Financial aid for out of state students. HLEP?

Question

If you want to apply Financial aid . what is they looking for?

Im sutdying at NH for 12 grade right now. my parents' income is in NY ,then i want to move to NY college to study, so am I consider a out of state student?

if i am, So how many way i can get money for college.

im a poor man

Answer 1

Andy -

It's not where your parents earn a living that matters. New York's residency requirements (like just about every other state) center on where your parents are "domiciled" - in other words, it's the state where they make their permanent home.

If you are financially dependent on your parents (meaning that they pay your tuition bill, or your food bills, or your housing bills, or whatever) then you are not eligible for the in-state tuition rate if your parents live in New Hampshire.

Don't be mislead by some of the common misconceptions that you might see in answers here. You can not establish residency by "moving to New York for a year". In fact, if you move to New York specifically to attend college, that will not allow you qualify as a state resident. You can not change this rule by getting a driver's license, registering to vote, getting a job, or buying a property of your own, no matter what anyone else tells you here.

That's going to be a problem for you, because - as your question suggests - you are already aware that out-of-state tuition rates are much higher than in-state rates. Your choice of an out-of-state college is not going to have much (if any) effect on the financial aid that you qualify for. Financial aid is intended to help a student attend college, but it is not intended to make it possible for a student to select a college that is far more expensive than another choice they could have made.

Think about this example - if your parents offered to help buy you a car, they probably wouldn't be promising to go out and buy you a Corvette (just because that's what you really really wanted). They'd probably have another, perfectly practical car in mind.

Financial aid is like that. If you need to rely on financial aid to make it possible for you to go to college, then you need to select a school with every emphasis on affordability. An out-of-state university is rarely an "affordable" option - it's a luxury for people who can afford to pay the out-of-state premium.

Start by reading the booklet I've attached below. It's a US Department of Education publication called "Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid". It's a great introduction to the world of educational financial aid - and you should suggest that your mom and dad read it, too.

I hope this helped - good luck!