I think you have found your own solution. Attend a CO community college…which you say will be affordable for your.
Gotta ask…how were you going to pay OOS costs at UMass Amherst?
But OP needs to figure out Heather s/he’d be legal doing that.
Also, would you qualify for merit money if you waited? Because transfers get lousy financial aid and no access to the large freshmen scholarships.
@thumper1 - Maybe, but it still doesn’t resolve the issue of how I can get a green card if I’ll try and transfer to a 4 year college and receive financial aid two years from now.
To answer your question, Umass Amherst offered me a merit scholarship of $20,000/year (which adds up to $80k over 4 years) so it wouldn’t be all that expensive to attend. In fact if I had a green card and received financial aid from them then I’d be able to go there for the same cost as community college in Colorado (only $5k/year) because they also gave me a dependency override.
@MYOS1634 - That’s exactly my concern with attending community college, that even if I get a green card in the next year and transfer to a proper college then I won’t receive any merit scholarships or adequate financial aid that’s available to freshmen applicants.
The OOS coat to attend UMass Amherst is about $47,000 for tuition/room/board/ fees.
Subtract $20,000 and you still have $27,000 to pay.
The maximum federal aid you would get would be $9500 Direct Loan, and $5800 Pell grant.
You would have a balance of $11700 the way I add it up. That is double what the CO community college would cost you.
What other aid do you think you would get from UMass that would bring your cost to about the same as a CC in CO?
P.S. I’m still not sure what UMass gave you a dependency override for! You are not eligible to file a FAFSA…
@thumper1 - It’s difficult to explain without showing you the emails their financial aid office has sent me, but basically I do have a dependency override if I were to complete the fafsa.
Anyway another option I have is Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver).
https://www.msudenver.edu/admissions/cost/
Their tuition is only $3,210 per semester and they are one of the few colleges that give financial aid to undocumented/illegal immigrants via DAIA (Dreamer Student Application for Institutional Aid) instead of FAFSA. Financial aid combined with their low tuition would definitely make it realistic for me to attend. They don’t include housing but my apartment, where I live now, is only 6 miles away from their campus so I could just take a bus there and not have to pay to live in the dorms! I’ve already been admitted too.
Very few students live at Metro. Your student ID will serve as an RTD pass. Why would it not be your first choice?
[quote]
I do have a dependency override if I were to complete the fafsa.[/quota]
That’s fine, but all the dependency override means is that you do not need a parent to fill out the FAFSA - IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO FILL OUT THE FAFSA! From what you have said, you aren’t eligible because you aren’t a citizen and you don’t have permanent residency. So where are you going to come up with $40k+ for UMass? The override does nothing for you, you can’t use it.
@twoinanddone - It wouldn’t be my first choice because, academically, it isn’t particularly a good college. Both my grades and ACT/SAT scores are significantly above those of students who attend MSU Denver which means that I’m unlikely to actually get a good education there. The point of going to college isn’t just to get a degree but to actually learn and accomplish something… but financially MSU Denver does seem like the best, if not my only, option right now.
I know many students at Metro who are very good, smart students. A friend attends after she attended a highly ranked Boston school and just couldn’t handle living away from home. I know it is not Harvard, but it has a number of good programs (meteorology and aerospace). I think you will be surprised at the rigor of the courses. A lot of student take calc or organic chemistry there in the summer so they can concentrate on one difficult course. Or you could go to UC Denver if you like programs there better.
You asked for opinions. It’s unlikely you’ll be able to finance an OOS school, so you should look at the instate ones.
@twoinanddone - I wish I could but UC Denver is significantly more expensive and, as far as I know, they don’t offer financial aid for illegal immigrants. I know that unfortunately I won’t be able to attend an OOS school right now, but it’s worth considering. Anyways, thanks for the feedback, definitely helpful.
Sort out your status first. Don’t enroll in college and reapply once you’ve been cleared for a legal path (abused child/spouse, abandonned minor, etc).
How is it an option when your work visa expires before classes start? You need to get your citizenship figured out first. I wouldn’t worry about college until that was done.