<p>Hi,
I am currently a Freshman at a university in the east coast.
Though i have lived here in the US almost my whole life, I am considered an international student by my college, because my family and I have failed to get permanent residency/citizenship during our stay thus far. My parents, unaware of what it means to actually apply as an F-2 student visa, constantly told me that "it was okay" and that I will be able to get into colleges just like every one else.</p>
<p>When it was time for me to apply for colleges, i applied to 18 private schools while requesting almost full aid (my family is very poor), expecting at least some form of financial aid if i were to be accepted. I didn't even try to apply to public schools since I knew my case was hopeless in getting any form of aid.
I received 17 rejections and 1 acceptance.
The school that had accepted me offered me half tuition aid in merit scholarship - and made it clear that they were not going to offer me more.
Paying 33k a year was too far of a stretch for my parents, but when it was time to commit, I was too upset at the prospect of not being able to attend college and enrolled anyways.</p>
<p>Though it may sound pompous for me to say that I deserved more acceptances, I realistically believe that my label as an international student applying for full aid is what led to this outcome. I am an honors student with a high SAT score and GPA, and with various extracurricular activities. I even got help writing essays and such. I really really invested myself into applying to colleges. I was also told beforehand to apply to a lot of safety schools since my chances as it is was low. So about 10 out of the 18 were schools far, far below my range of statistics.</p>
<p>There were a lot of tears and complaining then, but here's the real issue now. I haven't even finished the first semester of my freshman year and I'm already far behind on my paying for tuition. The school that I'm enrolled in was my last choice as well as the least ranked academically. I do not at the least find the classes intellectually simulating as I would like and I am often frustrated at the degree of apathy my peers have regarding their schoolwork as well as their financial situations. While I can honestly say that it is a blessing for me to be attending the school, I don't find paying 33k a year for this caliber of education at all satisfying - at the same time, however, I may not even have a choice to continue attending this school in the future due to the heavy financial constraint on my measly budget. I'm conflicted and upset.</p>
<p>What do you think should be my next step of action?
Sorry for the long rant. Thanks in advance for your inputs.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should attend a community college and wait for the permanent resident status? I feel for you, but nothing I can suggest to make this work.
Or you can withdraw from the current school and try next year with Alabama full ride scholarship?</p>
<p>I believe it’s a full tuition scholarship, not full ride. Even still, it’s a pretty good deal. I definitely second the Alabama suggestion. The total cost of attendance with a full tuition scholarship would come to around 13,000USD per year, which isn’t that bad. The scholarship is available for international students and is guaranteed if you have the stats! You should look into it Plus, it’s a great school with amazing school spirit.</p>
<p>If you want to get the Alabama scholarship you will have to do it quickly. Application deadline is 15 December, and you will need to withdraw from your current school and not receive any grade in order to be eligible for UA scholarships as an incoming freshman. These scholarships are not for transfer students.</p>
<p>You’re right: your being international needing aid is what caused the choices to be so limited for you. Your parents were probably “advised” by well-meaning people who know nothing about the total mess immigration is in this country, and assumed that since you went to school in the US legally, you’d be able to attend college under basically the same provisions as permanent residents; in addition, most people have no idea how insane competition for scholarships is for internationals.
In addition, where did you apply? How were the schools selected?
There are lower-ranked LACs that are nevertheless academically rigorous (such as Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, or Earlham) and generous toward international students, but you’d need to know to apply there rather than relying on rankings.
Are you in the process of getting approved for permanent residence? Or are you still on a visa? Is there any way for you to be approved as a resident of the state for public universities?
(In some states, such as California, New York, or Texas, graduating from high school would qualify you for in-state rates as far as I know - this is in a state of constant flux.)
International transfers do not get ANY financial aid (except at UMN-Twin Cities but I’m not sure it’d be an option for you since costs would likely be too high). So you’d have to withdraw from your current college and even then I’m not sure you could apply as a freshman since certain universities consider enrolling at a university - even if you don’t have grades- makes you a transfer. Most consider that if you don’t have classes to transfer, you’re not a transfer, but you have to withdraw before you get credit for your work this semester.
