Confused, Overwhelmed, and Lost

If you apply as an undocumented student, you need two years in the state of NY as well as graduating from a NY high school. Do check out whether you can get in state consideration for the SUNYs.

For the most part, with the numbers you are stating, your target schools are not likely to meet full need anyways. Go for the affordable schools and the ones to which you qualify for merit. If you don’t get choices you like, then take off a year and give it a go again with the green card. I know some kids who did just that, and frankly, it didn’t make much difference for the most part.