I’m a US citizen currently living in India. HS class of '19.
I got into some EA schools and waiting on quite a few RD… and even though it’s kinda late now (most deadlines have passed) I’m looking into outside merit-based scholarships. Liberal Arts major, 35 act, 4.0 unw gpa etc. (Basically, good stats.)
The problem is my residency. Although a US citizen, I am currently not a legal resident of any US state. My family has a house in one, my parents still file US tax returns, etc, but we’re not residents. This just immediately makes me ineligible for most of the substantial scholarships (I consider 1k and over ‘substantial’ for this purpose).
I’ve been going through tons of websites and search engines like FastWeb, but so far haven’t had much luck. Honestly, I’m a little frustrated by it, but it is what it is.
Anyways, if anyone knows of any that I would be eligible for given this issue, please mention/link them down below. 1k or greater, essay/non-essay etc, all is fine. I’m not asking for people to do my research for me, and if you do link them or whatever I’ll figure out the rest, including if the deadlines have passed, from there on.
Most financial aid comes from the colleges themselves.
As a us citizen you should also fill out FAFSA to be eligible for a 5.5k government-backed loan.
When you received your Admission, did you receive and estimate of your financial aid package? Did you apply to honors colleges or competitive scholarships?
Owning a house and a car + voting in a state can suffice to being considered a resident in some states. Not many but…have you checked each public university’s definition of residency for tuition purpose? If not look that up.
Have you applied to U Utah, UNew Mexico, and Mizzou? Utah and Missouri let you become a state resident after a year, the only two states that do so. UNM has lots of merit scholarships.
Where have you applied?
Thanks for the speedy reply.
Unfortunately, my EFC comes to around 50k according to the CSS profile and around 30k according to FAFSA. Basically, my parents are semi-retired here in India so their incomes are quite insignificant. But with assets taken into account we have a high EFC. It’s affordable for us but no piece of cake so I’m trying to apply for outside scholarships as well (you know, why not, right?).
I was accepted to UMich and UNC OOS in the Early round. UMich will cost me around 58k per year, UNC around 48k. I’ve also applied to a bunch of private colleges including Yale, Brown, Columbia, UChicago, Duke, Amherst, Bowdoin, Reed, Haverford. (all super selective but I have solid backups so I could afford to risk it).
No schools in any of the three states you mentioned.
We own both a house and a car in a state in the US but my parents have never voted (although I try to convince them to all the time lol. It’s just a huge hassle to do it from abroad, apparently).
Outside scholarships are typically small and often for one year only.
Can your parents afford 50k (their EFC?) Can they sell an asset and use the money for college costs?
If not, all your colleges are unaffordable we so you need to apply to more colleges - if you won’t qualify for financial aid, you need to target merit aid (aid for high scores). Unfortunately the deadlines for the best merit scholarships are long past (oft 15-Dec 1). You might have to take a gap year.
@MYOS1634 Ok wait, I probably didn’t explain well. This isn’t a ‘how can I pay for college’ thread. My parents can afford 50k (or more) and will pay it if need be. They fully support me and I am lucky that they are in a financial position that permits them to do so.
However, we’re not extremely rich people who can just shell out 200k without even thinking about it. My parents also don’t earn a lot rn.
I followed a unique educational curriculum and my senior year ended in November. Throughout December and January I was busy with apps, local festivals, community volunteer events, etc. It is only in this month that I finally have quite a bit of time. That’s why I’m looking for outside scholarships. Even if it’s 5k and only for one year etc, it would be something that I earned by being productive in my free time, and any small amount is still at least a little help.
I’ve been doing my own research of all this anyways, it’s just that with the residency issue considered, it’s hard to find any that I’m even eligible for. I was just wondering if anyone here can name a few.
Ok, so it’s “nice to have” scholarships.
Unfortunately even small scholarships tend to be local.
By small I meant $200-500.
I hope someone else can provide you with the information you need but your time might ve more productively used working and saving.
@kelsmom @intparent @Lindagaf @austinmshauri @compmom @mom2collegekids ??
@MYOS1634
Of course it’s nice to have them when you’re not exceedingly rich and have been taught to value any amount of money, however small. Coming from India, there are all sorts of costs I’m gonna incur besides just tuition, room, board etc. Cold weather clothing, for example, which I don’t have much need for right now.
Look, it’s fine if no one has any info. There’s no harm in trying, so I did.
Oh also, there are social and cultural issues that prevent me from working in India, Besides, earning in Rupees, I could work up until the very start of college and still not make nearly enough for even one semester.
