<p>I was born and raised in the USA until the end of 7th grade, and now we live abroad. My mom and I are both US citizens and we have money trouble, if i would like to go to a college back in the states can I still get financial aid even though i finished middle school and high school in a different country?</p>
<p>As long as you’re a US citizen, you qualify for federal financial aid, and you’ll be treated as a U.S. citizen (and not an international student) for college admissions and for need-based and merit-based aid from the colleges themselves.</p>
<p>You probably would not, however, qualify as a resident of any particular state - which means that if you want to attend a state university, you’d be paying the much higher out-of-state rates, instead of in-state rates. Some state universities offer significant automatic/guaranteed merit awards to out-of-state students, though (including some awards that cover almost the full cost of attendance). If you want to attend a state university (instead of a private college or university), those would be the ones to focus on.</p>
<p>Some private colleges offer generous need-based awards. Others offer generous merit awards. Others on this forum can help you figure out which you are more likely to qualify for.</p>
<p>Federal aid is a small amount. Not enough to pay for you to come to school in the US.</p>
<p>However, if you have high stats, you might get accepted to one of the smaller number of schools that “meet need”. </p>
<p>Many schools that “meet need” require the financial info of both parents. Since you only mentioned your mom, if your parents are divorced then your non custodial parent would have to provide financial info for those schools.</p>
<p>danibear,</p>
<p>If you have family or friends in the US who could help you re-start your life here, check the residency policies of the community colleges and public universities in the states where those people are located. Different states have different policies, and in some cases different institutions within a state have different policies. For instance, if you can demonstrate that you have provided more than one half of your own support for a year, and you have lived in my county for three months, you qualify as a resident for tuition and fees at the local community college.</p>