What visa do you have for now ? Or are you DACA ?
YES a gap year is likely the best solution but to help you figure what you can do, we’d need to know your status.
^^^^ Exactly. Anyone can take a gap year - or years if necessary. That is basically a fancy name for waiting a while before starting college.
And no one cares what you do during that time, truly, provided it isn’t something that will get you a criminal record. However given that your parents’ business is in crisis,your efforts will probably be best put toward whatever it is that will make your home run more smoothly so that they can deal with the business, or helping them directly with the business itself. There’s no need for you to hunt around for any other community activities.
It’s perfectly respectable and considered a strong ’ ec ’ to work full time in a menial or family job. It means you’re responsible, resilient, teachable, can work well with people from different ages and background, don’t mind hard work, etc. So that would be a good gap year activity. Add some online classes from Coursera or MIT Ocw or community education (but NOTHING that gives college credit - this is very important as it’d jeopardize your freshman status) and any club/hobby and you’re set in a way that’s attractive to colleges and positive both for you and your family . 
What about applying to Berea College. Every student gets a full tuition scholarsihp and every student works on campus.
@ClassicRockerDad, Berea is really tough to get in to, especially if you’re not from Appalachia as their mission is to provide a college education for kids in that area.
To the OP: if you join the NJ National Guard, you may go to any NJ public tuition-free.
When will the green card come?
Hey there, I don’t have too much advice but I do want to send you my sympathy. I have to pay for college myself And have pretty much 0 savings, so I get that fear 
It sucks. I’m sorry for both of us!!
I think you may have to just wait it out, but I wouldn’t focus on the negative because that never helps. Many take a gap year. If you can’t work legally yet, definitely look into jobs that don’t require paperwork. Babysitting is a great option! Just find little jobs where you simply help out people (elderly for example), and the money that you get from that should at least give you a little something to start out with. CC is pretty cheap, you might even make it if you hustle in the summer. Then you may be able to start out with one or two CC courses, which should be under $1000 for sure.
College won’t run away from you, and always remember that there are jobs out there that don’t require a college degree.
OP, how are you doing? Are you thinking about a gap year, or taking one or two classes at community college? Have you pursued the posts above (esp the one about being an “eligible non-citizen”)?
@dream98: any update?
Thank you all for keeping up with this thread! In all honesty, it really helps lift my spirits up knowing that people are willing to help me out in my difficult situation!
I have lived in NJ for more then 10 years, and I am still waiting for my green card… From what my parents informed me I am on an E-2 visa.
Is this actually a good visa to be on? Because based on another thread I saw on here a while ago (from another individual who is on an E-2 visa but is getting their residency in one year…), it doesn’t seem to be so good… It seems that it makes students quite restricted…
My parents aren’t even sure when its supposed to come out. If it came out next year, I wouldn’t mind taking a gap year, but the green card’s exact due date is unknown so I am a bit reluctant. But in the end, if there is nothing else I can do I will consider that option.
And in regards to the STARS Program, I just emailed the director of the STARS program at the community college near me as to what an eligible non citizen is considered. I didn’t do so beforehand because I was afraid that it would be the same conditions as on the FAFSA… I will put up her response once she replies back, hopefully I am eligible 
Can your parents tell you when they applied for your green card and show you that they paid the fee? I’m suspicious that if their business is not doing well they may not have filed. If you are 18 you need to follow up on this. An E-2 Visa is for investors and their families who are not seeking citizenship. It looks like if you don’t do something you will be ineligible to stay after age 21.
https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/temporary-workers/e-2-treaty-investors
E2 is a pretty good visa … usually there’s little problem to move on to green card.
How good is that lawyer? Is your parents’ business struggling?
Any way you can devote your gap year to helping them?
Some states consider E2 as instate.
What are your grades and scores?
Some private colleges have provisions for E2 visa holders BTW.
Thank you for your responses!
@OspreyCV22
I recently spoke to my parents about our status and they informed me about something that they did not tell me before… Apparently we haven’t even applied for a green card yet because we are still waiting for something called a Labors Certification form that my parents BELIEVE will come during the fall… And once they receive this they have to go through another process to apply for a green card… (From what I know getting a green card takes forever)
@MYOS1634
I was already informed that I am able to receive instate tuition for both my community college and state university, but it is still too expensive for my family…
I have a 4.1 GPA and a 29 ACT…
To make my situation even worse (and make me further depressed), I just contacted the director and she informed me that only people with a green card are eligible for the STARS Program…
My situation pains me even more because I worked so hard throughout my high school year in an attempt to avoid such a situation but in the end, nothing changed. And what makes matters worse is that all my friends are getting full rides, and a lot of scholarship money from the same schools that I applied to (and for some the same major), but I am still barely getting any money because of my status…
What exactly is your budget for college ?
(cc’s have varying prices, from $55 an hour to $500, so without knowing where you live, it’s hard to know why your cc costs are such an obstacle if there’s one you can commute to. Of you can’t commute to one, as happens in some parts of the country, that’s another issue.)
Okay, here’s a strategy. It may not work but it’s something.
Next year, work for your parents.(be clear that it’s just for the one year, that you’ll be going to college next year.) Try to take notes at the end of each day because you’ll likely have reflexions or little anecdotes. Those will be useful later on.
It’s not going to be fun but you’ll withstand.
A full time job as a teenager is a ‘strong ec’.
It seems you should be eligible for fee waivers. Get your nacac forms signed now.
Tell your guidance counselor you’ll be taking a gap year for financial reasons bit will s/he be able and willing to complete your ssr for Fall 2017?
Prepare for the act like it’s the most important thing in your life and retake it.
Basically, since you can’t even afford community college, you have to 'go for broke '. I’m thinking Pomona, which doesn’t distinguish between American citizens or non citizens provided you graduated an American high school, and meets 100% need to all it admits.
However you can’t take any community college class ( you can take non college credit continuing education classes) and tour score need to increase.
Read these two books :
Hold on to dreams
And
The new kids (by Harder).
Didn’t you say you live in New Jersey? It’s one of the few states that will give you free tuition at state schools if you join the National Guard. You would have to train during the summer, 6 weeks or so, and one weekend a month. You have internet so you are capable of finding more information. I’m not sure but I bet they would fast track your citizenship just as the regular military does. You would get a paycheck from them too. My son is encouraging his friend, who is in the same situation as you, to join the Coast Guard.
Your parents knew you would be graduating from high school. I really don’t understand them not making your status in the U.S. a priority. They seem really passive about getting your paperwork straight.
@dream98 I am sorry for what you are going through. A quick google search shows that E2 is a nonimmigrant visa with no path to Permanent Residency. Perhaps, the reason they are going through Labor Certification.
As mentioned by others, a gap year seems ideal. Hopefully, you are able to be employed and paid by your parents. Otherwise, try to get a job elsewhere, so you can save during that gap year for your education. Good luck!