Gender: M
Location: Massachusetts
College Class Year: 2020
High School: Public
High School Type: sends some grads to top schools
Will apply for financial aid: Yes
Academics:
GPA - Unweighted: 3.10
GPA - Weighted: 3.6
Class Rank: 34% (1 being the best)
Class Size: 500
Scores:
SAT I Composite: 2,140
SAT I Math: 680
SAT I Critical Reading: 730
SAT I Writing: 730
ACT: 31
AP Exams:
AP Lang. & Comp. (4)
AP Lit. & Comp. ()
AP Gov. ()
AP Calc. AB ()
AP Psych. ()
AP European History (*)
Extracurriculars:
Cross Country - V (Jr, Sr)
Indoor - V (Jr, Sr)
Outdoor-V (Jr, Sr)
Colleges:
Skidmore College
Lafayette College
Union College
Umass Amherst
Franklin & Marshall College
St. Lawrence University
Bard College
Important:
I am undocumented (Son of U.S. citizen, but have yet to derive citizenship. I was born in South Africa and raised in Greece until the age of eight. I have been in the U.S. since.) so I do not qualify for federal aid or loans, so I need A LOT of aid. I am classified as international.
If one parent is a U.S. citizen and you were born on foreign soil I believe you are eligible for citizenship. You need to google. You better start ASAP because paperwork is slow. I think you have to apply before age 18. I only skimmed this:
http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents
Yeah, I have been in the process of applying for citizenship for eight years! It is a dreadful experience all-around. Every time my family sends in the paperwork the government asks for, it sends back a letter asking for something else it never mentioned the previous time. Would not wish this on my worst enemy. @OspreyCV22
Your U.S. born parent needs to get in contact with your state senator’s office. They have staff who run interference with this type of thing. Be sure they know your stats. You are much better off attending college as a citizen than international. As you know not many schools give $$ to international students. You should be able to get merit aid somewhere. Be sure the ones on your list do give aid.
Your chances are much better if you are classified as a US citizen or permanent resident. If you are undocumented, it makes you ineligible for federal loans.
I heard a story a few years ago about a student who was undocumented from Mexico, and grew up in the US. He was a top student (valedictorian and 2300+ SATs). Fortunately he was accepted at Harvard, despite the lack of federal loan funds for him. If you were a better student you might have a shot at need-blind Ivys, which generally don’t need money from federal student loans as part of the FA package.
However your stats probably are not high enough. I suggest to keep working on getting a green card or citizenship. You might consider delaying college for a year or two until this is sorted out.
In post #3 I should have said to call your senator, not your state senator.
You may eventually qualify for aid in states who have Dream Act type bills under consideration. MA has some pending https://malegislature.gov/Bills/189/House/H1061
This page has a .pdf link with similar laws proposed from several states.
http://www.nilc.org/statebillsedu.html
Laws already passed include http://www.nilc.org/eduaccesstoolkit2a.html#tables
did you apply to questbridge?