<p>I am going into my senior year this fall graduating in June 2015. I am an H-4. I am expecting to become a permanent resident by the end of the year or early 2015. But, in-case that gets delayed and I have to go to college on an H-4, I need to know what I should do from now on. I know that I cannot apply for federal aid, but are there any other ways, excluding scholarships, that I can pay for my tuition? How would I go about applying for college as an international student, but living in the U.S? </p>
<p>P.S- I am trying in-state for lower tuition </p>
<p>You’ve essentially discovered all of your options already. You can qualify for in-state tuition at public universities and you can apply for scholarships (both from the college you attend and other organizations in your community). That’s it.</p>
<p>If you were to switch to an F-1 student visa, you would also be allowed to work. But F-1 automatically pay out-of-state tuition in most states since F-visas are by definition temporary visas without immigration intent.</p>
<p>Do be aware that some private colleges (e.g. liberal arts colleges) have very generous financial aid policies for international students. It could conceivably be cheaper for you to attend a private university on a scholarship than a public in-state university.</p>
<p>Of course the cheapest “safe” options would be the local community college or a gap year. </p>
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<p>Read the admission information for both domestic and international applicants. There’ll be bits and pieces in both sections that apply to you. It should clear what applies to you and what does not. Every requirement should be labelled as to who it applies to (e.g. US citizens or non-citizens or students applying from an in-state high school or students applying from abroad or non-native speakers). </p>
<p>Generally speaking, you’d probably apply just like your classmates except that you might have to submit a few extra documents:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>If English is not your native language, you may have to submit TOEFL scores. (Most universities accept that non-native speakers who have completed ___ years of high school in the US know English well enough to attend college. However, a few universities want TOEFL scores from all non-native speakers, no exceptions, period.)</p></li>
<li><p>Many colleges will want evidence that you have sufficient resources to finance your education. Colleges are legally required to do this for prospective F-1 and J-1 students. While it’s not a legal requirement for H-4 students, many H-4 students switch to F-1 status later and so college want the documentation from H-4 students as well.</p></li>
<li><p>Colleges may ask you for a photocopy of your passport and your visa to verify your legal status. </p></li>
<li><p>If you came to the US fairly recently, you may need a transcript from your former foreign school as well. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>One more thing about becoming a permanent resident: applying for financial aid for your first year of college can be tricky if you become a permanent resident after the financial aid application is due. You’d still get your Stafford loans and Pell grants (if you qualify) but other financial aid resources are limited and distributed among the students applying by the college’s deadline. That includes institutional grants and scholarships, work-study awards and federal Perkins loans. </p>
<p>In addition, your college’s financial aid office may insist on seeing your physical permanent resident card before dispersing any federal financial aid. That usually takes a little while after your application to change status gets approved. The delay may or may not be a problem depending on when exactly you become a permanent resident and how the college handles outstanding account balances. (Some colleges will let you finish the current term and just withhold your transcripts until you pay. Other colleges may not let you enroll or kick you out half-way through the term though.)</p>
<p>If you can’t get your temporary papers (before you get the “green card”, you can get temporary papers) I’d suggest sticking to either instate public (if that is a fine choice for you) or waiting an extra year, applying as a permanent resident in the next application cycle. Some private universities may not revisit your financial aid (or not to the level of what you’d get applying as a freshman) if they admitted you under another status with another type of financial aid. If they admitted you as an international getting $5,000 in scholarships, you may not get more when you apply for FA as a permanent resident during your freshman year. Also, transfers get lousy aid at private universities and the most elite ones admit very, very few transfers, so attending the public university for one year expecting to transfer to a well known private once you’ve received your green card, is not a good move.</p>