College Application Process - Page 2

school like MIT do take away tuition for low income family.

Merit scholarships are given to the top of the class. For that you dont need any type of status...honestly as a higher achevier such as yourself...dont expect merit scholarships with your stats at top 30 schools. Perhaps you might be able to get merit at schools 50+....i have a cousin who WAS a dreamer at the time and got a full ride to a top 50 school because of his stats.

If anything you should apply to scholarships if you can..and if you go to a state school then that would be ok too.

The last thing is...if you can make it to an ivy (even cornell where you probably have the best chances from your stats) then ask them about there family income policy. I believe if your family makes less than 60k (you might have to prove it with tax income files) then its a free ride...if you are at 80k for example...you might have 90% of the bill covered...the higher the less the % goes down.

From personal experience...let the school know your situation AFTER your accepted...thats the students they care about....
Just keep quiet about it while applying no need for anyone to know anything...it will only help your chances.

So does Princeton if your family makes less than $60K.

But the question is, how do we prove that our parents are low-income when they don't pay taxes?
I'm assuming we register as international students, and even then, we can't provide tax proofs.

Your parents should be doing their taxes using an ITIN. I know my parents do it and so do many undocumented immigrants.

And what if she's not?

Then they should get an ITIN and start doing her taxes.
If you mean what you can use to prove income, I don't know.. maybe a W2?

Go to http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandre...most-merit-aid for a list of colleges giving the most merit aid. Most of them, though, are not household names.

With your resume, I definitely think you belong in a top 50 school. I suggest diversifying the schools in which you apply. Apply to one or two Ivy's such as Yale and Cornell, where if you get lucky, you might get a scholarship that covers tuition and housing. There's obviously the private in-state colleges like Brandeis and BC, which will probably be the bulk of your applications. I also suggest applying to a top liberal arts college like Amherst, which graduate schools highly respect.

I don't suggest taking a semester or two off. You have a very good chance of getting a merit scholarship, even with your current immigration status. Also, it might even hurt your chances of getting into a top school if you take time off. Colleges will wonder why there's no continuity with your education. Don't let current regulations cheat yourself out of a college experience.

Thank you very much socaldreamer,
Amherst only has liberal arts? And thank you for the encouragement. It's needed hehe.

MDxOD,
What would you consider top 30 schools and top 50 schools?

I'm going to apply to a couple Ivy League schools because maybe I'll get lucky, or be blessed, but I'm not counting on it at all.

I'm interested in business, and going in-state. Any recommendations too?

If you have the money for applying to colleges (liek i did) feel free.
Go to USnews.com and check rankings for top 30-50 schools. Then what you need to do is go DIRECTLY to their websites and check for MERIT scholarships (these things have basically nothing to do with financial aid) they are given to the top 1-2% of the students accepted regardless of if you are a citizen or an international (=undocs as far as private schools go)

check out this website. It shows actual essays accept by top schools from students that have applied. Your essay is an extremely important part of you application. I've know people with nearly perfect SAT's and SAT subject tests who got rejected because their essays were not great. Hope this helps!

http://www.quintcareers.com/college_...ion_essay.html