Pls Chance an Israeli Immigrant

MYOS1634
Sun, 20 Dec 2020 18:14:42 +0000

The best thing you can do for yourself is apply with your green card: as a permanent resident, you’ll be in the domestic pool and yes you’ll be competitive for all of these universities. (Doesn’t mean shoo-in but you’d have a decent shot).

Without it… your odds are very low because some are need aware and may not admit you if your parents can’t pay a certain amount, and some are need blind/don’t meet need, meaning they’ll be unaffordable without access to FA.
You won’t qualify for financial aid at RPI so even if they admit you, you won’t be able to attend.
(The best you can get is the “Medal”, if your HS designated you as their candidate for 2020.)

A university where you would be considered a domestic applicant despite not having your green card yet is Pomona College. However not only is it highly selective, but it doesn’t offer Engineering (which is offered at HarveyMudd, the Engineering College of the Claremonts).

Check (today for reply before Break) with each PA public university’s admissions office, explaining that you’ll graduate from Z or X high school in PA, your family has lived in PA for … years, but you are not a US citizen; will you be considered a PA resident if you graduate from a PA HS or an international?
At a minimum that would include asking Pitt, Temple, PSU, and West Chester. My guess is that if only WCU were affordable you’d rather take a gap year.
(It’s really too bad you didn’t apply to Schreyer at Penn State but I suppose there’s nothing you can do about it now, keep it in mind next year.)
Apparently you’d be considered a PA resident for tuition purpose at Pitt, which is good:

payments.pitt.edu

PA Tuition Rate Eligibility | Student Payment Center

Eligibility for Pennsylvania tuition (in-state rates) is governed by the University’s Policy on PA Residency Classification. The policy establishes the criteria used to classify a student as a Pennsylvania Resident (PA Resident) or Non-Resident for...

You can only borrow 5.5K for freshman year. Therefore, costs are a very important matter. Talk with your parents. My guess is that they haven’t been able to save since it’s not a common endeavor in Israel and they may not have had the means.