<p>I was wondering if anyone else is in my predicament or if I am just one of those few unique cases. Basically, my family is in the middle of green card processing and as an applicant I found out that I would be considered an international student. I have lived in the US for most of my life and it is tough to fathom this fact. I just wanted to see if anyone else is going through the same predicament as me. Because, honestly, this residency status thing has screwed me over by not letting me enter my research project for intel and siemens already and I really dont want it to mess up my chances at the privates I applied to. I just wanted to know if anyone has actually been through this or is going through this. This would just be a place to discuss our common issues/ find out from previous people who have been in the same situation. Thanks in advance to people who comment and post advice.</p>
<p>You will face financial aid issues as most universities (save 8) are not need-blind to international students and with that, tough tough competition for money and limited spots from International Olympiad winners and such. (HYPSM on average has a international population of about 8% and an admit rate about 1/3 to 2/3 vis-a-vis their domestic applicants).</p>
<p>The best advice for you imho would be to apply to a lot of universities, from the top need-blind ones to your state school and maybe further down as well - don’t consider any university you apply to be a safety unless you can pay for all costs (US$200k in cash over 4 years) out of pocket.</p>
<p>I do actually qualify for federal loans and filled out the FAFSA as an eligible non-citizen. @frankchn I applied throughout the top universities and then the UC System. I got into my ELC school, Davis, already. I am pretty far in the permanent residency process. But i completely understand that there will be hurdles to jump over in the finaid category. So are you at Stanford right now or will you be going there? Did they offer you a finaid estimate?</p>
<p>Hey yeah I actually am in the same situation as you. I have lived in Texas for 13 years but since im a citizen of another country and not of the US, i am technically an international student. Since i do not have greencard but am here with a VISA, I cant even apply for regular financial aid. Since I am not a citizen somehow I dont have a social security card so I cant apply for FAFSA
For my state school, I got in as a Texas resident. However, for other schools they consider me as a complete international student. </p>
<p>I applied to some Ivy leagues because they actually are rich enough to offer international financial aid and are just need based </p>
<p>I was looking for someone who has a simular situation like I do!!</p>
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Not that it matters at this point, but the absence of a SSN is not what disqualifies you from federal financial aid. In fact, if you ever apply for a student visa, you will be eligible for a SSN but you would still not be able to complete the FAFSA.</p>
<p>The thing is, Im studying off the VISA off my Dad’s job and somehow my parents got a SSN-but they denied me. And especially after 9/11 they got really strict of giving them out. The thing is, I was going to apply for a SSN because I really wanted to complete the FAFSA and we went to the place to do that. They told me that I cant get it because Im not working or something ■■■■■■■■ like that.</p>
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<p>Correct. You can only get a SSN if you are working under OPT/CPT now (F-1 visa holders).</p>
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Even if you had a SSN, you would still not be eligible to apply for federal financial aid. You would have to be a citizen or “qualified noncitizen” (green card holder, refugee, asylee, etc). Many international students in the US have SSNs (because they are allowed to work) but they do not qualify for federal financial aid nonetheless.</p>