<p>my Paternal Aunt along with her husband lives in California. :/</p>
<p>That’s a good idea. The CCs have articulation agreements with the UCs. If you could live with family, that’d help you a lot.</p>
<p>You are a citizen and your EFC is 0. Your academic record will be evaluated in relation to those of applicants from British-patterned systems and/or Pakistan, and your financial aid need will be looked at in relation to other American applicants.
The issue is that most universities in the US do NOT meet need, ie., even if you have EFC 0 they expect your parents to go into debt and pay - or you can’t study there. Your parents can’t pay. They can’t get a Parent PLUS loan (not that they should take one on with a $9,000/year income.) They’ll only be able to afford your plane ticket (do you have a good health insurance system? If not, you’ll need to purchase a college plan.)
So you need to target schools that will meet need for an EFC 0. Some schools that don’t meet need will cover need for an EFC0 student who’s really exceptional in relation to their applicant pool and who’s demonstrated interest. Finally, there are automatic and competitive scholarships that you could apply to but these are very hard to get. For instance, you have ONE at Hendrix College (they have decent CS and I doubt too many students from Pakistan apply). But Merit is out if you don’t reach 1400/2100+. So, start studying right now (there’s a forum here with tips.)
Your only chance is to get into Berea OR into one of the colleges that meets 100% need. You’ll have to apply widely. Your OLevel/ALevel results make me hopeful your SAT scores can improve drastically, but that will require consistent studying plus be aware that you will also need subject tests (I would suggest Math2, Physics, and Chemistry). Of course you could apply for some of the full ride scholarships (automatic or competitive, see in the Financial Aid Forum) but your best bets are the schools that meet 100% need.
Among those, the easiest to get into (relatively speaking: NONE of the 100%need schools are easy to get into) are St Olaf and Gettysburg. St Olaf is Christian but “dry”, so it may be better for you than Gettysburg (which is secular but where a lot of the social life revolves around alcohol.) Of course you may not have the luxury of deciding between both. Your record is not sufficient for HYPSM but at least, being American, you get to be evaluated “need-blind” by most top schools (vs. internationals, for whom these schools are need-aware).</p>
<p>St. Olaf is going to seem very liberal compared to Pakistan (and not as overtly Christian as many Christian schools that I can name).</p>
<p>With an EFC of 0, he’d get full pell. Combine that with loans, he’ll have more than enough to pay for CCC (California Community College) OOS tuition + books. If his aunt’s willing to take him in, room/board should be covered too. Is there a way to establish residency after 2 years??</p>
<p>If his test scores improve, though, he could just try for large merit or the meet-need schools.</p>
<p>He will be able to establish residency for his community college but for,the four year CA colleges, it will be more difficult. </p>
<p>Also, he will be paying OOS rates for that CA community college. I’m not sure the Pell will cover that…even with loans.</p>
<p>What schools does your aunt live near?</p>
<p>another issue will be transportation. Calif doesnt have good public trans in most of the state. This student would need a car/insurance in order to commute from relatives home.</p>
<p>^ Maybe the aunt has an extra car he could borrow??</p>
<p>If not, he could save up for one of those $1000 old things…</p>
Guys, guys, Chill ! I’m happy to inform you that I’ve made it. I’ve got in one of the best LAC in the country and have been offered a full ride scholarship which covers ALL the cost of attendance except my personal expenses which will be covered by my work-study. I’d been offered a similar offer (financial offer) from another LAC which has a real good academic reputation across the country. With my financial background, I consider myself lucky to actually be going to such a prestigious institute. To all of you guys out there who have similar concerns about your financing options, my message to you is to try, research and explore every kind of option there is. Don’t leave any stone un turned. No matter what people say, just give it your 100%, concentrate on your academics, and everything will work out just fine 
@OBA100001 what did you raise your SAT score to?
I raised it to nearly 2000. My SAT II score was somewhere in the 2200. And I had a straight A* transcript (O and A-levels, not HS). I was in the student council as a prefect and as a Head Boy (this i think accredited a lot). Soccer as extra-curricular and a private internship at a software company. My common app essay was okay-ish but my supplement essay was really good.
I think the best gift America can give to students are Liberal Arts Colleges. Not only me, but some other people i know who came from similar financial backgrounds got into good LAC with excellent fin aid (all need-based). You see, some of the LAC’s mission is to financially assist admitted students in the best way possible. Colleges like Bowdoin don’t even let you take loans. So I’m just saying. Study hard. Work your ass off. And never give up. It can be done. Look at my story.