FAFSA - US Citizen Living Abroad

Paying for College
21

<p>^
The student’s parents do NOT have existing ties to a state. THey don’t own property and they don’t pay taxes. </p>

<p>As for the UCs…</p>

<p>*To establish residence you must be physically present in California for more than one year, and you must come here with the intent to make California your home as opposed to coming to this state to go to school. Physical presence within the state solely for educational purposes does not constitute the establishment of California residency, regardless of the length of stay. You must demonstrate your intention to make California your home by severing your residential ties with your former state of residence and establishing those ties with California. If these steps are delayed, the one-year durational period will be extended until you have demonstrated both presence and intent for one full year. If your parents are not California residents, you are required to be financially independent in order to be a resident for tuition purposes. Your residence cannot be derived from your spouse, a registered domestic partner or a parent.</p>

<p>Requirements for Financial Independence</p>

<p>You are considered “financially independent” if one or more of the following applies:</p>

<p>(1) You are at least 24 years of age by December 31 of the calendar year of the term for which you are requesting resident classification.</p>

<p>(2) You are a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.</p>

<p>(3) You are a ward of the court or both parents are deceased.</p>

<p>(4) You have legal dependents other than a spouse or a registered domestic partner.</p>

<p>(5) You are married, a registered domestic partner, or a graduate student, and you were not/will not be claimed as an income tax deduction by any individual other than your spouse or domestic partner for the tax year immediately preceding the term for which you request resident classification.</p>

<p>(6) You are a single undergraduate student and you were not claimed as an income tax deduction by your parents or any other individual for the two tax years immediately preceding the term for which you request resident classification, and you can demonstrate self-sufficiency for those years and the current year.*</p>

<p>this student would not be able to demonstrate that she came to Calif for any other reason but to attend school there. </p>

<p>She would also have to financially independent.</p>

<p>Since she didn’t go to a Calif high school, she would not be eligible for California aid…so even if she became a resident, she wouldn’t get the aid she needs/wants.</p>

<p>She’s not going to get residency…Calif is quite strict because too many try to game the system and the state is broke.</p>

<p>My kids and I were born in Calif. We lived most of our lives in Calif. We still own several properties in Calif. My kids would NOT be considered residents of Calif for undergrad unless we moved back there.</p>

22

<p>Your daughter is eligible to apply as a US citizen for financial aid. She will fill out the FAFSA, and you will fill out your part as a parent using your income figures. Your spouse’s income and assets will also have to be included. If he has no SSN, all nines or zeroes can be used. </p>

<p>When it comes to the verification process, the schools will contact you and request items to substantiate those numbers. They will treat you as they would parents of international students in terms of verifying your income and assets. The difference is that your DD will be eligible for Federal monies if the numbers so bear. As others have said, there really is not a whole lot out there that is guaranteed. FAFSA calculates an Expected Family Contribution that is usually about a third of your family income and 5.6% of your family assets over a protection allowance determined by your age. You can run the numbers through some quick estimated calculators to see what your famiy EFC would be. At about the $5K mark, your student is no longer eligible for PELL grants, and it is pretty much loan eligibility that is there, up to $5500 freshman year, year with another $4K if you apply and get rejected (which you will as a non citizen) for the Parent Direct loan (PLUS). </p>

<p>The rest is up to the college itself. If you DD applies to schools that tend to meet financial need, she will benefit being a citizen at a lot of them, since many colleges do not give aid to international students on the same basis. She will be in the citizen pool for financial aid, a huge benefit for her. Admissions for her to some of the more selective colleges would also be on a US Citizen basis and she would not be under the foreign countries’ quotas. These colleges who give out their own money tend to ask for PROFILE or their own app in addition to FAFSA, and will likely have a decent knowledge on how financials work in your country. </p>

<p>How much of a benefit or disadvanatage it will be for her, all depends on the individual school’s policy on students from a given college. THough your daughter will not be in the international pool, all schools do look at getting a nice mix for diversity’s sake, and how many applicants they get with backgrounds from a given area, can come into play, especially when it comes to getting money. Still, she has a distinct advantage over international applicants.</p>

