<p>Hi, I'm writing this in my friend's behalf. If the forum rules does not allow me to do this, please notify me; I do not wish to cause trouble.
To get to the point, my friend is an illegal immigrant. This is the reason why he wanted to seek advice through me, a close friend of his from back in Korea and a legal permanent resident. He is a high school senior and is going to colleges next fall. He is a very good college applicant. He has over 4.9 GPA (not quite 5.0, though, he told me), top 10% of the class, and has taken the hardest classes available that he could fit into his schedule. For example, he took 3 AP classes in his junior year and scored 4, 4, 5 on the AP exams. He has relatively high test scores. His highest SAT I score is 2150 and his highest ACT composite score is 32; he also got 770 in SAT II Biology, although his other SAT II's aren't that great. He is also extremely active in extracurricular activities. He is on our school's Cabinet, he is the captain of the academic team, an officer in math club, and he is in NHS. He also plays multiple musical instruments, and is in school's advanced orchestra. He is also a member of the city's Youth Symphony, and played with them at Carnegie Hall last summer. He has also entered multiple violin contests and won many high ratings. As far as I know, he is a favorite of most history teachers and some other teachers as well. I guess he does not participate in any sports, but otherwise, I think he would be a competitive applicant to even the most selective schools. Like I mentioned earlier, his biggest downfall is that he has overstayed his visa by several years and that he is an illegal resident of United States. Can you guys help with what his options are and what he should do to get into the top colleges like Harvard that he wants to go to? He wants to apply to UChicagos EA. Is that possible for him? Can he get financial aid in most schools? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>He's definitely got to straighten out his legal status. That's the first thing he has to do, no matter what. If that doesn't get cleared up, then I'm not even sure that he'll be considered at most American colleges. I'm really not well-versed in this area, though. You may need legal advice rather than CC advice.</p>
<p>He will not be able to get any federal financial aid so probably no state schools, but private schools can do whatever they like with merit money. An illegal immigrant at my son's HS had this same situation last year and was unable to attend the top UC's as a result (he could not afford to pay, but was admitted). He ended up with a full ride at a Catholic private, along with some community based scholarships.</p>
<p>Chicago, unfortunately, doesn't allow internationals who are requesting financial aid to apply EA. </p>
<p>:( It saddens me.</p>
<p>For your friend, 1) getting an admission in a good school may be easier if he applies as an International. 2) He will have to return to Korea to apply for a student visa. 3) Unfortunately, he can not apply for any federal loans. </p>
<p>Best thing to do is to complete his undergraduate work in Korea and then apply for Graduate school. Grad studies are almost always completely funded either through TA or RA route.</p>