Hi everyone. I’m from Peru and living in new york and in two weeks I’m going to move to new jersey so I’ll stay there definitely. Finished my highschool in Peru. ( made my highschool convalidation through wes). And as soon as possible I came here, I started working (yes, I’m a citizen). I came alone and my aunt is hosting for all july. Then I’ll move to my uncle’s house in new jersey. The thing is that I came here to study a career but what worries me is my financial situation. I’m by my own and I’ll be like that for a long time and I don’t have the enough money to pay for college. Only just the enough to pay for a room in case i need to move alone. Do you think I can get a financial aid that could cover me all the tuition and a room in college to live there or some kind of loan or grant? Thanks for your help, I really aprecciate it.
Because you are a citizen, you are eligible to file the FAFSA. However, your parents will have to complete their part of the form too. You are not independent for financial aid purposes. This determines eligiblity for federal loans ($5,500 your first year of college) and federal grants for low income students.
It is not impossible to get the kind of full scholarship you asked about, but you need to have very good grades and very good test scores. If you do, then you can work for the next year while you apply to college to see whether you get enough money or not.
If your grades are just so-so, and you don’t have very good test scores, then it probably is best for you to start at a community college and transfer later. Most students who have that situation do that. When you know where you will live, go visit the admissions office of the closest community college, and talk with them about your situation. They will be able to help you determine when you will have in-state residency for credit and for non-credit classes. That might be a big problem for you because your parnts don’t live in the US. If you want affordable job training, the Continuing Education or Workforce Education division will probably have something for you. If you want to start your college education, that will be in the Credit division of the CC.
Thanks for your help. I had good grades in highschool (4.0 GPA) and I know I can get very good scores in sat/act. Where can I get info about getting financial aid for university? Is it the same process as for community college? Thank you.
Each school has a website where you can see what its financial aid policies are. You will need SAT or ACT scores to get into most 4 year universities or colleges, and those will be offered again starting in Aug. You will need to complete the FAFSA (avail in Oct for 2018-19 school year) and for many schools the CSS (another financial aid disclosure form).
Community colleges have different requirements. Some have open enrollment and do not require test scores. Since you will just be moving to NJ, you need to check on the residency requirements as you may be charged a higher tuition because you haven’t lived there long enough.
The financial aid process starts with filing the FAFSA, which you can learn about at http://studentaid.ed.gov
The total aid package will be a combination of federal aid and college aid. For college aid, you need to go to each individual college website.Google
site:someschool.edu net price calculator
(Substitute each school you are interested in for “someschool”)
This will give you the school’s tool for estimating your eligibility for aid and scholarships. You’ll need your test scores for the latter.
If you’re under age 24, then you’ll be OOS for any public colleges or CCs. That could be a problem.
Do you roughly know what your parents’income is?
Because if it’s low by American standards (which often is the case) then your best bet may be a college that meets 100%need.
These colleges are private, so no issue with being OOS (that your parents aren’t a resident of the State).
For that, you’ll need a certified copy of your high school transcripts, the certification you for, very good (1400+) test scores.
Can you register for the August SAT and prepare well to ensure excellent scores?
Did you do any activities outside of class in Peru? Work, sports, art…?
What is the limit of income for “low by american standards”?
And what do you think about applying to a community college and then college, is it a good option too??
One quick way to see if there are discounts for your income level is to look at college scorecard:
https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
Click on the college name, then click on costs, and see what the financial aid picture looks like (generally) for the various income levels. (Note that this is your household income, your income plus your parents’)
Many students do start at a community college, and then transfer after two years. That can be a good plan to keep costs down.
However, you need to find out about establishing in-state residence on your own, or even a community college might not be affordable.
Sinceyou have good grades, your best option might be to wait and apply next year after you have your SAT or ACT and TOEFL scores.
Can you live with your relatives at little to no cost…and use the money you have saved for housing, etc to pay your tuition costs?
See how much a community college would cost you. Even CCs have OOS rates for non-residents.
Do I need TOEFL too?? Isn’t that for international students??
It’s for students who’ve not lived in the US most of their life or who don’t speak English as a native language. It’s usually beneficial to you (since you arrived not long ago).
Your first resource is the colleges’ own web sites.
Comm colleges in NJ, far as I know, are good, a good place to start and see how you fare in the US college system, more or less. They’ll cost less, but probably not offer much financial aid. That’s why you check the net price calculators.
But why no standardized tests taken? Just saying 4.0 isn’t enough and leaves me wondering why not. Comm colleges are one thing, usually easy to get into. But many others are going to want the validation std scores offer.
Each college and university sets its own requirements for English proficiency exams. You have to check each website carefully.
OP, wouldn’t it make more sense to stay in NYC, as opposed to moving to New Jersey? You would have easier access to low cost CUNYs, better public transport, TAP/NYS Excelsior Scholarship, etc.
If OP’s parents do not have a physical presence in NYS, Op will not be eligible for TAP or the Excelsior scholarship (which is a last payer after TAP and Pell have been applied).
Because he did not graduate from a NYC high school, he will not be eligible for in-state tuition. As a dependent student, his parents would need to be NYC residents for in-state tuition
“Low by American standards” would mean about 45K for a family of 3, but for top colleges like Harvard or Amherst it means under 75K (which is middle class stricto sensu).
I don’t know whether you can establish residency in NJ.
If you can, you can start at a community college.
Community College at OOS costs (especially in NJ) isn’t worth it.
However, starting at a community college means foregoing college scholarships. If you were an excellent student iin secondary school, prepare and take the SAT in August - a high SAT score may mean an excellent scholarship (full tuition or even full ride) at a college somewhere.