I am a US citizen (I was born in the US), but I am currently attending highschool in Canada and have not lived in the US for 15 years. As I’m applying for some schools in the US, I’m not sure what tuition rate I’d be charged if I were to be accepted. From what I’ve seen, some schools base their fees on your citizenship status, while others consider where you graduated. I’ve also heard that some students in my situation apply as an international student, and request for a domestic rate once they’ve been accepted.
I’m uncertain about:
a) What information currently applies to me and the schools I want to apply to, and
b) What I should do/Who I should contact now to figure this out?
Private colleges have one tuition. Public colleges will have in-state and out-of-state tuition, and you would be out-of-state in most cases since in-state is given to those who pay state taxes. Specific questions should be directed to the college.
Where your US citizenship is important is for the application and for financial aid. As a US citizen, you will not be subject to any international cap the college may have and you would be eligible for federal funds.
i don’t think your citizenship matters so far as tuition but it’s important for the applicant pool. i THINK you’ll be considered part of the domestic pool though which is much less competitive than the international pool
Because you are a US citizen, you are in the domestic applicants pool. You will only have to pay Out of State tuition for public schools, and the International tuition isn’t wildly different anyways. As @skieurope said, you can also apply for FAFSA and get good financial aid.
Note that state universities in North Dakota have a tuition discount for residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and state universities in Minnesota have a tuition discount for residents of Manitoba.
However, in general, you will be considered a non-resident for tuition purposes at state universities in the US, although you will be a domestic (not international) student.
You can complete the FAFSA which will determine your eligibility for U.S. federally funded aid programs. Not sure I’d call that “good financial aid” especially if you are attending a private college or OOS public (which you will be)…where costs will likely exceed $50,000 a year. The only aid you are guaranteed to receive per FAFSA is a Direct Loan…$5500 as a freshman. If you are low income, you might qualify for a Pell Grant or SEOG.
Some colleges use the FAFSA financial info to determine the awarding of their institutional need based aid, but most of those don’t guarantee to meet your full need…and they don’t.
