<p>I'm only a HS sophomore, so I still have time to mull over it, but I'm in a pretty puzzling predicament. I moved to the US from the Philippines about a decade ago. I am not, however, a US citizen, although I am much more in tune with American culture, society, and education. I have to make a decision between help from my family and my dreams.</p>
<p>My parents are not quite well off by American standards, but my extended family in the Philippines are relatively well-to-do. They have told me time and time again that if I go to college in the Philippines, it will be completely paid for, and I won't have to work at all until I graduate (or have any debt or financial worries whatsoever).</p>
<p>It seems like a pretty sweet deal, but I really REALLY want to go to an American college. One, the academics are superior in the US(no matter what my parents say). Two, I am much more familiar with the education system and applications process. Three, I want to have an international sort of career, and having a degree from a good school in the US looks way better than one from even the top school in the Philippines to multinational employers.</p>
<p>If I applied at a school in the Philippines, I would have a high chance of admittance at the best schools (legacy status, US schooling). In the US, I'll be working a lot harder to gain admittance, but I'll feel comfortable knowing it'll all be worth it.</p>
<p>So, should I take the easy way out (but not really, seeing as being an international student is a pain both ways) and go home for college, or shoulder a mountain load of debt while fulfilling my dream and being "irrational" and "unrealistic" (aunt's words, not mine)?</p>
<p>How about home for undergraduate and U.S. for graduate school? Lots of American kids make the same type of decision choosing the lower ranked full scholarship school over the big name school with the idea that they will go for the bigger name in grad school.</p>
<p>Thanks, but the thing is, I don’t see myself as the type to go to grad school. Maybe business school to get my MBA if I go into marketing, but going any further than a bachelor’s degree isn’t exactly what I’m looking for. Besides, I’ve already looked into this option, and it’s very hard to get into the best graduate schools here with a degree from my country.</p>
<p>Frankly, I think I would try to go to college in the United States. I have many foreign friends, and they generally think the prestige factor is higher in having a U.S. degree, even though I am sure that is really unfair and I know there are fantastic schools abroad. Especially since you already feel more comfortable here than there, I think you should try to get scholarships or do whatever it takes–maybe go to your state uni if you have to instead of going out of state–to do what you want to do, which is go to school in the U.S></p>
<p>I plan on working either in the US or somewhere in Europe, but it really depends what I ultimately choose to study and pursue.</p>
<p>If I go to school here, my family has made it clear I will have very little to no monetary support from them. They think I’m being ridiculous, even though I know it’s somewhat feasible for lower income children to afford higher education in the US.</p>
<p>But you are not low income. The colleges will consider you request for need-based assistance in light of you parent’s income. It won’t matter if they aren’t willing to pay and you will not be able to make a case for your being independent. All that will matter is what their resources are.</p>
<p>That means you will not be eligible for need-based assistance which leaves only merit-based scholarships and loans. If you are doing this on your own that rules out private schools, you will need to find affordable in-state options.</p>
<p>It is really difficult to put yourself through school. The only people I know who did it had no other option.</p>
<p>I actually do think I’ll qualify for need-based assistance, based on my parent’s usual income (my parent who works has been unemployed for a while now, but I don’t think that will be the case when I apply to colleges) and lack of assets. The problem is that I am looking at mostly private schools, some of which do give more financial aid than my in state publics. I’ve been trying to reason with my parents into helping me with the EFC, but their mantra is “100% at home, 0% here.”</p>
<p>Your parents are probably not going to co-sign loans for you to go to school here, so you won’t be able to borrow the money anyway (and it’s a bad idea to borrow a lot).</p>
<p>Yes, I have a green card and am a legal permanent resident.</p>
<p>I envision myself having to borrow money, which is, as you pointed out, difficult if my parents won’t co-sign. There are schools that <em>say</em> they’ll “meet full need” without the necessity of loans (like Penn), but that doesn’t solve my EFC problems. Plus, by the time I go to college, programs like that may be drained and the chances I’ll even be accepted at schools with seemingly limitless endowments are slim.</p>
