I’m a US citizen but was born and raised in another country, I will need help with tuition and airfare. Can anybody help me with some scholarships available? I have already applied for a PELL Grant
The best scholarships are offered by the colleges themselves. Have you looked at the pinned threads in this forum? There are some options with full tuition there.
Sounds like you’re a senior.
Where did you apply?
What are your stats?
What was your FAFSA EFC?
If you qualify for a Pell grant, that is not much money…at most, it will be about $5700.
Did you apply to schools that ask for CSS profile for aid?
You’re not likely going to find the money for four years applying for random scholarships…those are small, hard to get, and usually only for one year.
How much can your family pay? If they can’t pay much, then you probably won’t be able to go to school here. Even students who live HERE usually have to pay a good bit themselves, and they don’t also have flight costs to also cover.
I am going to a Community College for my first two years, The first year I will be considered out of State and the tuition is about $7000. The PELL Grant will cover a big portion of that. I have room and board worked out, I will just need help with airfare.
Are you currently outside of the US right now? Where have you applied to college? Have you looked at their financial aid policies? The FAFSA is form that makes you eligible for federal aid, and some college will also use the form alone as a financial aid application, but that is all it is, an APPLICATION. All that is guaranteed if your Expected Family Contribution and Cost of Attendance at a college meet the parameters is PELL and loans. Those funds are not released until school starts. They go directly to the college and the tuition, fees and other direct billed amounts are taken out of it and you get what’s left, if anything usually later in the semester Most of the time, you need seed money of your own to buy supplies, pay for transportation, and buy books. The individual colleges make their decision on whether to advance students funds out of their own coffers.
I am going to Dabney S Lancaster in Virginia. Do you know when t They usually give an answer from the PELL Grant?I have applied already
The Pell Grant is a federal entitlement. The school doesn’t decide on it. It is based on your FAFSA EFC. What was that? To get the maximum $5730, you would need a FAFSA efc of $0.
Did you complete the FAFSA and submit it to your college? That determines your eligibility for the Pell Grant.
As a U.S. citizen, you can also take a $5500 Direct Loan in your name. The maximum Pell total, plus your Direct loan will be over $11,000 which should cover your costs at a community college (since you have housing and board worked out).
we applied thru the FAFSA website. Thanks for the input!
You filled out the 2015 FAFSA? When did you submit it? What happens is that you get what is called a SAR that will give you your EFC and that is your eligibility established for PELL grant. You do not get the money directly. It goes to the school.
Are you already in college and did you fill out the 2014 FAFSA for funds to be released for the current semester? Again, you will get notification of your SAR and the funds would go to the college. You can ask the college financial aid office and bursar’s office as to how long it typically takes for that school to process the awards.
Help with airfare is a tough one. You could reach out to the college and see if they might have any special monies set aside.
For example, some CCs have relationships with local companies that fund scholarships, but might consider a single case assistance with air fare, especially if you only need help once.
And is there any way to contact the US embassy near you, could they have some ideas?
(I assume you don’t have a parent in the US military, if you did, they might be able to look into getting you a discounted air fare to the US.)
Summer job? What country you coming from? I know some discount sites from Europe where you can get super cheap flights if you fly indirectly.
OP states in post #3 that she will be OOS for the first year. It sounds as if she thinks second yr will be instate. True or not?
OP would actually have to live in that county in Virginia or a handful of others.
OP does not have the money for airfare to Virginia, nor any way to pay tuition yet, but thinks they can afford to rent an apartment in Virginia too?
I am very curious, were these questions asked to the college? Is there a reason to pick this college (for example, is the answer to the rent question that a family member lives right near the CC?)?
The OP can use the Direct Loan to pay for airfare…using any balance after paying tuition and fees. The only thing is the OP will be receiving any extra money well after the term starts…which isn’t going to pay for the airfare to get him/her here.
It’s a community college. I seriously doubt they will provide funds for transportation from an international country.
Students can take a federal student loan ($5500 as a freshman), so maybe that can cover your travel expenses. You’ll also need to pay for books, fees, incidentals, etc. How will you be commuting to the college?
I will have to get a car, its 6 miles from where ill be staying! So exciting for me! Im from a small village!
What about your home country - I assume you are a citizen there too? Couldn’t they want to help you get an education in the US, being that you are from a small village? Or even some international charities that focus on education? If you are female per your CC name, some countries are notorious for under-educating females, and international organizations focusing on women’s rights might help you.
I did not mean the CC would pay for airfare, I meant that some CCs do have relationships with donors which might have a bit of leeway in what they ask for.
Getting a car is quite an expense in the US.
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#insurance.asp
plus you would need to look into whether your international license is sufficient or you need to get a US license. If your parents are US citizens, do they have any feedback about your situation or any ability to help you? Did you file FAFSA for financial aid?
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going to a Community College for my first two years, The first year I will be considered out of State and the tuition is about $7000. The PELL Grant will cover a big portion of that. I have room and board worked out, I will just need help with airfare.
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Unless your PARENTS will be moving as well to Virginia, you will NOT get instate rates your second year. Residency is based on where your PARENTS live…not based on where you’re going to school. The state of VA will consider you OOS because you’re only in the state to go to school.
It sounds like you’ll be living with relatives while commuting?? If so, living in THEIR home does NOT give you residency for the second year.
What was the number result after you submitted FAFSA?
how much is the OOS tuition at that CC? It may be high enough that a Pell Grant wont’ cover it.
How will you pay for gas, books, etc?
Even if you somehow (not likely) got extra scholarships that would help pay for airfare, you would NOT get that money until AFTER classes started. You wouldn’t have that money to book and pay for airfare before classes started. You’d be booking your airfare at least a month before classes started. You wouldn’t have the money at that point.
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we applied thru the FAFSA website. Thanks for the input!
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AND…we’ve asked you, so please answer…what was the number result that you got? It should say something like 000000 or 000XXXX (the X’s would be different numbers)
THAT number will tell you if you’ll get a Pell Grant and we can use that number to tell you the grant amount.
I know it will be out of State for the first year. Tuition will be $7000ish, the 2nd year it drops to $2000 ish! I will get my drivers license the minute i get there and try to establish residency. I will have to cover about $2000 of the tuition the first year, I will be working at the place im staying to cover the gas…i was hoping to find some other small scholarships to help with books, supplies and maybe some of the travel expenses.
A Pell grant will NOT come close to covering the OOS costs for that school.
The OOS cost is $5k PER SEMESTER…not per year (this is based on 15 credits per semester, the minimum needed to graduate on time). That does not include books or course fees, or anything else.
If the student takes a normal course load of 30 credits per year, then the tuition will be $10k per year.
The student will not likely get instate rates after the first year, either.
You will also have to buy health insurance…about $2500 per year.
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I will have to get a car....
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?? And you’ll need to buy a car, too??? How will you pay for THAT?..and car insurance (a few thousand per year), plus gas and any repairs?
I do NOT see how this will be affordable at all. I know this sounds exciting, but unless your parents are going to pay for most of this, there is no way you’re going to be able to afford to go to school here.
What country are you from?