I don’t know if I’m imagining the slightly disappointed or disapproving tone of your last post, but I sure hope I am, since I can’t for the life of me understand what I said wrong.
Profile does not determine an EFC for you; it is simply a reporting mechanism that allows schools that use it to determine a school specific EFC based on each school’s methodology.
Any need-based aid you might receive from a school will generally be reduced by outside scholarships you are awarded on the theory that more money available to you for college expenses equals less need.
@BelknapPoint oh yeah, I mislabeled it as EFC. It’s been a few weeks since I completed the profiles and got those estimates so I was a tad hazy on the terminology. My bad.
So far, I haven’t received any need-based aid anyways (except for the 5.5k govt loan), but I’ll keep that in mind.
In event that you cannot work in India, you should look for employment opportunities at your potential colleges. I googled “on campus jobs university of michigan” and this site came up: studentemployment.umich.edu. “Work Study” jobs are usually given as part of a financial aid package but there are non-work study jobs on campus as well. There are tons of opportunities at my son’s school (Big 10) in the library, dorms, sports facilities, and dining halls (some even start in the summer and include a housing stipend). You can certainly earn enough cover your spending money, winter clothes, books, etc. As you said, earnings from an on-campus job would be, “something that I earned by being productive in my free time, and any small amount is still at least a little help”. Good luck!
The Profile gives you NO estimated family contribution…at all under any name.
So…where did you get the $50,000 FAFSA,ily contribution number?
No, I’m not disappointed in anything and I totally get that not only is this a huge amount of money but you’ll have to buy things stateside students might not have to (like expensive airfare, off-campus housing during Christmas break, cold weather clothing). I’m just sorry I can’t help you and hope others will be able to.
“Nice to have scholarships” are scholarships that would be nice to help pay for books or transportation when parents can pay the main costs (room/board), v. Scholarships you need to pay or tuition+R/B. If they can’t be found, the first type means belt tightening, the other means no college.
Since UNC and UMichigan are equally good, I’d cross out Michigan. In addition you’ll have less to pay in NC in clothing expenses.
What do you intend to study?
I think a lot of outside scholarships have a need component. Your EFC is so high I wouldn’t count on receiving one from organizations that offer $500-1000 grants. It’s great that you want to help your parents parents pay for college. Do you have a job? If you can work while you’re in school you can probably earn ~$2,000/semester.
@thumper1 not an ‘EFC’ but I definitely got an estimate (I think in my email…:/). I’m going to bed now but I’ll probably check exactly what it was called tomorrow morning and write that.
@MYOS1634 ah ok, definitely misread the tone. 
Yeah, nice to have in that way, for sure. Definitely not in a ‘scholarship or no college’ situation here. I intend to study economics/psychology/journalism (basically undecided but super interested in those areas). UNC has a great school of media and journalism (but hard to get into) and UMich is super strong in economics, so we’ll see. I currently have a host of RD apps I’m waiting on, but yeah, if it were to come down to those two I’d most likely go with UNC, even though my dad has told me to not let costs be the primary deciding factor.
@austinmshauri yeah, I’m only considering those which don’t factor need at all, and more in the 1k - 5k range. Really limits my options, lol. I do not have a job and as I said, earning in rupees (Indian currency, 1 USD is approximately 70 rupees), I could work right until I go to college and still not even make enough for one semester. It wouldn’t make sense. However, I’d love to have a job in college, for the money obviously but more because I’ve never had one before, and want the experience.
From whom? The College Board does not compute a family contribution.
The only email you would have received would have been your FAFSA SAR.
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong…but the college board has NEVER sent out estimated family contributions.
Did you do the net price calculator on the college board site? That might have given you an estimated net cost…but that is totally different than an EFC.
^The student was admitted EA and thus received his estimated net costs. Those are, I assume, the actual numbers s/he’s expected to pay.
@MYOS1634 the poster wrote this…
Yes, they’re not getting need-based aid but they got their estimated cost of attendance (pretty standard). I agree it’s different from the EFC but shouldn’t it indicate what the poster’s family is expected to pay.
OP, can you clarify? Where does each amount you listed come from (what sort of document)?
For instance, I’m assuming both UMich and UNC costs that you list are the costs they listed in your estimated cost of attendance sent along with the acceptance letter. Is that correct? If not, where do these amounts come from?
Is the 30K FAFSA result official?
I’ll check where exactly each amount comes from in a little while @thumper1 and @MYOS1634 . The 58k UMich number definitely comes from their ‘estimated cost of attendance’ document uploaded on my wolverine access portal. This was uploaded a few weeks after I was accepted EA. I had submitted all required financial docs to them, so it doesn’t seem like that’s gonna change.