<p>I’m still trying to persuade my parents to give me some help, but they refuse to even learn about the financial aid system here. And they still see me as a little kid who has no right to talk about finances with them, so I have a very exhausting road ahead of me.</p>
<p>Why not just focus on doing your best in high school now and apply to colleges in both countries when the time comes? If your family see that you’re mature enough to live independently in the U.S. two years from now, perhaps they’ll change their mind. And if you absolutely could not get enough aid to go to school here, then you would have done your best. You could go to college in the Philippines, work a few years to save enough money, and then get an MBA abroad.</p>
<p>I think, for the FAFSA, they don’t take into account what your extended family in another country has. They only care about your custodial parents, so the fact that your great-aunt’s sister’s barber’s daughter-in-law from the Philippines is really well off shouldn’t affect your EFC, I think.</p>
<p>What do your parents – not your aunt or uncle – think about your plan? If you’re studying here in the U.S., your extended family has limited influence over you. You won’t necessarily need them to cosign for any loans since they’re not your guardians. I would focus more on bringing your parents around; they might have less money but they have more influence over your college decisions in the US than your extended family does (at least, if I understand your situation correctly).</p>
<p>I’m definitely considering applying to schools in both countries, but schools in the Philippines start their year in the spring, and aren’t as flexible with allowing students to enroll during different terms, so I’d have to wait an entire year to go to back school. And then there’s the issue of the first year in Philippine colleges being dedicated to a core curriculum including Philippine language (I can understand Filipino, but can’t speak/write), history, politics and other things I’ll fail miserably at having had a completely American education and upbringing except for my preschool years.</p>
<p>Can you tell I’d be completely against going to back to the Philippines, if it weren’t for my tricky financial situation? I’ve calculated my EFC a couple times, taking into account different situations (my parents being unemployed, one parent working, two parents working) and it’s anywhere from $0 to $10000 a year. It’s seemingly doable, if I had parental assistance, but at a top school in the Philippines, the total cost of attendance for 4 years is only $8000. There’s where my “being unreasonable” comes in.</p>
<p>@Gardna : My parents are part of the whole 100% there, 0% here deal. They don’t care if I got into freaking Harvard - they’re still not paying for anything. I’m just factoring my extended family into this because they have more money and could be my biggest source of financial assistance (could being the operative word).</p>
<p>@curiousanddazed : Yeah, I know. But everyone keeps telling me not to. :(</p>
<p>Ravenclaw man, look into your local community colleges. You could work a minimum wage job and go to community college, if you want for a few years. And with some community colleges if you are at the very top of your class, (top 1 or 2) by the end of your 2nd year, you can get a very sizable/full ride merit scholarship to a local sponsor school (you need to do good research). Or you can finish up your local community college since you want to work in business and that will give you all the opportunity you need.</p>
<p>For a more expensive college, start studying for the junior year PSATs, make sure you are getting a 100% at your house (or aim for it) and then you’ll have a chance of doing the same on the real thing. With a high PSAT score (idk your state so to be safe 220+) you will become a National Merit Semi-finalist and this gives you options for some great merit scholarships at varying state schools and other schools. If you work hard for the next two years and keep your academics high, you will be able to afford college here in the U.S. by yourself through merit and need based financial aid and applying to colleges smartly. I’m guessing even your parents will be more likely to want to send you to a college here. </p>
<p>Goodluck man. You can also get a job and start putting money into a bank account if you haven’t already done that and start saving up for it so that you could help yourself pay for the first year or first few years depending on the cost of the school.</p>
<p>Lastly, as you grow up and approach age 18, your family might be more willing to listen to what you want so you could just work hard now, and make the college here a reality, then convince them when it’s time. Hopefully they will see your maturity more clearly by that time</p>
But everyone keeps telling me not to. :(</p>