<p>I'm a high school senior this year. I plan on applying to the University of Texas - Austin, and Texas A&M University. I'm in the top 8% so I have really no problems regarding admission. However, I would need an insane amount of scholarships to pay for my education. My family makes a total less than 40,000 dollars. We are struggling with the bills, and I don't know what would happen if I go to college.</p>
<p>I've been looking into the military to pay for my education. I am interested in joining but I'm not quite sure on the education. I promised my parents that no matter what, I would get my Bachelor's degree. I know how the MGIB works, but I'm not quite sure which universities will accept me. I want to attend a top university. I cannot apply for the NROTC scholarship since I'm foreign born, therefore not a U.S. citizen.</p>
<p>The military is a great option, but there are also scholarships and financial aid. Look into all of these before you make your choice, and good luck!</p>
<p>You don’t specify your academic qualifications, but if you could get into one of the top several colleges that meet full documented need, they would give lots of scholarship money. Look at all the ivies, Stanford, Rice, etc. </p>
<p>You can look at fafsa4caster to get a good idea of what your family would be expected to pay - there could be surprises if you have lots of real estate, such as if your family owns rental houses or the like.</p>
<p>I’d have to wait until I’m 18 to apply for citizenship, which it would take months in order for my application to be processed and and appointment to be made. Case in point, I CANNOT APPLY for ROTC scholarships UNTIL I’m a citizen. Which means, I CANNOT APPLY my senior year of high school! I hope that’s clear enough!</p>
<p>This is just a little side note…(not trying to 100% encourage you to join the military, this is just an FYI):</p>
<p>If you do join the military and apply for US citizenship, your application will be fast-tracked, meaning you will become a citizen sooner because you’re serving the country. I have heard news stories where foreign-born, active-duty US soldiers had their citizenship applications fast-tracked, and were able to be sworn in as citizens within 1-3 years.</p>
<p>Try doing both at the same time if you can! If you gain admission to Annapolis, your given a great education and the United States Navy pays for it! Than you enter the Navy holding an officers position and once you get out can apply to many careers with an excellent backround serving for the Navy. That sounds like the best compromise to me.</p>
I would probably talk to someone about this, because a close friend of mine was not born in the USA (lived in another country before moving to the USA) and did ROTC through four years in college. </p>
<p>Also, you are thinking of this as a zero-sum game. It is not. There are other options. Surely Texas has a program where you do a CC for two years and then transfer to a UT school.</p>