Hello! I’m a US citizen who has been living abroad because of my parent’s jobs. For most schools, I thought that I would be considered as a domestic applicant. However, upon receiving an e-mail from one college today, it says that, according to their policy, US citizens who are living abroad are considered as international applicants.
I’d originally applied for need-based financial aid because I’d thought that I would be a domestic applicant and they have a need-blind financial aid policy for domestic applicants. However, because they have a need-aware policy for international applicants, I’m afraid I will be disadvantaged for applying for financial aid (especially because it is a very competitive school).
Should I withdraw my application for need-based financial aid? Also, will all schools consider me as an international applicant?
I’ve tried searching colleges’ websites to see whether I’m a domestic or international applicant, but have found surprisingly ambiguous information on the matter. I would thus be very grateful to hear about your experiences.
Thanks very much in advance 
many schools will consider you a domestic student who lives abroad.
If you withdraw your FA app, how will you pay if you get accepted??
Which school sent you that email? I wonder if they consider you an int’l student because your COA would be higher…travel costs and health insurance needs??
That’s really surprising. We’re also Americans abroad and S has been treated as a domestic applicant. Often, though, it seems that the correspondence is handled by the int’l admissions counselor, and I think the int’l student office often reviews the admissions of citizens overseas. I assume this is because that’s who understands the various issues - transcripts (if int’l high school), travel, reverse culture shock, etc. Some schools also have separate websites for TCKs (Third Culture Kids / global nomads). But they seem to process applications by citizenship and I’d assume that would extend to financial aid (because citizens can file FAFSA, get loans in the US, etc., so it’s apples to apples.) If you don’t mind saying, what’s the school?
Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for all of your kind responses and I’m sorry for not updating this post for so long: I had been doing my semi-final exams and hadn’t had time to check CC.
To update the situation: I e-mailed the college directly and they said that their previous e-mail stating that I would be considered an international student with a need-aware policy was a mistake. Afterwards, I e-mailed all the other schools I’m applying to and they all said I would be considered a domestic applicant. So for future readers: there’s nothing to worry about! (Although I might still recommend e-mailing all the colleges you’re applying to just in case.)
Thanks again to everyone for replying. 
In terms of geographic diversity, you will be regarded as int’l, according to your country of residence. But in terms of qualifying for FA, you are domestic.
As you discovered, you are indeed considered a domestic applicant as a citizen. What you won’t be eligible for is in-state tuition (unless your parents have continued to pay state taxes while abroad and retaining their state residency).