US citizen residing in Canada - eligible for non-international tuition?

Paying for College
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<p>Hello. I'm new here and have 2 teenagers at home (Gr. 8 and Gr. 11)
We've moved to Canada from US last year (long story). My daughter is a Junior in HS and she certainly wants to apply to US schools as she grew up in US and is constantly homesick. I'm not sure how the colleges handle our residency status - US citizens living abroad. To make matters more complicated - we're naturalized citizens originally from Russia.
If my daughter starts applying in US colleges next year, will she be seen as an international student for the purpose of tuition? How about scholarships and fin. aid? Will she be eligible? We still do file US tax returns, we have to, by law.
If anyone has information or can point me to a source of it I'll be very grateful. Thank you!</p>

<p>~ruusca</p>

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<p>Your daughter would be treated as a US citizen at schools that are need blind in admissions for US citizens and permanent residents and she would be eligible for federal financial aid. However, at many schools she will be considered with the international pool of candidates when it comes time to reading applications.</p>

<p>If she applies to and is accepted at a public state university, unless she receives merit money or a scholarship that provides her with in-state tuition, she will pay out of state tuition just like any other out of state resident.</p>

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<p>^^</p>

<p>Correct. </p>

<p>Out of state residents and Int’l residents usually pay the same rates. </p>

<p>Are you a resident of any state? </p>

<p>What schools are being considered by your daughter?</p>

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<p>Thank you sybbie719.
I am only just starting to look into this whole college stuff for the kids, and neither me nor my husband ever attended US schools, so I’ll have a lot of questions. I know this board will answer a lot of them.
How does being an international student affect the application reading? (sorry if this is a stupid question)</p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids - thank you.
Like I said, we reside in Canada, so no, we’re not residents of any US state.
My daughter is quite unsure and clueless about the colleges she’d like to go to. We’re financially strapped, so I think she’s afraid to even start thinking about them. She is a ballet dancer since the age of 3, takes it quite seriously and would probably want to either major in dance or major in some science (she loves biology) and take minor in dance.
I was told by a friend that we need to look at LACs with strong dance programs. (I was shocked to see a $42K tuition in Vassar…)
My daughter is academically strong, currently taking AP Calculus, Bio and Chem.</p>

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<p>Your D will not be an “int’l student”. She’s a US citizen.</p>

<p>Yes, college is expensive and most colleges don’t have a lot of aid to give.</p>

<p>We’re financially strapped</p>

<p>If you’re lowish income, then you could get good aid at the schools that give good aid (most don’t give good aid). However, if you have a good income, but can’t afford to pay much, then that can be a problem.<br>
*</p>

<p>(I was shocked to see a $42K tuition in Vassar, for example…)*</p>

<p>Ha! That’s just the tuition. You have to add another $12k for room, board, books, and fees. And, the costs go up every year.</p>

<p>*My daughter is academically strong, currently taking AP Calculus, Bio and Chem. *</p>

<p>If your D’s SAT and/or ACT scores are high and she has a high GPA, then she could get big merit scholarships at the schools that give them. </p>

<p>Much will also depend on your income and assets. If your income and assets are modest and your D’s test scores and GPA are strong, then she might get into a schools that meets need. However, if you’re given an unaffordable “expected family contribution” then that will be a problem.</p>

<p>How much do you think you can pay each year towards your D’s college costs?</p>

<p>Is she wanting to go the same colleges as her old friends? What state were you from?</p>

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<p>Well, right now it looks like we won’t be able to contribute much at all. We’re paying for her ballet classes close to $700 per month, and this is putting us in the red already… Right now I’m in part-time school myself, hope to find a better-paying job when I finish, so this may help.
We’ve moved from California. I haven’t asked her yet where her old friends plan to apply. But I don’t think they’d cross paths as none of them are seriously into arts…
From the money perspective, I’d rather she goes to a local university, thus saving tons of money in tuition and certainly in room and board costs, too. SFU (Simon Fraser Univ.) has a Kinesiology program and a Dance program, so I’m looking into that if she stays here.</p>

