that would be your affordable choice.
It sounds like your mom can’t contribute anything for college because you mention wanting to work here while in college and “send some money back home.” It’s very unlikely you would earn enough as a full time student and working part-time to pay for college …much less send anything home.
I can tell you that it’s highly unlikely you would be able to afford college here UNLESS you get accepted to a school that “meets need.”
We attended the CAMP Study Abroad Conference at International School Manila when my daughter was in 9th grade. The college counselor was a guest speaker in one of the parents’ sessions.
It’s really good that you’re planning this early because you’ll be better able to prepare. I can refer you to our counselor. I’m sure he’ll be more than happy to help you out. For the initial meeting with him, I suggest you bring your mom. I was super stressed at the beginning because of the overwhelming amount of, as well as conflicting, information that I’ve received about the application process. Talking to the counselor helped a lot in easing my family’s concerns and helped us put our focus where it’s really needed. Also, you’ll need your mom when it’s time to file your FAFSA so it will be best to keep her on the loop from the beginning.
Apply to Berea college as soon as you have an ACT score (the ACT is trying to develop a “test from home” test). It’s an excellent college dedicated to lower income students. You automatically get a full tuition scholarship and work to help pay for room& board. This system is possible thanks to alumni who did well and payvbzck what the College did for them.
The best scholarships come from the colleges themselves. If you graduated among the best students in your top school, run the NPC on universities such as Williams, Grinnell, Pomona, Dickinson, Hamilton, Denison.
What did you do with your time when you weren’t in school? Colleges will be interested in what you can bring to campus life’ it can be a job, helping your family, practicing art or a sport…
@mom2collegekids : op might be interested in escaping a country where the president brags of shooting people dead and where college students mysteriously disappear. There’s also a huge difference between universities in the US and universities in the Philippines wrt to teaching/learning conditions.
It’s super hard to get a part time job here without experience or anything like that so my mom would easily run out of finances to keep me in school here in the Philippines. There aren’t many good scholarships here either. The schools aren’t all that good as well. I figured my best bet to give my family a better life would be to go to the states. I’m just grasping for as many options as I can get at this point.