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<p>A DACA eligible student would actually receive a tax payer ID number, which is not a social security number and cannot be used as one. The tax payer ID number will allow them to legally work in the US. Because they are not a US Citizen or Permanent Resident, they will still not be able to apply for or receive federal aid.</p>
<p>I think it has come to the conclusion that I have to apply for a school that doesn’t cost my parents too much but still offer good programs. I would be GREATLY apperciated if you guys could help me come up with list of schools that offer good engineering programs and cost not as much. So far, if i apply without aid, my safety will be either v tech or pitt. This is the list of schools I chanced for and the person responded my chances, I think if i don’t apply for aid.</p>
<p>University Of Illinois Chamapign - Reach
Purdue University - Match
University of Michigan - Reach
University of Texas - Reach
USC - Match
University of California Santa Barbara - Match
UCLA - Reach
University of California -Berkeley: Reach
Texas A and M - Match
Georgia Tech - Reach
Virginia Tech - Safety
Pitt - Safety
Penn state - Safety </p>
<p>All three of the University of California schools on your list are likely to be unaffordable. California aid to undocumented students is only available to California high school graduates who attended a California high school for at least three years. </p>
<p>Full pay COA for OOS students is about $55,000 per year.</p>
<p>FOr Virginia Tech and Pitt, you will be considered out of state for one or both (if you do not live in Virginia or Pennsylvania)</p>
<p>VTech OOS is 35k/year </p>
<p>Pitt ))S is 37k/year</p>
<p>As an OOS or international student, both those Texas schools would be reach for you based on your stats. However, if you are interested in Texas, Texas Tech or UT-Dallas would be matches and less expensive OOS. They are both highly regarded in engineering. But I agree with the above posters. You need to resolve your VISA status first. When you apply for any non-immigrant Visa, one of the criteria is that you not have past immigration issues and can demonstrate ties to your home country. You need expert advice. </p>
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<p>Um…these are all public universities? You would have OOS tuition status at all of them (unless you are in CA).</p>
<p>All would cost you upward of $40,000 a year. </p>
<p>How will you pay for these?</p>
<p>ETA…a safety has to satisfy three criteria…you will most definitely be accepted, you would attend if accepted, and you can PAY if accepted. All three. Otherwise the school is NOT a safety.</p>
<p>PSU and VT are not safeties for engineering. They have some of the best engineering programs in the country. Even you’re matches are reaches bc you took all the top engineering schools in the country and compiled them into a list.</p>
<p>This is a cool story that could give you hope?
<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/09/24/i-told-harvard-i-was-an-undocumented-immigrant-they-gave-me-a-full-scholarship/”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/09/24/i-told-harvard-i-was-an-undocumented-immigrant-they-gave-me-a-full-scholarship/</a></p>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>Slight…this student has a 31 ACT. That is not a guarantee for admission to Harvard.</p>
<p>I’d be concerned that if OP is here illegally, that returning to the home country might result in a 10 year bar from entering the United States. Also, when applying for the student visa you will have to furnish proof of ties to your home country as well as means of support for paying tuition in the form of bank statements etc. If your father is here illegally, it might be a problem to use him as a financial guarantor. I’d definitely consult a lawyer.</p>
<p>Is there any reason you haven’t applied for DACA?
I’d second the consult with an immigration attorney. This area is fraught with complexity, and I don’t think we have the expertise you need. (There may be local immigrant support groups that do provide some expertise in this area.)</p>
<p>Guys I appreciate all the help but I’m just not understanding all the information you’re giving me… This is truly overwhelming… I don’t know the DACA, i don’t know any of that stuff… I talked to my school counselor about it and he told me he never had a student in this kind of situation. Where can I seek professional help?</p>
<p>Also… my parents don’t know anything about this kind of thing. I didn’t know I was in this kind of situation until the beginning of Senior year</p>
<p>In addition I feel like I am running out of time… I won’t be doing early action/decision but I will be applying to pitt because of their rolling admission policy for swanson school of engineering. </p>
<p>Can you commute to Pitt? You know that Pitt is expensive as is Penn State even with instate prices. You can’t fill out a FAFSA and that is what is needed to get aid from these schools. Maybe, maybe some merit money will be in the package, but your numbers are really not up there enough to count on it, highly unlikey IMO.</p>
<p>So look for a local school to which you can commute. You can’t get federal aid. You can also apply to some school with merit money for which you have a good chance of getting, but that would be where your 31 is putting you way up there. </p>
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Can you get aid from Pitt if you admitted?</p>
<p>Find a lawyer to help you with DACA as soon as possible.</p>
<p>Returning to your home country is a bad idea without serious legal advice. Find the nearest law school and see if they have pro bono law advice on immigration issues.</p>
<p>The worst possible scenario is you not being allowed to return to the US once accepted and trying to get your visa (there goes your deposit…).</p>
<p>It is not clear from the Washington Post article that the person is in the DACA program.</p>
<p>Look for articles like this one to learn more:
<a href=“Latino | Fox News”>Latino | Fox News;
<p>DACA is a process that recognizes that kids brought here by their parents who grow up not knowing they’re not citizens, should have a legal way to stay in the country where they’ve grown up. You’d be able to apply to college but I’m not sure whether you’d be able to apply for financial aid.
This is fairly new but you need to file NOW.
The only school that provides full financial aid regardless of status, beside Harvard and co, is Pomona - they only require you to graduate from high school in the US. Unfortunately, Pomona is a reach and doesn’t offer engineering, although you can take engineering classes from HarveyMudd.
Apply for merit at Pitt, but you’d need higher ACT scores (33-34) for a good shot. Merit may not be related to FAFSA. Penn State doesn’t have merit, so even though it’s an academic safety, it can’t be a safety for you since you can’t pay for it (I don’t think you’ll be recognized for in-state status even with DACA). Talk about EOP/HEOP?</p>
<p>I’ll talk to my counselor about this DACA thing and get it going by the end of this month. And yeah, my scores aren’t really in-par with the merit aid scholarships. I really screwed up in high school and realized my mistake mid way through junior year… I feel like I could’ve stepped up my plate and could have done better academically… Will writing a very impactful essay help me?</p>
<p>Though it’s possible an essay, as well as some notations in your counselor’s references could possibly make a difference at some school, as a rule, no. The smaller schools tend to look for things like that, but to pay for them, umm, nope. You can ask your counselor if s/he knows of any schools where that personal touch could make a difference. But usually it’s test scores that schools want to pay for or other things on their wish list. </p>
<p>Look at the merit award thread and see where you might be able to qualify for money. Temple offers free tuition at certain break points and other goodies, for example. Otherwise, you need to look for local schools to which you can commute. </p>
<p>If you know anyone who is an attorney that can recommend a free consult with a lawyer knowledgeable about DACA, immigration, illegal immigrant laws in your state, that is probably something you can do. In my state, you would get in state tuition if you can show you’ve been here so many years, and your highschool transcript alone would prove that. In PA, I don’t even know if you can get instate rates. Another thing you need to check out. Do you live near Pittsburgh? Some smaller Catholic schools like LaRouche often offer commuters good rates. YOu are looking for engineering programs, so look for some smaller school with big awards that have that. Go on ahead and apply to the schools you most want, because, yes, there is some chance that something would work out, but you had better have affordable back ups because there is a significant chance they will not. IT’s tough getting merit money,big merit money out of Pitt and PSU and they are very expensive school, the priciest in the country for instaters even, and more expensive yet for OOSers which you may be as an illegal immigrant.</p>