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<p>Well, right now it looks like we won’t be able to contribute much at all. We’re paying for her ballet classes close to $700 per month, and this is putting us in the red already</p>

<p>So, your situation may be such that you’ll have an unaffordable EFC. </p>

<p>However, if her stats (test scores and GPA) end up high enough, then she might get big merit scholarships.</p>

<p>And, once she’s in college, won’t the costs for her ballet lessons end?</p>

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<p>Have you considered some of the wonderful Canadian colleges? They are much less costly than out of state tuition at public universities or the costs of private universities here. Worth checking. Many students here look at McGill, U of Toronto and the like.</p>

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<p>@mom2collegekids
Yes, the costs we run now will be replaced by college tuition… If we end up having unaffordable EFC, our only way will be getting in debt. Again. I’m grateful that D understands and cares about her grades though. This may help her and us, esp. if she gets high test marks as well.</p>

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<p>@thumper1
Yes, I mentioned SFU already (we’re in Vancouver), and I’ll see what other places have a decent dance program, this is important for D. Although I have no clue as to how to estimate the “goodness” :)</p>

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<p>

</p>

<p>No one is saying that OP’s D is not a US citizen. As I previously stated, student is a US citizen and will be treated as such when it comes to need blind admissions and financial aid policies. </p>

<p>However, for the application reading process, she will be considered an international student. Her application will be read regionally, with all other candidates who are applying from canada (she is simply a US citizen studying abroad). If she was from NYC, her application would be read by the regional admissions person who reads applications from all students who attend NYC schools.</p>

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<p>^ I was responding to something the op wrote.</p>

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<p>Is your daughter planning to pursue dance as a major in college? If so, is she looking at conservatory options or at universities with good dance programs? I’m only asking because most conservatories are private schools and their tuition is the same regardless of your place of residency. I’ll put in a plug for University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, NC. It has a fine dance program. It is a small, publicly funded conservatory…I think it might be the stand alone publicly funded university in the country (I could be wrong about that though). Regardless, the prices even for OOS are more modest than in many places. It has terrific facilities, and it a great place…if you are looking for a conservatory type of environment.</p>

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<p>sybbie719, but how does her belonging to a certain pool of applicants affect the decision of admission?</p>

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<p>thumper1, unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to your question. I don’t think my D does either right now. But thanks for the tip about NC school, I’m putting it on my research list…</p>

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<p>ruusca,</p>

<p>The international pool of applicants will consist of three types of students</p>

<p>Students who are not US Citizens/Permanent Residents who were educated outside of the US</p>

<p>Students who are not US Citizens/Permanent Residents who were educated in the US</p>

<p>Students who are US Citizens/Permanent Residents who were educated outside of the US</p>

<p>Because the generous financial aid policies at Top Schools in the US and the desire of many international students to get a college education in the US, the international pool of applicants is a large and competitive one.</p>

<p>However, the overwhelming majority of schools in the US are either not need blind to international students (this means that the ability to pay will be a factor granting admissions) or they offer very limited financial aid. You daughter and other US citizens are at an advantage, because this situation will not pertain to them.</p>

<p>Schools that meet 100% demonstrated need and offer generous financial aid with very little or no loans are competitive and reaches as far as gaining admissions for all students.</p>

<p>The other side of the coin, is that the overwhelming number of colleges in the US do not meet 100% demonstrated need. This can put some schools financially out of reach for some families.</p>

<p>Because we do not have any stats for your daughter, it is difficult for anyone to assess what may be a good fit and a financially feasible option for your family.</p>

<p>I will say this, that your daughter should not eliminate the womens colleges from consideration . Schools like Barnard, Mount Holyoke, Smith, etc. do offer dance majors and classes.</p>

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<p>Thank you, sybbie719. Good info.</p>