UAlabama has transfer scholarships but they’re nowhere near as generous as the freshman presidential scholarships. You need to apply today (if you’ve got fewer than 27 credits I think they consider you a freshman), get your Campus Wide ID, apply for scholarships, and keep your fingers crossed you’ll be admitted fast enough to apply to the other programs.
Your alternative is to stay at your university to get a 4.0, but not return next semester; take a leave of absence; and delay re-applying to any college until you’re a permanent resident (if that’s possible). However if you don’t become a permanent resident this may mean a dead-end, since as an international transfer (with or without a 4.0) you’d be in the unenviable position of not being able to apply for aid, merit or otherwise, anywhere (or almost anywhere).</p>
<p>OP, you need to be aware of your visa status, what your visa allows you to do and not to do, and the reality of
being an international student. I know how you felt because I was rejected by 20 schools! It was very heart wrenching but at the same time somewhat expected, considering I was relatively okay, but not SUPER impressive applicant.
What visa do you have now?
If you succeed in withdrawing current school and apply to U of Alabama/Howard University(it has virtually full ride, so do it ASAP) as an incoming Freshmen, apply to scholarships ASAP. </p>
<p>Waiting until to be an permanent resident is risky, @MYOS1634 unless the OP is under 21 and the parents have green cards, which they don’t. Getting green cards through
citizen children who are over 21(takes at most 6 months)
parents who are citizen/permanent resident(2.5 years)</p>
<p>are the fastest options, but both are impossible for the OP because his/her parents are not green card holders. There is no way to tell when he/she will even get the response. </p>
<p>It seems like the best option for the OP is to withdraw the school and apply to other schools as freshmen(U of alabama, Howard U, UAH) as several posters have already suggested and merit scholarships. Going to community college and transfer to 4 year schools will be a bad plan for a long run because there is virtually no transfer Int. scholarship. </p>
<p>It’s not relevant for right now, but for UA, you need to prove that you have about 49k(including scholarships) for I-20.</p>
<p>@paul2752, Couldn’t the OP take advantage of policies of schools like Amherst and Pomona that put undocumented residents who graduate from US high school in the same classification as citizens? Or am I missing something and this policy is more complicated than it seems?</p>
<p>OP can try and apply to Pomona or Amherst as an undocumented student who graduated from an American High School. At this point, s/he doesn’t have much choice…</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses!
Some more clarifications: </p>
<p>I’m under the F-1 visa granted by the school I am attending right now.</p>
<p>I’m expected to get 4.0 this semester</p>
<p>Which Alabama school? U of Alabama or Alabama State?</p>
<p>My parents are nowhere near getting a permanent residency (no money, no relatives/connections)</p>
<p>I attended elementary, middle and high schools in California - but that didn’t seem to matter to colleges.</p>
<p>I applied to all privates, knowing that public schools didn’t allow for internationals to apply for financial aid. But I had absolutely no idea the privates would reject me straight out. I was thinking that they would accept me for my credentials and I would be able to negotiate the aid later on (pretty naive of me, huh).</p>
<p>Someone asked me in person if I could just go back to my country of birth, but considering that I’ve lived here since first grade (never went back since), I don’t really think I will do any better in colleges there XD</p>
<p>I already invested so much into this school (time, money, and effort-wise) and I would feel pretty crappy knowing that I blew 16.5k for no reason at all if i were to ditch it and apply for another school. I feel like there should be others under similar circumstances as I am and I’m wondering how they did it. Is it possible to have an application so spectacular that a college would just accept the student under full tuition aid?
And based on all your responses, I feel like i really screwed up by enrolling in the school }:(</p>
<p>You are an f1 student, so california will not give you instate tuition rate whatsoever.</p>
<p>Try to figure ASAP whethet there is anyway to count as a freshmen applicant. Ask the schools admission office .The acholarships we listed are solely based on gp and score. Your int status doesnt matter. See? yout hardwork do pay off. I was talking about U of alabama btw. Much better than alabama state u.