<p>Fill out some of the Net cost calculators for colleges she is considering, as well the FAFSA, to get some idea where you stand in terms of financial aid. We can’t tell if you are a very low income family, or a high income one, or somewhere in the middle from what you have written. Nor do we have any idea what sort of schools she is considering. Most colleges require the parent to be living in the state for the student to be considered a state resident for tuition purposes. I have a son going to an out of state public school and will be paying the extra charge for the full time he is there, despite the fact that he was 18 even starting there. It’s the actual college that makes these rules for instate consideration, by the way, not the state itself and the requirements often differ greatly. My son can get his drivers license, car registration, get his own place there with his own lease without me on it, and can register to vote there. He can get state residency there but not for his college in state tuition requirements which require a parent to have lived in the state for a year, or for him to have graduated from a high school in that state and be able to show he was there for 3years prior to that. </p>

<p>So it all depends on so many things. Your daughters grades, test scores and the school she attended will factor heavily on what she may get, as well.</p>

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<p>Plum, much of what we have written has been for general cases. If you have a particular school in mind, it may have more generous features. Those state schools that get very few OOS kids, for instance, may be much more generous about granting in state rates than those that are well known and actually watch for anyone trying to “pass” as in state. Take a look at MomfromTexas 's threads on full ride scholarships which can give you some methodology in looking for low cost schools for your DD. Because she is an unusual case, she should apply to a wide variety of school types and see what pans out. Especially if her test scores and background education are up there.</p>

24

<p>*year with another $4K if you apply and get rejected (which you will as a non citizen) for the Parent Direct loan (PLUS). *</p>

<p>I don’t think that’s true. the mom can’t even apply, so there won’t be a rejection.</p>

25

<p>Thank you all for the wonderful and generous feed backs received through this post. </p>

<p>Indeed some got off track with instate / out of state issue which may not answer my concerns of applying for FAFSA. Knowing that I’m working overseas and not living in any US state does clarify that I have to be prepared for an out-of-state tuition. It’s a huge amount I have to shell out to make my D’s dream come true. </p>

<p>Now my D’s study goal is Chem Engg in the top 10 Engg Schools. Like Cal Tech, Georgia Tech, UCLA, UT Austin, etc. where the Tution + living cost is $ 50K - 60 K per year for out-of -state. Now that’s too heavy a cost for me to take up a bank loan which may take 10 years to pay back. No assurance in today’s US recession if she will land up with a good job in US. So getting Univ financial Aid is a must to make her dream come true. </p>

<p>Actually I agree that FAFSA does not give aid but the approval is used by many Universities as a tool to qualify the student for their own University aid.</p>

<p>Since I’m not working in USA I’m not obliged to pay US taxes as I hear someone proposed to file an IRS return. However, student aid is usually provided to all citizens and earned by those students typically who’s parents income may not be taxable due to low income or working out off US for making a living. You may classify me as one of them. </p>

<p>She is a A grade student and has a SAT of 2150.</p>

<p>I still don’t know what to fill in the FAFSA parent income which cannot be files with IRS. do all public Univs mentioned above have their won financial aids as well other than FAFSA ?
Hope someone got my concerns right ?</p>

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<p>I would add U Delaware to your school list because it is one of the best schools for Chem Eng, is only $40K/year, and offers merit aid.</p>

27

<p>* do all public Univs mentioned above have their won financial aids as well other than FAFSA ? *</p>

<p>Not really…and not usually for OOS students.</p>

<p>Publics tend to have two types of aid…state aid for instate students, and a few have merit scholarships for those with very high stats.</p>

<p>The publics that YOU have mentioned wil not likely give your D anything other than loans.</p>

<p>The UCs will not likely be affordable since their aid is largely STATE aid for instate students. </p>

<p>Georgia Tech’s aid is largely HOPE (state aid) for instate students. They do have some HIGHLY competitive merit scholarships, but usually much higher stats are needed unless a URM (Hispanic, Black, American Indian). So, GT will likely cost you over $40k per year.</p>

