<p>So I’m new here and started to look for colleges admissions in order to study in the U.S.
Right now I’m an au pair from Brazil (for those who don’t know what this is, lets just say I’m a nanny who came to work and study with a J-1 visa). I’m currently in my second year and don’t want to go back home right after my exchange ends. So I’m looking for scholarships, tuition, anything that can help me to get in college.</p>
<p>A little background: I’m 22, I did start college in Brazil- 2 majors, Law school and International Relations, but dropped both to come here and also because I hated. My high school grades are good, I would say many A’s, many B’s and a couple C’s. My english proficiency is good, I understand 99% of what other people say, speak fluently and my writing skills are about 95%. I’m taking courses (english and writing ones) at a local community college. </p>
<p>My financial situation is NOT good, so I can rely only on myself. I can save about $5 thousand through this next year but that would be it, so I would definitely need financial support from the university. Community colleges are a option but I would have to worry about finding somewhere to live, so the ideal scenario would be a full scholarship including the campus dorms. I don’t even know if that’s possible, or if that’s an option for someone who’s not American.</p>
<p>So I’ve been looking for colleges around the country, It doesn’t really matter the location. But what I would like to know is: should I stop looking? It is nearly impossible to get a full scholarship? BTW my major would be in Communications, towards the Journalism/Media Production area.</p>
<p>Since you are taking classes at the community college, you need to make an appointment and ask the counselors there for any suggestions and financial aid recommendations of schools. They would know your situation better and would likely make some good recommendations.</p>
<p>The most important piece of information first: select a college in a different state from your Au Pair placement. US embassies routinely deny student visas to former Au Pairs who want to return to their original placement sites. They are concerned that former Au Pairs would continue to work for their host families illegally, e.g. in exchange for free room and board. </p>
<p>Back to your original question: A few community colleges do give partial scholarships to international students, but I don’t know of any off the top of my head that would provide assistance with living expenses. A quick Google search with the terms “community college scholarships for international students” turned up a number of hits. You could also do a [Collegeboard</a> search](<a href=“https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/find-colleges]Collegeboard”>College Search - BigFuture | College Board) for community colleges and check the box “financial aid available for international students” under the ‘Paying’ tab.</p>
<p>You might have more luck getting a high scholarship from a 4-year college. There are several different kinds of scholarships you could apply for:
academic merit scholarships
need-based financial aid (only available at the more selective private colleges)
athletic scholarships</p>
<p>High SAT scores are tremendously helpful for obtaining scholarships. Have you taken the SAT yet? How did you do? (If you haven’t, take a practice test and tell us how well you think you could do.)</p>
<p>The people who run the camp may be able to help you go to college in the area nearby (Concordia College of Moorhead and University of Minnesota Moorhead - Concordia sponsors the camp but UMM is nearby and less expensive). Daughter has seen international counselors who were not from well-to-do families be able to stay in the U.S. for college - or return to the U.S. - after working at camp.</p>
<p>By the way, if you really do this - Portuguese camp is only 4 weeks so when you apply to the 8-week camp, also apply to work at Spanish or Italian or French camp or for the other 4 weeks, so you have 9 weeks with the program - a week of training and 8 weeks of summer camp. You would be a valued Portuguese language counselor and this would get another set of people on your side, helping you to study in the U.S. Good luck.</p>
<p>No, the most important piece of information: is to follow the rules.</p>
<p>There are very specific guidelines and regulations concerning au pairs changing their status from J-1 visas.</p>
<p>As an aside, as has been discussed a lot here recently state schools have residency requirements for in-state tuition and you also often need to take an English exam.</p>
state schools have residency requirements for in-state tuition and you also often need to take an English exam.</p>