Also howard U doesnt care if you are int or bot. Still gives meri5 scholarship but its first served. Be quick.</p>
<p>The problem of dropping out now is this: what will your status be? at the moment you quit going to school, you lose your legal status, making you an illegal immigrant status. What you might be able to do is this: go back to country, take a gap year, apply for schools we mentioned and scholarship. You will def. get in, Get f1 visa, fly to usa, boom. I think this is, while the most time consuming and hassling, prefectly legal and the most realistic solution.
Anyone else better idea? Barium? @MYOS1634 ?</p>
<p>AB 540 provides for need-based financial aid at University of California and Cal State schools for undocumented immigrants. Have you checked into this, or just assumed you had to go to private schools?</p>
<p>So, to be more clear, you could move back to California and attend a Community college with this financial support; then transfer to a UC. When you leave your east coast school, presumably your F1 visa will expire and you will be undocumented (thus qualifying for AB540). You would probably end up with ~$15-20k in low interest loan debt, which is very manageable, especially considering the increased earning power of having a degree (I know some people eschew all student loan debt, but then will finance a Lexus over a Corolla. It’s all about your values).</p>
<p>Students in California who graduate from high school are considered in-state residents - if you’re undocumented in California, that’s the easiest thing to do. (Many states prefer to have you graduate from college and get a good job where you’ll pay taxes AND higher taxes, than if you’re paid in cash under the table for jobs that don’t reflect your potential).
HOWEVER California universities (CSUs and UCs) consider that if you enrolled anywhere, you’re a transfer student, so your only choice is to enroll as a California HS graduate, undocumented student at a community college (take a lot of courses and choose your community college wisely - Diablo Valley, SMCC, SBCC, Foothills, Cuesta have a pretty good record with transfers to UCs - and you should be able to transfer after a year).
In order to stay on an F1 visa, you’d need to stay at the school you’re at, and since you can’t pay tuition for next semester… it doesn’t seem feasible. However, this strategy allows you to finish out the semester and keep your 4.0.
What you could have done or assumed last year when you were clearly navigating a very complicated process on your own or with poor advice from adults, is water under the bridge. Don’t think about it. Focus on your finals, get that 4.0 from the pretty good school, and see if you can return to CA.</p>
<p>I am really not sure if abandoning the status ON PURPOSE and being an undocumented student is a good idea…also, if the OP is over 18 years old and stays illegal in USA, it will make his green card application even much more complicated. </p>
<p>I think OP could just go back to home country, take half or a year gap, apply to schools-private or public-that has some good chances for getting merit aids. </p>
<p>The issue I see is that OP seems to have spend his/her entire life in the US, so that “home country” is likely California in that it “feels like home”. We don’t know whether OP speaks the “home country” 's language and how well, whether s/he has family or relatives there who would be able to take him/her in, whether “home country” is even safe to return .
I agree that abandonning the F1 status is a good idea but it would allow OP to complete this semester. But then Op would be a transfer student so the only path forward would be as a California student, undocumented, at a community college, then on to a UC. I REALLY advise OP to talk to a lawyer ASAP.</p>
<p>Since the OP’s father is back in country, maybe his/her father can take care of him. Considering that he went back for work, I don’t think the nation is dangerous. OP, where are you from, and is English commonly spoken in your nation?
Also, is OP in California right now? I think that if OP wants to apply for green card in the future, his/her time as being an undocumented student will be VERY harmful, which is why I am so against for the OP to lose F1 status and be undocumented. Also, how will he move around in the US? Will s/he be able to drive? Will s/he able to fly if necessary? I know some undocumented people and they say every second of living without a legal status was very scary…</p>
<p>OP, which schools did you apply to last year? can you list them here with your stats/ECs/awards?</p>
<p>@MYOS1634 I don’t think I understood your second paragraph. If the OP abandons F1, how will s/he complete this semester? If s/he just drops out right now without completing the school, won’t the OP lost F1 status?</p>
Plus, it’s a great school with amazing school spirit.</p>