<p>UTexas won’t give much/any aid. Again, your D is OOS. And her stats aren’t high enough for the few merit scholarships they have for their students. </p>

<p>Publics charge HIGH OOS rates for a reason. It wouldn’t make much sense to then cover it with need-based aid. Besides, those schools can’t even meet need for their instate students who have much lower costs. And, it would anger the instate residents if a bunch of need-based aid was going to OOS students. </p>

<p>FAFSA isn’t much used to determine how much a college will give for its aid. FAFSA only schools don’t have much of their own need-based aid to give. And, state aid is often strictly income based (not FAFSA based). </p>

<p>I think you’re expecting too much from filling out FAFSA. With an EFC around $15k-$20k, many schools will give you little or NO free money at all. I doubt any of the publics on your list would give you any free money. </p>

<p>CSS Profile is often used by schools that have their own aid to give. And the ones that give the best aid will require the financial info of a non-custodial parent (if she has one…you haven’t mentioned her father). </p>

<p>What is your D’s Math + CR SAT? That is what merit scholarships are mostly based on. </p>

<p>Right now, I think her list is not reasonable. It consists of high reach schools where a 2150 is likely not high enough, and a bunch of OOS publics that won’t give much/any aid. Even UDel, which might give some merit (depending on the Math + CR), but may not give enough to get the cost down to what you want. So, you can’t count on that. If your D’s Math + CR is around a 1420, I doubt she’d get enough merit from UDel to get costs down to about $15k-20k (including int’l travel). </p>

<p>Publics don’t include the cost of int’l travel in their COAs…a number of privates don’t either. </p>

<p>It’s ok to include a couple of super-reach schools (MIT, Cal Tech, etc) and maybe a couple of the listed OOS publics “just to see” what happens, but those schools are unlikely going to work out acceptance-wise or affordability-wise (unless you pay).</p>

<p>Right now, you don’t have any financial safeties on your list. Your D needs to include a couple of schools that will give her ASSURED merit for her stats. If your goal is to pay around $15k-$20k per year (including costly int’l travel), then she needs AT LEAST a full tuition scholarship, so that your funds can cover the remaining costs (room, board, books, fees, personal expenses, health insurance, travel costs).</p>

<p>Your D needs some Financial safeties. These are schools that you know FOR SURE are affordable because of ASSURED merit for her stats, and the remaining costs are affordable for YOU.</p>

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<p>OP,</p>

<p>University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) has #4 (according US news) chemical engineering program. The OOS tuition is only $5K above in-state tuition (due to a weird law in MN) and COA is below 25K (this year).</p>

29

<p>For parental income on the FAFSA, you put the parental income converted to U.S. dollars. Where you earn your income does not matter at all. You still are required to include the parent income. It also doesn’t matter if you don’t file a U.S. tax return. What DOES matter is that you are required to list your income…period.</p>

30

<p>UMinn Twin Cities may be a good option but the cost will be higher than stated above.</p>

<p>Tuition and fees… $18,709
Room and board …$8,412<br>
Books and supplies…$1,000
Estimated personal expenses…$2000
Transportation expenses…$194 (very low estimate & would be much higher for international travel)
…Estimated Total…$30,315 </p>

<p>Your D will also likely have to purchase annual health insurance…likely $1500-2000 per year.</p>

<p>The int’l travel can easily be $2000 per year.</p>

<p>Estimated cost would be closer to $35k per year.</p>

31

<p>Plum: You state that: “However, student aid is usually provided to all citizens and earned by those students typically who’s parents income may not be taxable due to low income or working out off US for making a living. You may classify me as one of them.” </p>

<p>I don’t know where you’ve been getting your misinformation, but this is not true. She may be a citizen and may be “low income”. She can file a FAFSA, but that doesn’t mean the school that receives the FAFSA information will give (PROVIDE) her a full ride. </p>

