<p>How does your family have a VA address? They cannot use the address of another relative if they don’t reside there. That is fraud.</p>
<p>And you can’t get the drivers license or register to vote unless you can prove residency. </p>
<p>Social ties? That would make ME a resident. I have lots of friends and relatives who I see annually in VA. Ahem…I’m not a resident of VA.</p>
<p>For your sake…cost wise, I hope I’m incorrect. But honestly…unless there is something missing from what you are posting here, I just can’t see how you would qualify for instate status.</p>
<p>BTW…your parents need to prove their residency status, and domicile in VA for YOU to be considered instate.</p>
<p>@thumper1 I’m referring to the fact that we had an address before my dad sold our house, miss worded that sorry. </p>
<p>I honestly don’t know how. I think I’m wrong about the voting thing as i’m pretty sure that all US citizen where able to vote during the 2008 elections. As I said let me get my facts straightened out by talking to my dad. Then we’ll be able to see if I do actual qualify for IS tuition. </p>
<p>Ah, I see. Well in that case only my dad will be to do that (if even possible) as my mom is a citizen of Denmark and not the US. </p>
<p>I believe citizens abroad ARE able to vote in federal elections. But that doesn’t mean they have instate status.</p>
<p>Really, important is how much your parents will actually pay annually. That is the key question. And do look at the thread above for guaranteed merit awards based on stats. You may qualify, and at least you will know you can go to college someplace.</p>
<p>So Minnesota might end up being a pretty good choice for you given your constraints. The cost of OOS tuition at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is pretty low, there is a large Muslim community, and accounting is definitely a major at the U. One thing you might check into is how close your relatives live to the U (to the Carlson School of Management, as it is a sprawling campus with sections on both sides of the Mississippi River) and what the transportation options are from your relative’s house.</p>
<p>@thumper1 True, before I was comforted by the fact that my dad said I’d qualify for in-state tuition but now that that probably won’t be the case I need to have a serious conversation with him. I know he’ll be able to contribute $20k (my current school tuition) but not sure if he’ll contribute more, thankfully the company my dad works for partly pays school/college tuition fees. Loans aren’t an option either because of our religious beliefs. I will take a look at the merit awards you’ve mentioned as it may be the only way i’ll be able to afford a lot of colleges i’m considering. </p>
<p>@intparent I was just thinking the exact same thing. It’s fees are $20K - no problem as my dad pays the exact same amount for my school fees plus i’ll likely receive merit aid with my stats. I know for a fact that my relatives live near it so that should be a issue either. </p>
<p>Don’t give up yet. Find out for sure about your residency status. It is possible there is some piece of information not provided here that would make my assumptions all wrong.</p>
<p>Of the schools listed above, Georgetown, BC, and Wellesley provide need based aid. </p>
<p>UVA and WM have some very competitive merit awards. VA Tech too.</p>
<p>I don’t know how generous schools like UMinn and George Mason are with merit awards for OOS students. </p>
<p>I don’t know a thing about Toronto! But I’ve been told that Canadian schools give their aid to Canadian citizens first. If I’m wrong about that, someone will correct me.</p>
<p>I think your relative is WRONG. Your parents do not live in VA. </p>
<p>The fact that your parents vote using VA does not make them residents. They don’t pay state taxes in VA. They live elsewhere. They USED to be residents.</p>
<p>I highly doubt that you would be instate for ANY school in the US</p>
<p>Pink…you got good advice on this thread in April. Most agreed…you are not instate for VA. One thing you implied in that thread was that your parents currently own property in VA. That is not the case, right? </p>
<p>Please you need to contact UVA, WM, and GM directly to find out their policies on residency for expats who haven’t lived in VA for a long time. </p>
<p>As noted here, and on that other thread…if your dad works for a government contractor, or the government, there may be some leeway. But your family has resided out of Virginia for a LONG time.</p>
<p>Somali-American Muslim girl wearing burka with SAT 2200 living abroad, with extensive international background and family income of $110k/y. Family can pay up to $20K/y. Only allowed to go to school in Northern Virginia, Boston, Toronto, Minneapolis. No brainer —> EA Harvard College majoring in economics.</p>
<p>OP, Most probably CCDD14 is confusing the Muslim female who posted in this thread wearing a scarf with you wearing a burka. </p>
<p>However, if you have the stats for Harvard, it might not be a bad idea. It was good enough for Benazir Bhutto. Do you think your father would be swayed if you got in?</p>
<p>I think the actual SAT score will be an important component here. This student is taking the SAT in December…predicted score is 2200 plus.</p>
<p>To the OP, if that turns out to be your actual score, perhaps an application to Harvard would be worth considering. Your chances of acceptance aren’t guaranteed, but at your income level, I’m going to guess that aid would be enough that the school would be affordable.</p>
<p>I guess I’m not seeing the problem. OP needs a list of schools to work toward cutting down during some classes with her adviser at school. Father has placed some limits, and OP also needs the schools to offer accounting. Within the father’s limits there are tons of schools that also meet the OP’s preferences - UM-twin cities, the DC schools the Boston schools. OP wants Welseley, and William and Mary (accounting?). Put them on the list, but they’ll probably fall off.</p>
<p>I think a lot of the schools will fall off because of things that are discovered or uncovered along this search - that Virginia is not going to allow instate tuition, that some relatives may not want student living with them, that a school in Europe might be better, that the SAT is higher or lower than expected, that father realizes a school he wasn’t considering is a better education for less money.</p>
<p>US citizens abroad can vote in any election thanks to federal legislation on the topic. Those who do not maintain a permanent address of record in the US or have property in the US can vote as residents of the state where they last lived in the US. After they turn 18, citizens born abroad can vote as residents of the state where their citizen parent last lived. This is all handled through the US Consulates.</p>
<p>That said, in-state residence for tuition purposes is a whole other thing. I’m just glad we moved back long before Happykid had to even think about college!</p>
<p>I think the problems are that the OP has schools on the list that don’t have accounting as a major, doesn’t have a handle on her state of residency status, has schools that are likely unaffordable on her list (more than she thinks if residency is the issue that it appears to be), has living arrangement restrictions placed by her dad and hasn’t checked out which colleges require freshman to live on campus, and doesn’t know the relatives she might be living with if she chooses a school that is not near home. I’d call that a bunch of problems. No offense OP, I know you came looking for college suggestions… just trying to point out the challenges you face and have to consider.</p>
<p>OP, sorry if I messed up the head scarf part. I think you have very unusual background and you should aim higher. How many languages do you speak? I guess many. Do you know Arabic? Can you mark URM on you application? Do you have EU work authorization? You are in IB program, have great grades and possibly SAT. It would be unfortunate to end up in GMU studying accounting. Tell you father that although he and other relatives did well following this path you can do even better (although GMU and some other lower ranked colleges will give you over semester worth of credits for you IB courses). You need to get high SAT scores, keep your grades up, craft you application very carefully and apply to many prestigious colleges that meet full need. Maybe look at the programs where you background adds a lot value like International Relations, International Business and Economics. Add Harvard (EA), Tufts and maybe George Washington to your list. I would also consider Princeton, Yale, Columbia and UChicago with the hope that rules may change if you are accepted there.
Regarding not living on campus when it is required - these colleges may grant you exception based on your family situation. You can even call admissions and discuss this with admission officer responsible for you Region. Do it next fall right before applying and they will remember you.</p>