<p>I am a domestic applicant living in India. All public universities will treat me as out-of-state since I have been living outside USA for too long. My family income is < $10,000 and I need complete need-based aid.</p>
<p>Ethnicity- Asian
I have mostly A's on my 11th grade transcript (top 5% of the school) but the 10th grade GPA is lower.
SAT Reasoning test- 2250 (M 800. V 760, CR 690)
Subject test- Math 2- 740, Physics- 720</p>
<p>Distinctions
Selection (and participation) in two national seminars in graduate mathematics
(Representation theory and Analysis, Topology)</p>
<p>I reached the IMOTC (Indian equivalent of the MOP) in the 10th grade. (It is not as competitive as the MOP). 15th rank in the country in the Indian Nat. Math Olympiad
2nd rank in the state (9th grade) in the RMO which is similar to the AIME.</p>
<p>ECs
Math club (one of the founders)
Reading club (one of the founders)
Some Community Service
Varsity tennis in the 9th grade (but no awards at all)</p>
<p>I have a really strong recommendation from a university mathematics professor. The English teacher's recommendation is strong as well.
I have 3 papers in mathematics (abstract algebra and combinatorics) which I could submit to colleges that consider additional material.</p>
<p>As I stated earlier, I need complete financial aid. The colleges I am applying to promise to meet the complete need of admitted students. But they are top-ranked and hence, selective. Is there any college not in this category that could meet my demonstrated financial need?</p>
<p>I looked at a couple of those lists. I am not an international applicant (at least for the colleges I currently have on my list), but I need a lot of financial aid. Unfortunately, low-ranked State universities is not an option since I am out-of-state. Does there exist a lower-ranked college that could provide the complete need-based?</p>
<p>Are you sure you will be considered out-of-state for all states? Is there a state to which your family pays taxes?
I think there are plenty of safety schools for your grades and scores; the issue is finding one that will provide the aid you need.</p>
<p>Do you parents file income tax returns with a particular state. even though they don't have any real taxable income. Do they vote by absentee ballot in US elections? If so, what state are they registered? This would be the state where you are in-state.</p>
<p>Try second tier private colleges. Your scores are great, and your international experience would be a big plus with them. Check the websites of second tiers, and see what merit and need-based aid they offer. If you're male, you'd also be at an advantage in most LACs since they have a very hard time attracting males.</p>
<p>Yes, I am a US citizen. But my mother is not. She is a single-parent and her income is approximately $8000 per year and she does not file her tax returns with any state.</p>
<p>The problem that you're likely going to run into is colleges wanting financial info from your parents including your dad (I'm assuming he's alive). Check the archives in the financial aid board because the problem of getting need-based financial aid while having a dad who's alive, but out of the picture has come up a lot. It can be a difficult situation to resolve. Colleges don't make things easy because they don't want to encourage parents to avoid their financial obligations to their kids' education.</p>
<p>I have sent e-mails to the colleges regarding that. I have not been in contact with him for the last 16 years. Secondly, he does not pay any child custody. Hence, I just have to submit a letter from a counselor/ attorney to prove this.</p>
<p>All of colleges on The Colleges that Change Lives site qualif as second tier private colleges.</p>
<p>You also could Google and find the list of the liberal arts colleges that U.S. News lists as second tier. The colleges on their lists of regional masters level colleges also would qualify.</p>
<p>Off the top of my head, some second tier LACs are: Rollins (where my S goes and is having a good experience), Calvin (where my husband went, and had a good experience), Goucher (according to people on CC, it has great merit aid and being male is a big plus), Rhodes, Sewanee, Union, Skidmore, Clark (in Mass.), Drew.</p>
<p>Most of the top 40 LACs meet the full calculated need for admitted students, and tend to become need-aware as they get to the lower end of their admits. Since your need is likely to be 100%, and you'd be a very highly qualified applicant for most of these schools, I'm not sure that your situation is one where there would be a lot of difference in the total size of your aid offer between need-based and merit schools (except that you might be asked to assume some debt and take a work-study job at the most selective schools). Among the top 30 or so LACs, Trinity is one of the few that's into merit aid in a fairly significant way.</p>
<p>Many of the top liberal arts colleges are need blind. Your scores are excellent, your grades are good and improving, and your life experiences are certain to make you stand out from the crowd. Schools with small minority populations that are seeking more diversity, should be expecially interested in you-but even without that, you are a very attractive candidate. Apply-you could be very surprized about the money available to you: Some of these schools have amazing endowments for kids just like you. Check out Colby, Bates, Grinnell, Vassar, Oberlin, Hamilton, Wake Forest, Davidson. Many of these terrific schools have need blind admissions policies and say that they will meet financial need-although that may mean working a few hours a week on campus, taking out a student loan (not as scary as it sounds-most of us graduate with some debt and pay it off over time).</p>
<p>I did a quick search of the top 35 LACs in the 2008 USNews List. Here are the schools that meet 100% need for admitted students: Williams, Amherst, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Carleton, Middlebury, Pomona, Bowdoin, Davidson, Haverford, Claremont, Grinnell, Wesleyan, Vassar, Harvey Mudd, Smith, Hamilton, Colgate, Oberlin, Colby, Bryn Mawr, Macalester, Scripps, Mt. Holyoke, Barnard, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Trinity, Lafayette. </p>
<p>The only ones that do not claim to meet full need for all admitted students are Washington & Lee, Bates, Colorado, and Kenyon.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about this, but maybe someone else on CC could help...if your mother is not paying taxes, this might be a case where you could establish state residency for yourself by moving to a state and working for a year before attending school. It would pretty much mean you were independent of your parents, I think. For example, the UMass (other schools may have similar policies) website states:</p>
<p>"If you are a financially independent student, then the policy requires that you have lived in Massachusetts as a "traditional resident" (not a student) for twelve continuous months immediately preceding your enrollment or reenrollment in the UMass. "</p>
<p>Elsewhere on the site they state that a parent's tax return showing that you are NOT claimed as a dependent is "helpful," but perhaps you could provide other documentation to show your mother is not supporting you.</p>
<p>It sounds like it is a possibility for you, but it also sounds like it might be complicated/difficult to get the necessary "proof." Still, it might be something you'd want to look into.</p>