<p>All US citizens can APPLY for aid, but getting it is not guaranteed. I’m a resident US citizen, as was my father and his father and his father. I’ve paid taxes for 30+ years. My children applied for California aid, but didn’t get it. </p>

<p>We are residents of California and the state is really not giving any aid to OOS applicants. Since your daughter is not a current resident of California, she is not considered for in-state fees. She can get accepted to our UC’s and Cal State’s, if her stats are high, but you’re going to be paying full tuition and room + board plus travel expenses.</p>

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<p>Exactly.</p>

<p>And it doesn’t sound like she’s low income if she thinks her EFC will be around fifteen to twenty thousand a year. </p>

<p>Those with EFCs above about five thousand often don’t get ANY aid beyond student loans. </p>

<p>I think the OP thinks that schools have piles of money that they hand out after students file FAFSA.</p>

<p>When schools report that they give out millions in aid, they are often MOSTLY talking about LOANS and Work study. The “free money” is often Pell Grants which only low income students qualify for.</p>

<p>The OP’s D has a dream to be educated here and the OP wants it to happen. Before the dream gets out of hand based on incorect info, the OP needs to explain to her D:</p>

<p>How much the OP will pay each year.</p>

<p>That most schools give LITTLE aid and will GAP funding (do not meet need).</p>

<p>That her stats aren’t likely high enough for MIT, etc. Those schools only accept a tiny percentage of applicants and those admitted either have tippy top test scores or they have some hook (URM status, etc).</p>

<p>That she needs to apply to a couple of financial safety schools in case her top schools don’t work out. Her financial safety schools are ones that give ASSURED merit for her stats.</p>

33

<p>OP, most US citizens who go to college DO NOT get their need as defined by FAFSA EFC met. Most schools gap and many gap big time. Those schools that guarantee to meet 100% of need usually define that need themselves and ask for more financial information usually through PROFILE. Also meeting need does not just mean getting grant money. Loans and work study can be in the financial aid packages. </p>

<p>You DD has good stats so there will be some schools out there willing to come up with some merit money for her. But the schools with a lot of name recognitions are not easy goes for admissions, financial aid and particularly for merit money. The very top schools, the most selective and best known ones do not tend to give out scholarships. It’s all done by THEIR OWN definition of what need is, not FAFSA"s formula or your opinion or even your reality.</p>

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<p>It sounds that getting any kind of aid with my EFC seems unlikely. So getting into best schools may not be the option as they will be expensive. I certainly do not want to disappoint her for not getting the quality education she wants. </p>

<p>Which school , for chem engg, would have the lowest OOS cost of attendance ?</p>

35

<p>That would probably be UMinn-Twin Cities. <$20K/year. [Costs</a> and Aid](<a href=“http://admissions.tc.umn.edu/costsaid/tuition.html]Costs”>Cost of Attendance | Office of Admissions)</p>

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<p>Erin’s Dad…that’s only for the tuition part at UMinn-Twin Cities. The student will not be commuting from home :wink: you have to add another $11k+ for room, board, books, etc.</p>

<p>To go to UMinn-TC as an OOS student, the cost will be what is in Post #30 above. </p>

<p>And, since there would be (at least) annual int’l travel, that adds a bit more to the cost. </p>

<p>With her stats, the school that would likely cost her the least is UAlabama for ChemE.</p>

<p>With her stats, she’d get free tuition plus 2500 per year. Her remaining costs would be about $12k plus int’l travel. Total value of the scholarships would be over $90,000.</p>

<p>She’d get two scholarships…one from the university and one from the Col o Eng’g.</p>

<p>Look for BOTH scholarships here…
[Scholarships</a> - Undergraduate Students - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/]Scholarships”>Scholarships – College of Engineering | The University of Alabama)</p>

<p>Here’s the ChemE dept
[Chemical</a> and Biological Engineering - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://che.eng.ua.edu/]Chemical”>http://che.eng.ua.edu/)</p>

<p>Bama has a brand new mega-sized Science and Engineering Complex (SEC)…state of the art and amazing.</p>

