<p>I’m currently a Junior in High School. I’ve been living in America for 5 years now and it’s looking as if I won’t get my Green Card in time for the college applications (so I’ll most likely be applying as an International).</p>
<p>I had a 3.57 (both Semesters) Freshman Year and a 3.43 (First Semester) and 2.8 (Second Semester) Sophomore Year. As you can tell Sophomore Year was pretty disastrous. I have a PSAT score of 190 (taken Sophomore Year). It broke down to 64 - Math, 60 - Verbal and 66 - Writing. I’m taking a pretty tough course load (IB Program). But I’ve been considering dropping out of the school’s IB Program (because of Sophomore Year’s grades). </p>
<p>I was diagnosed with clinical depression and a couple of anxiety disorders Sophomore Year and basically screwed up that year (skipped a lot of school).</p>
<p>I also have a pretty low EFA (somewhere around $4000) but my parents claim they’ll have no problem paying the full bill for college.</p>
<p>When it comes to ECs I’ve been pretty involved in the Student Government and a Political Club (as a founder).</p>
<p>I’m considering majoring in Economics or Business. And I’d obviously want to get a decent job (after college) that would help me stay in the US (through a H1-B or something).</p>
<p>So lately I’ve been wondering if I have any college options left. My state’s flagship University is no public ivy but it’s still pretty tough to get in.</p>
<p>You need to have a solid junior year. This is the year to work very hard. Do some studying for the PSAT and it could easily come up as much as 10 points (search these threads for the Xiggi method to find out how to study).</p>
<p>You can definitely get into college. You will be fine. If you have an idea as to what part of the country you want to be in and whether you want a large or small college, city or rural, post it in the college selection forum and you’ll get a lot of suggestions.</p>
<p>I would suggest staying within a reasonable drive of home, to give you an opportunity for a three-day weekend break now and then.</p>
<p>Your guidance counselor can also explain why your sophomore grades were so low, putting a positive spin on it (“s/he recognized s/he had a problem and took steps to correct it”), showing your strengths.</p>
<p>Agree with above but I also want to point out that you need to have a serious conversation with your parents regarding finances. I don’t understand how your EFC is $4,000. but they say they have no problem paying the full tuition. As an international applicant, many schools will not offer financial aid.
Make sure you understand exactly what your parents can afford before you start applying to schools.</p>
<p>Do you think you will get your green card anytime soon? I am wondering because you said that you won’t get your green card in time for college applications (suggesting that you expect to receive one), but you make after-college plans for a life without a green card (H-1Bs etc).</p>
<p>I agree with ebeeeee that receiving any sort of financial assistance (even loans!) is difficult for international students. If finances are an issue and if you expect to receive a green card within a relatively short time period after the college application season, there are two more options to consider:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Make colleges aware of your expected green card. If you expect to receive your green card before college starts, they might consider you a domestic applicant and offer you admission and financial aid under the condition that you receive your green card before a certain date in the future.</p></li>
<li><p>Consider taking a gap year after high school if that would allow you to apply with a green card in the following year.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>That’s great! She actually knows all about it</p>
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<p>Well they’re considering taking a loan on the home equity etc, obviously they’d be deep in debt. That and my grandparents are talking about selling off some of their assets to pay for my college.</p>
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<p>Well I believe you need to get your Green Card before the age of 21 if you’re getting it through your parents. So I dunno, but most of the process is already more than underway.</p>
<p>You might be able to still get your Green Card through your parents, since your 21st bitrthday is three years away. You might be able to pay in-state tuition rate if your state school has special residency rules for foreign applicants graduating from US high schools (ours, UW, does). Good luck!</p>
<p>PoliticsFreak: the USA has one of the highest percentages of people who attend post-HS schooling. There are thousands of colleges that would readily admit you. Of course, CC leans heavily on the more selectives but regardless, a solid college awaits you – make an appt with your guidance counselor and ask him/her for suggestions for kids with similar stats/interests.</p>
<p>Please relax and try to enjoy your last 2 HS years.</p>
<p>With a history of clinical depression and anxiety issues think carefully about what you will need for support when you go to college. Some students with such histories find it advisable to go to school close to home where they have an established foundation of support. Others with careful planning can quickly transfer that support to their school and build up their confidence. Think about having a mix of local and more distant schools on your application list, so you can make your decision at the end of your senior year when you have had the most experience with the “new” you.</p>
<p>Some people do see therapists basically for their whole lives. If you are on medication (or are on medication in the future) you will have to check in with your psychiatrist on a regular basis in order to renew your prescriptions for as long as you continue on medication.</p>
<p>Please don’t let this worry you too much. Your brain is just another organ, like the stomach, pancreas, or kidneys. If you were diabetic or suffered from high blood pressure, you would need life-long medical therapies too. If you need life-long therapy (either talk therapy or medication or both), well, that is just what you need to do. The good thing is that you know now about your situation so you can plan ahead and seek out the optimal college situation for yourself.</p>
<p>Well, some people don’t see therapists their whole lives. If you are on medications, then obviously you’d need to be monitored by a psychiatrist and since medication use can go along with talk therapy, you’d be seeing a psychiatrist or psychologist or psychiatric social worker for that.</p>
<p>However, some people with depression do get off of medication and stop “seeing someone”. This is not something you should ever decide on your own, but only after discussion with your therapist. For example, abruptly stopping medications, without tapering down, directed by your doctor, can be dangerous.</p>
<p>But, I agree that you need to be aware of your needs. If you have a history of depression, you are more likely to need psychological support again, particularly during stressful periods in your life, such as starting college. You should discuss your college search with your current therapist and should at least know how to access help at college (bare minimum). If you are on antidepressants, it usually isn’t a good idea to go off of them just as you are starting freshman year, for example, because you could relapse under the stress of starting school.</p>
<p>People do still tend to stigmatize mental illness, unfortunately, but happymomof1 is right: the brain is just another organ. And one that we don’t understand the biochemistry of very well yet.</p>
<p>To get into the Technical terms, we’ve already sent all the documentation (concurrently filing our I-140 and 485) and we’re months away for the Processing dates to coincide, but the visa numbers look like quite the *****. Unavailable currently and when they were available they were like 02 or something (Our Labour is Early 07)</p>
<p>Just an update sort of thing, I’ve talked to my therapist about this and apparently I’m not even technically clinically depressed (although she claims I show signs of it). Apparently the official diagnosis is something along the lines of a mood change thing (Not like bipolar or anything).</p>
<p>Also I’ve been looking at colleges that offer financial aid to undergrads (that are International). The one’s that do seem to be very little (and pretty competitive) and the one’s that are need blind are very few (HYP, Amherst, Williams, Middlebury and Darmouth) - none I’m competitive for.</p>
<p>If you are well and want to get out of state, check around. Here is one possibility.</p>
<p>The University of Minnesota at Morris is a public liberal arts college that offers international students the same very reasonable tuition it offers Minnesota students. It is not too difficult to be admitted. (35% of students graduated in the top 10% of their high school class and nearly 60% graduated in the top 20%. The ACT composite average is 25; mid 50% range is 23-28)</p>