Ithaca College, in the same town as Cornell, is great for artsy, not intense students (which sounds a bit like your daughter).
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Boston, New York, Philadelphia etc. all have Eastern European communities of immigrants who arrived within the last 20 years. I assume by “long time ago” you mean in the early years of the 20th century (when one of my grandparents arrived) but the urban areas of the East coast are filled with Polish, Ukrainian, Russian (Jewish, non-Jewish) more recent immigrants. My neighborhood resettled several Ukrainian families when the war began two years ago. They had no close family in the US, so they went wherever the refugee organization that was helping them told them to go…. urban, East Coast in this case. They have had no trouble finding people their own age– also recent immigrants.
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thank you for your suggestion. I will check Ithaca for financial aid. Cornell is CSS, unfortunately
Cornell is an EXCELLENT suggestion. You should add it to the list. Even if it is one more profile school.. BTW can we assume you are awaiting the decision on the CSS non-custodial parent waiver and not the CSS fee waiver?
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Yes, as I have said-East Coast is obviously our number 1 choice, living in NYC is the same as living in Russia. Same for Boston and Philly. I lived in NYC myself for the majority of my life, so it’s home. I would be stocked if both kids ended up there, my work is also in NYC.
I am not so familiar with Temple University Japan for your daughter (perhaps @tkoparent could weigh in). Given what you wrote upthread about her interests in art and design, I think the UK could work well for her.
We will not qualify for the waiver, the dad pays child support. the counsellors have to call each school individually, explain all the circumstance (ongoing court case, dad refusing to pay child support for 5 years, no contact, etc.) As I have already said-I am willing to take the dad to court for a top school, like John Hopkins, MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Princeton. Cornell is not on the list, because we have not had anyone from our school get in there, we did have multiple kids go to Yale, Stanford, Columbia and Princeton-trying to stick to the school that know our kids already. But I am not arguing with you that Cornell is a fantastic school. They do have grade deflation, which is a concern to me (not to my son)
They are major metropolitan cities with many cultural opportunities and public transportation. Both have the 4 seasons (though Moscow gets colder than NYC). But still…..
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Yes, my daughter would be very happy in the UK. But she equally would be very happy in Japan, she spent years drawing anime and took classes and is very interested in Japanese culture and language. We have close friends in Japan as well. Her mentor who originally got her into art is a Japanese artist. Temple University does not have art, but it seems to be a good school overall
As I have already said-I spent most of my adult life in NYC, I know the city very well, I can move there and work there, since my work is based in NYC and I telecommute, working for NYC. It would be much cheaper, because we could actually live together in NYC. With both Columbia and NYC allowing off campus living. My daughter is applying to Parsons, Pratt, FIT, Cooper Union. It’s easier for her, because most of the schools she is applying to are not CSS profile schools. NYC is the best match for her-lots of artists, museums, fashion and theatre, she is in the dance ensemble, sings and is very much into theatre/art vibe. Most of our close friends also live in NYC, including friends in fashion and photography, media/art, who can help her out with work and internships.
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I am not talking about the weather when I talk about NYC being like Russia. Russian/Ukrainian speaking population of NYC Metropolitan area is around 500,000 people and if you add Central Asians from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, etc-it’s close to a million.
Yes, we know about essay-thankfully my son loves writing essays. He does know. I showed him the U of Chicago prompts. He is going start during the summer as soon as the applications open. There is a lot of time. He would have to cut down on his hours at the hospital.
Run the numbers for Macaulay in NYC….I know some astonishingly talented kids who turned down more prestigious/more expensive options. Excellent pre-health support. Don’t know if it’s affordable for a non-NY resident though…
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I grew up in the metro NYC area as well. Spent a LOT of time in The City. I think NYC is much more diverse than Moscow, but that is from what I have heard and read. When my DH was in Moscow he was told to put his camera away, and it accidentally fell down the escalators in the Moscow metro. The reaction he felt would not likely have been the same in NYC 
Is her budget also $20K?
yes, NYC is very diverse and it’s a huge plus. it’s probably the most diverse and inclusive city in the US. You have to accept the living conditions and the chaos, but it’s a lot of fun for young adults. I moved there when I was 20 years old and it was the best time.
Ithaca College.
yes, they will have the same Child Support, she can also make money by selling her art and teaching art.
Ithaca seems to be $50K out of pocket
If they are each receiving 3500/month in child support, it’s not possible that they each have an SAI of 5500. But perhaps I am misinterpreting/misunderstanding something, am I?
Also, if you earn about ~70K and bio dad is paying $84K per year in child support ($3500 X 12 x 2), he is providing most of the financial support for the kids, and is the FAFSA parent. FAFSA parent is the parent who provides most of the financial support, not the parent the kids live with.
Regarding the art schools in NYC, they are unlikely to get close to a $20K budget, even if you are the FAFSA parent and her SAI is 5500, none of those schools care. Have you run the NPCs at the art schools?
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