Hi everyone!

I have dreamed of studying abroad ever since I can remember, and recently luck knocked on my door, a very close relative of mine is willing to accommodate and provide the basic living needs (food, electricity, basically everything) for me, all I have to worry about is paying the tuition. She lives in Columbus, OH and she told me that I can get employed where she works, so that I can work on weekends and pay some of the cost.

However, I live in Southeast Europe and I am not sure how much do I have to pay for tuition each year. I plan to go to a community college and I am trying to calculate the approximate amount of money it's going to cost me each year, but there are some things that I need your help understanding. Here's the link of the site's calculator: http://www.cscc.edu/about/calculator.shtml

 

When completing the questionnaire, it asks:

 

Living arrangement:

1. Where do you plan to live while attending this institution?

[ ]Living on my own or with a roommate

[ ]Living with my parents or other family members

 

2.Residency:

[ ]Eligible for in-state tuition

[ ]Eligible for out-of-state tuition

The part in bold confuses me. I am not born in that state, obviously (I don't have neither a Green Card, nor a permanent Visa), but I WILL live with her. Which option should I choose? I will live in Ohio and I will proceed the studies to the aforementioned place, which is in the same state. Is this an in-state tuition or out-of-state tuition?

 

Next thing, that might sound dumb and sorry if it does-it says on the College's website that scholarships are offered as well, and being a really good student I want to make use of this. But since I'm applying for a financial aid, can I win a scholarship as well or not? How will the total price of the yearly tuition be reduced if I win both the scholarship and the financial aid?

 

Any help would be appreciated,

Thank you.

You should really shoot an email with these questions to the admissions office at the college. I am pretty confident I know some of the answers which you seek, but I am not the person you should be asking.

 

1) You will not be eligible for in-state tuition because you haven't been living in the state for a certain period of time. That might change after a year or so, I'm not sure of the rules on that. But definitely not in the beginning.

 

2) You can apply for scholarships. It is possible that after you are awarded a scholarship your financial aid will be reduced, since your need will be perceived to be less. Just apply for the aid you need and all the scholarships you can find and you should be okay. If you want to worry about it, only worry about it after you have been awarded the scholarship(s). The college may contact your lenders, or you may have to report the scholarship funds you receive on your financial aid forms. But the main thing to focus on now is getting the money you need, and especially money you will not have to pay back!

 

Good luck.

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Messaging the admissions office has been one of the things with the most priority in my "To-do" list when doing my research, but I just  want to learn a little more on my eligibilities before I do so.

 

So there is a chance for me to profit from in-state tuition? Can that happen after the first year or is that a very long process?

Also the person who is accommodating me told me that she can find me a job in the commercial center where she works as a manager, however, can I, as a new international student work? Am I allowed? Do I need any special visa, or whatever?

Also, what type of visa do I need to get to go there? Some sort of student visa? Does this give me any restrictions?

And one last thing, I read somewhere that only national students can get aid, with the except of refugees, victims of human traffic, etc. I don't fall in any of this category, does that mean that I can't apply for an aid at all?

Thank you very much again.

For general immigration questions and questions about working, start with this site if you haven't already.

 

http://www.us-immigration.com/index.html?referrer=adwords&gclid=CPaH3MrHzLQCFQ-f4AodBS0ApA

A lot of your questions are very specific and people here won't know the answer. We would have to look it up, which you can do yourself, so you probably won't find anyone willing to do that.

 

I was a foreign student abroad for a few years, so I have some experience, but that won't necessarily translate to being a foreign student in the U.S. and the state of Ohio in particular. You may know this, but a lot of American laws are left to the states to determine certain things. In-state tuition would be one of them. I know that in the current state I live in, American students can get in-state tuition after a year of attending school. I don't know if that applies to international students. Ohio might be different, for example time spent in school might not count for time towards in-state residency calculations.

 

Your student visa alone would probably not let you work under most circumstances. There are some ways, I think through "work-study programs", where international students may work using the student visa, but this would limit where and how much work you can do. Getting a work permit along with your visa may be difficult (might be easy, too); I don't know anything about that for the USA.

 

This might not be the best forum for you to ask these questions. Try finding an expat forum, or there might even be an international student forum. And you might luck out and find someone who knows all about being an international student in Ohio. Again, though, you should contact the college. Just copy/paste your questions from here into an email to the college.