I see. Community college might be a path for me to take. I thought you couldn’t be enrolled at any educational institution prior to obtaining residency. I heard you are able to obtain “domicile” in some states to fast track residency, but it is after all funding that we are talking about. No one would offer up higher education for cheap.
Well, seems like my case is a hopeless one at that.
Community college in California as a non-resident still probably barely makes budget for you.
There are a number of universities in Europe where tuition is free or very low cost and you’d only really have to pay living expenses. Have you looked into any of those?
Otherwise, one plan for a gap year would be to move to a target state in the US, work there for a year to establish residency, and then apply to the public colleges in that state as you would then be eligible for instate tuition.
Hopefully one of the affordable options you mentioned above comes through, but you should be thinking about what to do if it doesn’t.
Even with instate residency, based on dorm or apartment living alone, you’d be out of budget. But you need to establish residency. In some states that can happen but then your first year is at full cost - like Utah.
Look at W Carolina.
@choppers you have a decent set of colleges on your list. At this point, wait and see if you get an affordable option. If you do, you are all set. If not, you won’t have a choice about considering a plan B.
Correct. If you attend a California public school as a non resident, you will be charged OOS tuition and fees for both the CC AND the future public universities. You have to meet the residency requirements BEFORE attending any public college.
If you attempt to enter a California community college and you haven’t met residency, then it tells the college that you are arriving to California for “educational purposes” and you will be required to pay full fees throughout your whole university education. Arriving to California for educational purposes means you agree to pay OOS fees for your full educational stay.
Yes.
You may need to look at schools like - and I didn’t look for your major and you’re not going to love them:
That is tuition, room and board. This doesn’t include travel, personal, etc.
Another option - move here with dad, get a job at Starbucks - and attend Arizona State online for free - you can see if they have a program for you.
That number is missing the $12.6k non-resident additional tuition (30 credits).
If your family can’t afford any of the schools you are accepted to, I’m not sure why taking a gap year would be a problem for your parents. The best situation, if it’s an option, may be for you to move to California as soon as you can and join your dad. Follow the procedures to establish residency, get a job, and then you can apply to California CCs, CSUs and/or UCs after 366 days.
Four year colleges where you can attend and establish residency after attending one year of college are U Missouri (or any of the Missouri publics) and U Utah (or any of the Utah publics.) I don’t know if any of the schools in those two states could hit your target price, but they are all still taking apps.
There are some states where you can attend a CC at resident tuition rates immediately upon moving to that state, but there are usually caveats, like having a job. Not to mention you would be moving to a new place on your own and need to be able to finance your life.
Do you have family anywhere in the US, besides your dad, who you could live with and work/attend college?
Lastly, are there any QB partner schools that you can still send an RD app to? I would check into that ASAP.
This was going to be my thought. College in Europe makes more sense financially, including the fact that it is closer to your current home.
The way you get large $$$ is you apply to a school that is beneath you academically. Instead, many of these schools are reaches.
Yeah, you bring a solid point. I don’t think I did very well finding me colleges that match my academic level for sure. I will definitely look into Europe for sure. I was primarily hesitant looking into Europe as I thought education there would be equally or even more expensive that the States (conversion rates do tally a decent amount!)
Thank you all for your inputs. As much as admission is a random game of chance nowadays, I hope the dice rolls in my favor. Out of curiosity, does being considered a domestic applicant to most of these schools affect my standing? From my understanding, an international student is evaluated more rigorously due to the outstanding competition for seats.
That’s correct, being domestic gives you higher chances of admission than an international student. Also, it’s not most of them, it’s all of them - a US citizen is always in the domestic pool.
Are you a dual national? The other path towards looking for acceptance and money is to apply to schools that do not see a lot of international students. Even if you are not, you bring a different experience than many American students. Penn State has tons of international students. Rutgers Newark and Camden don’t compared with New Brunswick, which is how you got money there.
I’d look at the smaller, cheaper state colleges in states with large, well-regarded state systems. New York, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. The California State Universities are reasonable because they have a lot of commuters, but it gets you into a good system.
My alma mater, SUNY-Geneseo, has a whopping 37 international students. It’s a long way from Saudi Arabia but they might get you down to in-state prices.
No, I am not a dual national. Wow! I had no idea they actual consider your background/experiences in admissions. Honestly thought they mostly looked at your transcripts and went off of essays before admitting people.
I’m assuming they want people with different background for diversity or something of that sort?
Got it. Thanks for the recommendations. Will definitely take look at SUNY-Geneseo.
I wish there was some sort of system that allows folks in my situation expedited state residency if they meet certain requirements.
You cannot afford a SUNY. You can barely afford living expenses. You need a W Carolina type plus loan if you’re going to a pay school. But even that plus $15k is dicey.
Hi. I just read something that said “individuals under the age of 18 generally follow their parent’s residency even if they have lived outside the state, granted the parent lives there for a minimum of 12 months and shows clear intent to stay” off the internet. Would this statement hold true if I were, say under 18 when school starts?
I’m pretty sure that I’d still have to physically live there to qualify, right?
Thanks.
Look at each state’s rule. They are all different. But I can’t imagine and you have two parents. And you are in HS abroad while living with a parent.
Most every or every has a 12 month before the day of classes rule.
Even if you were a resident somewhere, at $15k max, you can’t even afford to live in the dorm/eat or just barely.
Hey! Got into Dickinson 
Thanks for the help guys
That’s great! Does Dickinson come in at your price point? If so,even greater!!
Dickinson - the LAC in Pennsylvania or Dickinson State that I mentioned above (post 25) as low cost?
Either way, congrats.
