<p>We have been US permanent residents for 5 years and are now qualified for US citizenship (we would love to apply). My son is a junior high school student; He got 223 on the pSAT (in Alabama) and 2320 on the SAT on the first attempt. He is now studying for SAT II (4 subjects), ACT and 5 AP subject tests (as an IB student, he did not take AP courses). All of these tests are given during April to June. I have a few questions:</p>
<ol>
<li> Does US citizenship help his college application? Does he need to apply for US citizenship right now in order to become a National Merit Scholarship finalist?<br></li>
<li> Is he overdoing these tests? Is ACT necessary? He has done some ACT prep tests and always ends up with scores of 34 to 35.</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks for any advice.</p>
<p>US citizenship will help in the application process because he won’t be competing with the much larger pool of top flight international talent. He doesn’t need to take the ACT with those SAT scores.</p>
<p>He might also be eligible for more merit or need money more easily as an American student. Agree no need to take the ACT with those fine SAT scores.</p>
<p>Apply for a citizenship ASAP as this will directly affect many scholarships. Trust me here, there are many scholarships you are not even aware of right now that might come knocking on your doors next year. Once accepted, the schools will require a proof of citizenship from your son before they distribute any money (aid, merit etc).</p>
<p>I would take ACT once. You never know, he might get a perfect score :)</p>
<p>As a legal permanent resident, he is considered a US applicant for admission and financial aid. If he becomes a National Merit Semi-Finalist because of his PSAT score, he will need to affirm that he intends to apply for citizenship as soon as he is able to do so in order to be eligible for consideration as a National Merit Finalist. There are some private scholarships that are only for citizens. However there aren’t enough of them to make it worth worrying over.</p>
<p>Do read through the citizenship application paperwork. It may be cheaper to do it while your son is still a minor.</p>
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<p>Theoretically yes . However, I can assure you that almost all colleges that DS has been accepted to required proof of his citizenship (after acceptance, before committing to any money).</p>
<p>Even though he has excellent grades and scores, if English is not his first language and/or some of his education was in schools where the language of instruction was not English, he might encounter a college or university that requires a TOEFL exam. Crazy, I know, but I know of cases like that. Make sure that he checks the TOEFL policies at each place on his list.</p>
<p>English is not his first language, and he has always missed some of the questions of reading comprehension on ACT. I doubt he is going to get a 36. He has been here for 9 years (long enough for secondary education in an English-medium curriculum), I assume he does not need to take TOEFL? I will defiantly check it out.</p>
<p>We became US Citizens last year. If you are permanent residents it won’t make any difference to college apps. We deliberately waited till after college applications- thinking it would make our d look a bit different.I don’t think it made any difference. Do it before your son turns 18 and save some $$. If I recall on college apps d submitted her Alien registration #.</p>
<p>Each institution gets to make its own rules about the TOEFL. There are amazing (but true) cases of students born here and educated entirely in the US who were asked to take the TOEFL once the college/university in question found out that the kid’s family also spoke another language in the home. That’s why I always remind people to investigate this with each institution.</p>
<p>Federal money is federal money. Your kid will get it as a legal permanent resident. he might be asked to produce formal documentation of his status (like faxing a copy of his green card) but that should be it. Whether or not there also is separate money available solely to citizens is of course up to the institution - just like each state institution gets to ask for proof of in-state status.</p>
<p>I would check with colleges or people who know more about the situation, because I am almost 100% certain the information you are being giving here is incorrect.</p>
<p>I was not yet a citizen when I applied to college, but my parents and I had green cards. Unless something has changed since then (it’s always good to double-check), you will be considered the same as a U.S. citizen for admission, aid, etc. This is exactly how it was for me and any other people I knew who had green cards/were permanent residents (it IS different if you are not a permanent resident). There is not way you will be considered international/placed in that pool if you have a green card.</p>
<p>There may be some fine print if you take language placement tests or for TOEFL, but otherwise there should be no difference re: PR vs US Citizen. </p>
<p>Depending on where you live USCIS is quite fast and the process is a lot easier than filling the Common Application… No Essay :)</p>