Hi, I’m hoping someone can advise.
My daughter is in senior year in high school in the U.S., where we have lived for 4 years. Because of our immigration status, she counts as an international student. Our greencard application process is underway, but it will be another year or two yet before it arrives.
She is looking at universities in both the U.S. and UK (where I am from). The problem is that even though she is a British citizen she also counts as an international student there, because they look at where she is living, not her passport.
I’ve come to terms with the fact that university is going to expensive and we will need loans. But who offers loans to a student in her position, either in the US or UK?
Anyone else who has been in this position or has insight into it and can advise much appreciated.
Does your daughter have sufficiently high GPA and standardized test scores to get automatic merit aid at places like University of Alabama which does give this aid to international students. Did she apply there?
@WayOutWestMom does University of New Mexico offer the Amigo to international students?
Check Arizona too…not sure if they provide their auto merit to international students.
If costs are prohibitive, maybe she needs to consider taking a gap year or two until she gets her green card.
You don’t mention your state, but some states do offer instate tuition to students who have attended for a certain number of years, and graduate from an instate high school. Have you checked what your state does for sure?
Also, checking for clarity…it’s January 18. You say she is “looking” at colleges…hopefully she has applied to some.
Re: loans…you would need to take out private loans and you parents would need to cosign or take the loans.
Some schools that offer really good merit aid packages include: University of Arizona, Miami University (Ohio), and University of Alabama. These are a good starting place. What state are you planning on living in? That state’s public schools might be a good choice too because you may eventually qualify for their instate rate.
University of New Mexico offers an International Amigo Scholarship worth about $15K/year. It gives in-state rates to OOS and international students.
UNM tuition $8863.00/year
Room & board (traditional dorm) $10,262.00/year
https://geo.unm.edu/admission/undergraduate/scholarships/amigo.html
[quote] Eligibility Criteria
- Freshman Applicants: The equivalent of a U.S. grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 in upper secondary school (high school) course work completed, as determined by UNM, or an ACT composite score of 26 or a SAT combined score of 1240 and the equivalent of a U.S. grade point average of 3.0 in upper secondary school (high school) course work completed, as determined by UNM.[/quote]
Applications due by February 15.
We live in NY and she has applied to one of the SUNYs, where she had to apply as an international student but according to the small print on their website would qualify as in-state for tuition purposes if accepted, so that is definitely an option. Yes, she has mostly done her applications now but UNM looks interesting - will check that out, thanks. A gap year also a possibility though she is not keen on that. She received an offer with a small merit in early action but we will need a loan to bridge the gap and it’s not really clear to me where they come from if you can’t do the FAFSA. She has a fairly high GPA - I think 94 on the transcript and 98 this year.
I would recommend having her apply for the Peralta Scholarship through HESC. It will cover tuition for CUNY/SUNY.
[quote=HESC Peralta Scholarship]
Step 1: Determining Your Eligibility
Note: A student seeking New York State financial aid, including TAP, for the first time, must pass a federally approved ATB test identified by the Board of Regents if the student does not possess a U.S. high school diploma or its recognized equivalent.
If you fit one of the descriptions below, you may be eligible for one or more NYS student financial aid awards under the DREAM Act:
- Your permanent home is in NYS and you are or have ONE of the following:
- U-Visa
- T-Visa
- Temporary protected status, pursuant to the Federal Immigration Act of 1990
- Without lawful immigration status (including those with DACA status)
-
AND you meet ONE of the following criteria:
1. You attended a NYS high school for 2 or more years, graduated from a NYS high school, and enroll or enrolled for undergraduate study at a NYS college within 5 years of receiving your NYS high school diploma OR
2. You attended a NYS high school for 2 or more years, graduated from a NYS high school, and enroll or enrolled for graduate study at a NYS college within 10 years of receiving your NYS high school diploma OR
3. You received a NYS high school equivalency diploma, and enroll or enrolled for undergraduate study at a NYS college within 5 years of receiving your NYS high school equivalency diploma OR
4. You received a NYS high school equivalency diploma, and enroll or enrolled for graduate study at a NYS college within 10 years of receiving your NYS high school equivalency diploma OR
5. You are or will be charged the NYS resident in-state tuition rate at a SUNY or CUNY college for a reason other than residency.
NYS Higher Education Services Corporation - Senator José Peralta New York State DREAM Act [/quote]
She definitely needs to look at a SUNY within commuting distance, if cost for room and board are going to be a concern. If you live in NYC< she absolutely should apply to CUNY.
What is your budget? What could you afford to pay (in US dollars) without taking on any loans?
What nationality or nationalities does your daughter have? Is she a UK citizen?
We currently have a daughter in university in Canada. Some of the schools there for an international student cost not much different from the in-state cost at public universities in the US. The most famous ones tend to charge more for international students because they can.
https://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=402
Section III.D.5 describes getting NY resident tuition through high school graduation after enough attendance in NY. But check carefully on the whether the current visa status qualifies as “not non-immigrant alien within the meaning of 8 USC §1101(a)(15)(See Other Related Information below)” (“below” is section IV.B for visa holders).
Op’s D will receive in-state tuition at SUNY and in-City tuition at CUNY as long as she graduates after having attended high school in NYC/NYS for at least 2 years (OP says that they have lived in NY for 4 years).
That’s right, she supposedly would qualify as in-state (she is on a L-2 visa). But I don’t know if her being a non-immigrant alien would make it harder to get in. She was deferred from SUNY Bing in the EA round which makes me wonder.
She is a UK citizen, yes. I did broach Canada after someone else recommended it and perhaps in another year we could have visited. But of course that wasn’t possible and the idea of applying to spend 4 years in a country she had never been to did not appeal to D.
Keep in mind Excelsior and Peralta are now game-changers when it comes to applying to SUNY (especially the university centers).
Residential students: Free tuition, the 5.5k loan will leave the out of pocket costs around ~$15k in-state.
For families with incomes under 125K, it has become an affordable option with the cost of attendance being lower than the EFC (especially for families in the 100-125k range). The number of applications at All SUNYs have increased over the past few years, and I think that there will be even more applications.
Did your daughter submit scores? School is not test optional to international students.
Is the 94 GPA her overall gpa (6 semesters, freshman-junior year)
Is she on track to receive an advanced regents diploma (did she complete these requirements by the end of her junior year)? Usually looking for gpa 93-98 and scores of 1300-1450.
What does her NYS regents exam grades look like (yes, SUNY looks at NYS regents exam grades).
It will be time to submit, mid year grades in the next 2/3 weeks (as term 2 begins on February 1 at many NYS schools). If she has scores and has not submitted, them, she may need to do so for the RD round,