<p>I go to Iowa State. Despite my long period of residence in the US, my family still doesn't have a greencard. Because my father's job has a correlation with the university, I get to pay instate tuition. So here's my problem.</p>
<p>All international students, except me, have to pay out of state tuition, which is 2-3x as much as instate. Even if I have a nice GPA and an eloquent personal statement on my application, the international student office distributes its scholarships on a financial need basis. They see that everyone has to pay 16k/yr, and I only have to pay 8k/yr, they'll obviously throw my applicatiion into the recycling bin.</p>
<p>I applied this year, and I doubt I'll get sh** from the university. Should I even bother applying the following years? Are there other scholarship opportunities I can look into? I've tried fastweb, but that website is useless to me because I'm not eligible for ANY of them.</p>
<p>I'd like to get at least SOME help paying the bills, because I'm tired of living at home. I already have 2 jobs. advice please.</p>
<p>wouldn’t be cheaper to go to a college in your own country? Iowa State is not a high tier institution; it’s not worth it paying such a high rate and being at risk of losing your scholarship every year.</p>
<p>Fastweb is a time sink; for most people, the time spent messing with that junk could be better spent rooting around your couch cushions for lost hundred dollar bills. </p>
<p>Your best bet is to try and get a scholarship from your colleges. Those are going to be the ones that you are most likely to receive. I don’t know what the requirements are for the scholarships that you’re talking about though.</p>
<p>*Fastweb is a time sink; for most people, the time spent messing with that junk could be better spent rooting around your couch cushions for lost hundred dollar bills. *</p>
<p>LOL…</p>
<p>I often think that for many kids, the time spent searching/applying to many of the fastweb-type scholarships would be better spent just working a part-time job.</p>
<p>Yes…I know that there are local scholarships that can sometimes yield $500 or $2000 in one time scholarships.</p>
<p>That’s a good point, and to find those it would be much better to look with the high school guidance rather than play with Fastweb, which has one of the worst search algorithms I’ve ever seen. It’s like something out of Uwe Boll, if Uwe Boll designed website seach functions. If I were to rate financial aid for usefulness, after FAFSA I would put institutional scholarships, then local scholarships, then those big Coca Cola-type scholarships, and then Fastweb et al.</p>
<p>*I’d like to get at least SOME help paying the bills, because I’m tired of living at home. I already have 2 jobs. advice please. *</p>
<p>Room and board typically costs about $8k - $12k per year (depending on college and housing choices). it’s highly unlikely that you would get enough in private scholarships to pay for that for each year.</p>
<p>You say that you’re already working 2 jobs. Does that mean that you’re paying for your tuition and books? How much are your parents contributing?</p>
<p>You need to make an appointment with the international student office and ask them specifically about your situation. They may consider that you already are receiving a scholarship because you have reduced tuition and fees due to your father’s job. On the other hand, they may have some other smaller amounts of money hanging around that you qualify for. But you won’t know about this unless you ask them. None of us work in that office, so none of us can give you a definitive answer.</p>
<p>I just recently started my paper route, and that pays 500/month, enough to cover rent, food, etc. My other job is research assistantship, which doesn’t pay very well, since I can only work so many hours due to school. Right now, my parents pay all of my tuition, but I’m trying to take more responsibility over my own expenses.</p>
<p>I was talking about apartments, not the dorms. I could ask a couple of friends to be roommates and split the cost. The more the merrier. A 2 bedroom averages around 600-700. I personally wouldn’t mind sharing a room with another dude, so it’s just a matter of finding people that are desperate enough.</p>