<p>the pic on this page was Phase I of the new SEC…this bldg is 200,000 sq feet. It’s in the shape of a Pentagon, so you’re only seeing 2 sides of the bldg. The entire new complex is over 800,000 sq feet.</p>

<p>The campus is GORGEOUS, the people are friendly, and the academics are strong.</p>

<p>My son is a ChemE major there. He’s a senior this year. He’s had a very good experience with many research opps. </p>

<p>that can be her financial safety. </p>

<p>The app is up now. Bama has already accepted students for Fall 2013. </p>

<p>The scholarships are assured if she applies before Dec 1st.</p>

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<p>If your daughter wants a degree in chemical engineering, she just needs to look for an affordable school with
ABET accreditation. The quality of
The engineering program will be a good one.</p>

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<p>Plumcake, what you need to do is look at schools with an engineering department and start looking at what the costs are. The NPCs will be of help in that regard, though not 100% accurate. That she is a good student with good stats, has an interesting background, is a US citizen and is a female in engineering makes her an attractive candidate for some merit awards. The problem is that certainty is just not there when talking about large awards. Look at Case Western, University of Pittsburg, University at Buffalo, Carnegie Mellon and see if she qualifies for merit money at those schools. Also look at an old thread that Momfromtexas put together on full ride scholarships that will give you a method for looking for what awards she might qualify for.</p>

<p>Also, you should sit down and figure out how much you, she and the family can afford to pay for her education. Surely, you did not think it was going to be totally free. SHe has to eat, have a roof over her head, transportation expenses, necessities, sundries, as well as educational materials like books, computer are all things that are going to cost, especially coming from over seas. Even if she should get a full tuition scholarship thos expenses have to be met. </p>

<p>Here in the US, most kids can get a college education by commuting from home and if the parents absolutely can’t pay a dime, the kids can borrow $5500 in their own name which will cover most community college and local state u tuitions. They then have to find a part time job to fund other expenses that their parents are not covering. If they are lucky, they might get some scholarship money to cover more.</p>

<p>My cousin’s son could have gone to Community college, local catholic college or a local branch of the state university for very little and commute from home. In fact, the community college was the most expensive opton out of the three because the Catholic school and the local state U branch both gave him tuition free awards. He had also applied to the state flagship, but they didn’t throw much merit money in there and his family need pretty much came up to what the cost would be for him to go there. Pricier private schools offered him some need packages that brought his cost down to about the same as going away to stateU, so the family decided to bit the bullet and go for it. He had some savings, he works part time and works all summer. The family had some savings for him, they are scrimping big time to pay what they can, and they are borrowing some as well. He is also taking out a loan. So parent and kid, past, present, future earnings with the school kicking in about half the cost, make it possible for him to go there, a $60K school with some name recognition and he is living there as well. Everyone is happy and proud; he is getting a top rate education at a good private school that he considers a great privilege and is living on campus several hours from home, a great luxury all fo less than half the sticker price, for about what he would have paid for State U. He had some other private schools on his list too, but some turned him down, some included more loans and work in his package than grants and some he just didn’t like as much as this school. So compromises all around.</p>

<p>THat is the kind of scenario you can expect for your daughter.</p>

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<p>oops…forgot to include the link to the pic I mentioned above:</p>

<p>[Shelby</a> Hall - Buildings - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/buildings/shelby/]Shelby”>http://eng.ua.edu/buildings/shelby/)</p>

<p>the ChemE dept is in this bldg (Phase II of the SEC)
[Science</a> and Engineering Complex - Buildings - The College of Engineering - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://eng.ua.edu/buildings/sec/]Science”>http://eng.ua.edu/buildings/sec/)</p>

<p>All of UAlabama’s engineering disciplines are ABET accredited.</p>

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<p>Georgia Tech, SMU both have full ride awards, but the competitions is fierce. Cooper Union is free, but getting in is an issue and there is the room and board issue if accepted. UAlabama is an excellent school, Drexel has had some awards for top applicants that were very geneous. If you look, you’ll find some possibilities, but bear in mind that none are certainties.smu engineering</p>