<p>I’m currently a high school junior and a resident of Michigan, and from what I’ve heard, UC Berkeley is not only EXTREMELY tough to get into for out of state students, but is very expensive as well. On top of that, I am Chinese by race (ORM), a non-U.S. citizen (I hold a Canadian passport), and have an annual household income of significantly less than $60,000 USD. With this in mind, my family will definitely not be able to pay full tuition should I get accepted. How generous is financial aid at UC Berkeley, especially for students who are OOS and non-U.S. citizens? I read somewhere that financial aid for students in circumstances similar to mine was virtually nonexistent, yet my dad insists on having me apply to Berkeley during my senior year. I argued that we wouldn’t be able to afford it, yet he seemed pretty convinced that they would offer scholarships of some sort. </p>
<p>I had serious doubts about his claim, so I went to UC Berkeley’s website and browsed it for a while, but I couldn’t find anything that supported my position. I might have been looking in the wrong places though… a second opinion (or a third, or a fourth…) would be really appreciated. I have a feeling my OOS + ORM + non-U.S. citizen + low-income status makes UCB a very poor choice in terms of college selection, but I need to convince my father of this first. </p>
<p>OK, so I just found on UCB’s website that they do not offer financial aid to “internationals” - would Canadian citizens fall into this category?</p>
<p>@ theboozer: Yes, it is. I know this seems like the “duh, isn’t the answer so obvious?!” type of question, but my parents didn’t go to U.S. colleges, and hence have almost no knowledge of college admissions in America whatsoever. Since I’ve been on these boards for over a year, I’ve become a lot more informed than I would have been otherwise, and now I’m trying to convince my dad that UCB is a bad choice, given our family’s circumstances.</p>
<p>EDIT: My mother did attend UT Austin, but aside from that she doesn’t know very much about other schools.</p>
<p>It’s a terrible choice. Berkeley is crap at OOS aid and even crappier at international aid (i.e. none). I’m assuming by ‘international’ you mean you do not have a green card and are living here on a visa? (for college finance, in <em>general</em> green card = citizen possibly with the exception of some federal grants) But either way it’s going to be prohibitively expensive for you and your family, and Michigan’s a really respectable option at a fraction of the price, too.</p>
<p>For the record, Berkeley and other Californian publics are (at least legally) prohibited from considering race in the admissions decision due to some proposition or other (RE: the ORM comment). Just in case any other applicants are reading (:</p>
<p>Thanks Agneisse! You are correct about me being on a visa - it’s an F-1 student visa to be exact - and although I’ve already applied for U.S. Permanent Resident status, I understand that the process often takes years before applications are approved, so I don’t see myself getting my green card prior to graduation from HS.</p>
<p>Anyways, thanks again everybody! I just needed you guys to confirm this. Perhaps I should aim for places with much more generous aid - the Ivies perhaps, even though they’re reaches for everybody? =P</p>
<p>^^Unless you win a Regent’s Scholarship, the UC’s have extremely poor finaid for OOS (and international). Regent’s scholars at Cal need HIGH grades and test scores, i.e., 2200+ to be competitive.</p>
<p>Virginia and North Carolina are two publics that provide good need-based aid to OOS, but dunno about internationals. Good luck.</p>
<p>Virginia doesn’t give internationals any money (sans for the Jefferson full-ride, which is technically administered by a separate foundation and <em>very</em> competitive). Unsure about NC.</p>
<p>OP should look into the way Michigan public schools work - it may be that residency/high school graduation for a certain number of years, or your parents’ visa classifications etc. could get you in-state tuition rates. Outside of Michigan (and possibly inside it too) you’re international and in the correspondingly competitive pool especially for financial aid at the non-need blind schools. (there are only 7 which are need-blind to internationals and they are all hard enough to get in to begin with!)</p>