<p>Sorry if this is the wrong place to put this but I need some help if anyone can help me.</p>
<p>I am a student going to apply for university in America next year so I would start uni in 2015. I cannot afford to pay the ridiculous amount of money that university costs over there so I would need some sort of financial aid.</p>
<p>But I have a strange situation; I am a dual citizen of UK and US but live in the UK, I went to state school for all my life until sixth form (last two years of school) but got a scholarship to a school which costs £35k a year (my mum pays about a tenth of that because she only earns like £15k per year) and I don't ever see my dad because of divorce and he lives somewhere in England. </p>
<p>I've read online that I can't apply for US financial aid because my mum doesn't pay taxes there and that I can't apply for international aid because I go to a fancy school. </p>
<p>Could someone help me understand if I could get a loan or something to make my dream possible?</p>
<p>If so that would be amazing.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance</p>
<p>If you are a U.S citizen, you can complete the FAFSA form. You will still need to include your mom’s income section. If she is not a U.S. Citizen and she is not required to file a U.S return, then she doesn’t need to do so. </p>
<p>The fancy school you currently attend has no bearing on college financial aid…at all.</p>
<p>But keep in mind…the only fully guaranteed U.S. Federal aid is the Direct Loan ($5500 for freshman year), and any portion of the Pell for which you qualify.</p>
<p>Where do you reside now? Any chance there are less expensive undergrad options there? You will either be paying out of stat costs at any public university, or applying to private universities. Both would be upwards of $40,000 usd a year.</p>
<p>Instead of having to pay the “ridiculous” amounts of money it costs to go to school here, why not go to a school in England and take advantages of the more favorable pricing there? You can then apply for programs in the US for graduate studies that might be better funded. My SIL did that. </p>
<p>Most US schools do not guarantee to meet financial aid. Those that do will often require financial info from BOTH parents if alive, regardless of lack of support from either or both. A waiver can be requested, but is not guaranteed to be granted, and that appeal has to be made directly to each college that has NCP reporting requirements.</p>
<p>The only guaranteed aid one gets as a US citizen is up to $5700 a year in PELL grant if your family EFC turns out to be zero (mom’s and you finanicals only taken into account there) and decreases as the EFC is higher until it is phased out entirely. You can borrow up to $5500 as a freshman. That’s all one is guaranteed to get. </p>
<p>Your fancy school will have no bearing on any eligiblity. Is your mother a US citizen? What schools are you eyeing? Does your fancy school have experience in helping kids go study in the US?</p>
<p>Another alternative is winning a big merit scholarship from a US college. As a US citizen, fill out FAFSA.</p>
<p>Also, is it still possible to take the PSAT? A big merit scholarship to some colleges can be earned with a high enough score.</p>
<p>Also, there are a number of schools that promise to meet full-need.</p>
<p>The only problem, though, is if your dad still makes some money. Then colleges may decide that you can afford to pay some.</p>
<p>Actually, the PSAT is only part of the equation. Kids doing well on the PSAT also need to do sufficiently well on the SAT to be considered for high merit awards.</p>
<p>There are not a lot of totally free rides out there. Even schools that meet full need often require a student contribution which can be several thousand dollars.</p>
<p>What kind of student are you? Top scoring?</p>
<p>Also, why uni in the US? As a UK citizen, don’t you get cheap/free access to a lot of unis across Europe?</p>