Can I go to college?

Hello Everybody, I am 17 years old and I arrived in the US when I was 9 in 1999 with a tourist visa. I just finished my junior year in high school, and next year I will be going to the o so important senior year. Next year is the year that all students will start applying for colleges and my only dream in life right now is to be able to attend college. I am ranked 9th in my junior class and I am the only male junior in my schools national honor society. I try my best in school and I even have passed AP exams that I can get credit in college. BUT can I even go to college. I live in connecticut and some people tell me I can go to college, some tell me that I can only go to a community college(which I deserve alot better) and some tell me I can't go at all. I have no ss # so I don't know what to fill in for that part of the application. I guess thats the only thing keeping me from going to college. So CAN I go to college without a ss #. What do I fill for that part? Should i say that I am an international student? Should i leave that part blank? Or should I put my tax id # in place of a ss #? If theres anyone that can answer my questions I would gratefully appreaciate it because I am starting to stress out too much. I don't know how my future will be. Thank you

First off, not to be rude because I know that you meant it in a completely harmless way, but a lot of us here deserved more than a community college. My brother got admitted to MIT [and couldn't go for obvious reasons] and had to settle for a community college. It's really not that bad when it's the only way you can study and do something productive with yourself.

Secondly, you can go to college [in most states] as an out-of-state student, meaning you have to pay substantially more for tuition as opposed to a regular, in-state student. You would really have to check with the college you are attending for that kind of information because of the wide ranges of answers you may receive [for example, here in FL, community colleges and universities in South FL will accept an undocumented student as long as they pay international/out-of-state rates but in Central FL, they won't accept you at all without a valid visa]. As for private institutions, many of the forum members here have been accepted and are attending private institutions right now. From what I know, private institutions will generally give you scholarship money based on how good your grades are and others do it based on your financial need.

Don't put your ITIN as an SSN. They will know the difference and you might get in trouble. Leave that part blank. As far as the application goes, you may want to contact the school as to what you should put in the "international student" check box. They might be able to work with you and may even give you pointers as to how to apply given your situation.

yes i know, I know most of us deserved alot better then a community college because we try harder then regular kids who don't have to worry about their futures as much as we do. I find that most illegals end up being in the top ten percent of their class. I just wish they knew how lucky they are to be able to go to college with almost no problems. Most of the kids in my school don't even care what they do after high school, which I find astonishing and asinine. I thank you for your elucidation. If theres anyone else who can also give suggestions on my situation, I gladly thank you.

hey, welcome! it's really good that you're getting a head start on things and trying to figure out your options; i admire that. i don't think that conneticut is a state lets kids like us pay in-state tuition, as far as college goes. however, that doesnt mean you absolutely can't go to college. You would need to find a college, preferably private because they are sometimes more willing to work with you, that will accept you as an international student, and is willing to work around all of the paperwork (visas, etc.) and the fact that you dont have a SS#. Schools like this vary from state to state, so you may or may not be able to find one in conneticut, but a good place to start would be the websites of conneticut universities and see if they have any special cases in their international student section. If, or once, you are absolutely sure that you have exhausted all of the universities and you see that none of them are willing to make an exception, you should start looking at community colleges; i know its not what you want, but it is better than nothing and you can always start with college core curriculum stuff and you may be able to transfer if anything passes soon. Definitely don't put in your tax ID# for your SS# or anything like that, people that will just get you in trouble with the school probably. There has to be at least one college or community college in the entire state that caters to students like you, so you just have to really look. If you can trust the college and career counselor @ your school, I would go to them to get help b/c they often have a lot of resources and know people at these schools. There are scholarships out there also that don't require any citizenship or green card requirements, but they are pretty hard to find, so you could start looking for ways to fund your education now also. Sorry if I can't help much, but if you need any other info, dont hesitate to let us know!

lol, yes we all desearve way better than stupid ass community college but that is better than nothing right?
i did put my SS# as my social and as usual checked the citizen's box and got accepted to the CC i'm in. i always give my ITIN as my SS#, no one has ever refused it as long as i paid. schools don't usually check if you can pass for a citizen.