<p>sooo, are there any non-us citizens living in the US that have to apply as an international student? i am and i wanted to know if anyone else is. do you think we'll be at a disadvantage cuz we're not really "foreign?" im kinda ticked about not being able to get a lot of financial aid from even prestigious colleges. do any of you guys know any schools besides the 7 schools that offer full financial aid for ALL students? and is anyone else getting ticked about schools not being need-blind? freakin ticks me off.</p>
<p>Actually schools not being need-blind towards internationals might work in your favor. The reason is that almost all international applicants apply to the need-blind universities, but the need-aware ones get a lot less applications. I prefer a 20% need-aware admission rate over a 2% need-blind admission rate any day!</p>
<p>I can understand that you are ticked off about this, but being ticked off is not going to suddenly make attending college more affordable for you. Paying for college is not easy even if you are a citizen or permanent resident. Lots of families have to send their child to the least expensive college or university that they can find. </p>
<p>Look long and hard at the public universities and the community colleges in the state where you live. Find out if you qualify for in-state tuition and fees based on that residence. If you do, the community colleges will almost certainly be affordable for your family, and the public universities may be as well.</p>
<p>If you have the grades, test scores, ECs, recommendations, etc. that would qualify you for admission at a tier 1 or tier 2 school, there is a tier 3 or tier 4 school out there that might offer you a merit scholarship. You need to look for those options as well.</p>
<p>hmmm barlum- interesting point! never thought about it that way! :)</p>
<p>happymomof1- i know paying for college is hard period. however, international students to get loans in the US is nearly impossible. So im kinda desperate here. lol</p>
<p>If you’re living in CA and you have gone to high school there for 3 years, you will qualify for in state tuition at the CA state schools. 2 years at a community college and then 2 years at a CSU/UC may be doable with planning if your family can’t afford a lot.</p>
<p>I think you should look at some LACs. They give out nice aid to internationals in come cases.</p>
<p>Um. I’m sorry if this a bump, but what counts as a ‘permanent resident’?</p>
<p>I’m here on my dad’s L-1 Visa from Canada, and we applied for a green card, but I mean… I dunno if I can count on that arriving soon enough for college (I’m a sophomore).</p>
<p>I think you need to have a green card to be considered a permanent resident.</p>
<p>The US Permanent Resident card used to actually be green paper, which is how we get the term “green card”. Even USCIS uses the terminology now even though the cards have been made out of white plastic for years!</p>
<p>You should check up the rules about studying in the US on an L status. If the green card doesn’t come through by the time you start college, you may need to convert to an F-1. Ask your dad’s immigration lawyer about this.</p>
<p>But, be a good kid and look at those nice cheap Canadian colleges too. All the Canadian parents I know pack their US-born children off to school in the North because it is soooo much cheaper!</p>
<p>I also get ticked off, especially when Midd ends its need-blind policy for internationals in the middle of an admission cycle. But there some nice schools like Dickinson, F&M and Gettysburg that give a lot of aid to internationals, although need-aware.</p>
<p>I applied to colleges last December as an international student. Now I’ve just got a notice that I will receive my green card in 30 days. I don’t know how that’s going to affect my financial aid/scholarships. I’ve been really frustrated over this thing. Standards for internationals are so much higher compared to domestic students.</p>
<p>scarecrowluv- that’s kind of my situation as well… im applying next year to colleges but im expecting my green card to come through in about 2 years… ugh! hate this process.</p>
<p>scarecrowluv -</p>
<p>Since you expect to have your green card soon, you can collect the information needed for the FAFSA, and prepare it online. That way it will be ready to submit as soon as you have your new status.</p>
<p>As soon as you have your green card in your hot little fist, pick up the telephone and call the financial aid office to let them know, and to ask how this affects your aid. Don’t forget to get in touch with your nearest Social Security Office so that you can get a Social Security Card if you don’t have one yet, and to find out if they need to change your status in their records. If you are male, you will also need to register with Selective Service, but I think FAFSA can do that for you automatically when you file.</p>
<p>happymomof1 - Thank you for the advice! Actually, I am preparing to fill out the FAFSA form.</p>
<p>I don’t want to ruin the atmosphere, but I hope scarecrowluv already has a social security number. It might be tricky to start a FAFSA application without one…</p>
<p>I know that if the parents don’t have SSN you can just enter 000-00-0000 for them. I wonder if it’s possible to use that number for the student when you are making your first draft? If not, at least you can work your way through the form and find out what all of the questions are so that you are ready when you have a real number.</p>
<p>Well, the FAFSA online help says that the student SSN must be correct and cannot be changed once the application has been started. But just working though the forms to see what the questions are seems like a good idea!</p>
<p>I have a question…
I’m a non-citizen in the US applying as an international too
but I was able to file fafsa… since I have SSN and so do my parents… and we have taxes return and stuff
anyhow… with that done… will I have a chance of getting any aid?</p>
<p>happymomof1 and everyone else:</p>
<p>I just got my Social Security Card this weekend, and I am filling out FAFSA and CSS. A college representative told me that they probably can’t meet 100% of my need if I apply now though. I don’t even know how much money I can get, and I’ll have to make a decision by Friday!</p>
<p>sarangjae -</p>
<p>If you are a permanent resident, or fall in one of the other categories that qualify for federal aid, you will be considered a domestic student in the financial aid process. Whether or not any given college or university awards you aid beyond what the federal guidelines entitle you to is entirely up to them. Be sure that your college list includes a true financial safety that you and your family can afford without any more aid than federally determined aid.</p>
<p>scarecrowluv -</p>
<p>You can ask each of your colleges to give you an extension on the reply-by date because you are still waiting on financial aid decisions. Since each of them is probably still processing your financial aid application, they should understand. One very important question to ask is if they can’t meet 100% of need for this year, will they do so next year? Some places won’t.</p>