us living abroad

Yes, a lot of questions.

You say that you plan to return to the US to get a master’s or other graduate level degree after getting a degree from your university over seas.

Community colleges tend to be 2 year colleges that offer Associates degrees or act as a springboard to 4 year colleges and universities where a student then continued education to get a baccalaureate degree. Community colleges usually offer little or no dorms. They tend to serve as a local resource for those living within commuting distance from them.

You need to research which schools offer master’s or other advanced degrees in the field you want to study. There are not as many grants , certainly not government ones, for masters programs. Graduate study financial tends to be heavy on the loans. You do need to file a FAFSA for access to the government loand.

Most graduate programs that offer money are PHD programs. You do need to research what is out there.

You would be filling out your forms as an independent student, most likely as most graduate students are, so parental financial info not needed for FAFSA. Individual schools may ask for that info however, I have found.

Each school has its own rules on state residency. I do not think it’s based on your parents status once you are independent but on where YOU live. I’ve noticed that many schools have a qualifier that there are restrictions to attaining state residency if your primary reason to going to the state is to attend full time school. In such cases, you may be better served, taking a gap year or so and living in state and work, or visit friends in state before applying to a state program. Make sure you read the rules for each school as to what constitutes residency for tuition purposes. It’s Often easy to become a state resident for tax, car registration, voting, library card etc etc purposed. A whole other story for in state tuition rates. Often a year’s residency required.