Hello,
So after graduating high school on 2014 I’m now on the look for a college. However, I’m not a legal U.S. resident but I do have the deferred action and a work permit (I know both do not make me eligible for federal aid).
What I wanted to ask was if there is a state that favors students like me. I live in Georgia and I’ve heard that it’s not a great state for a undocumented student to attend college (I could be wrong). I know some state like California and Texas grant in-state tuition for undocumented students; is this correct? Overall I’m feeling lost as to what to do in my search for a college. I’m mostly looking for a state/college where it is affordable for me to attend college. What are some things that I can research that would help me financially (like scholarships).
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, sorry if this is the wrong subforum to post this question; it is my first time posting a question.
Other DACA students have posted similar questions to yours. You can find those threads by running a search here using DACA as the search term. http://www.collegeconfidential.com/search-results/?q=DACA
Financial aid is tougher for you than for US applicants, so you should also visit the Financial Aid Forum. Here is one thread that might be useful for you. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1678964-links-to-popular-threads-on-scholarships-and-lower-cost-colleges.html#latest
College admission is based primarily on your high school grades and your ACT or SAT scores. You can’t do anything about your grades now, but if they are decent, improving your ACT/SAT score might make a difference in where you can be admitted and the amount of aid you might receive.
Not all states (or even all public colleges and universities in a state) allow students your age to establish in-state residence on their own. You need to check the website of each public college/university separately. If your parents will be in Georgia, and you move to another state, you still might owe out-of-state fees.
Since you don’t know the details about the policies of the GA universities, you should visit some of them and some of the GA community colleges and get more information about what you would need to do in order to be able to study at one of them.
Wishing you all the best!