Family member immigration concern

April 15, 2008 4:18 PM

How can I bring my 16 year old nephew to live with me in America? He wants to attend college here but it is so expensive for foreign students. I am an American citizen. Any suggestion is appreciated
posted by orlando1544 to Law & Government (9 answers total)

Some universities cover all tuition costs for staff members. Not sure what your employment situation is like but I guess it would be one possibility.
posted by genial at 4:23 PM on April 15, 2008

Is adoption an option?
posted by Sys Rq at 4:42 PM on April 15, 2008

Princeton offers financial aid for foreign students (and has need-blind admission for them). Stanford offers financial aid, but not need-blind admissions yet (but soon, possibly by the time a 16 year old would be applying). It takes some looking, but you'll find places that'll make it work.
posted by devilsbrigade at 4:45 PM on April 15, 2008

I immediately thought about adoption too
posted by matteo at 4:58 PM on April 15, 2008

When I applied to school in the U.S. as an international student I received very, very significant music scholarships from all the universities I applied to based on my performance at their auditions, as well as other competitions, etc. I ended up switching majors to biochemistry and losing my scholarship, but by then I was a permanent resident and qualified for other forms of financial aid.

I worked in the international admissions office of my current (private, top-tier) university for a while, and we had quite a few foreign undergraduates attending on a full scholarship, including spending money--however, they were all accomplished athletes (women tennis players in particular seemed to always get a full ride) or musicians. Another (non-athlete) student on a close to full scholarship was a published author, among other achievements, as far as I recall.

Is your nephew particularly good at something he does? He still has plenty of time to prove it.
posted by halogen at 5:24 PM on April 15, 2008

Smaller liberal arts colleges often give away large amounts of aid to foreign students. You could try having him apply at a few of those, rather than a large public institution.
posted by andythebean at 6:16 PM on April 15, 2008

I'd second Andythebean's suggestion to look into smaller liberal arts schools. For instance, nearly 15% of my graduating class at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., was comprised of international students. Carleton offers tuition assistance for 100% of demonstrated need, and has a very, very strong interest in bringing international students to campus. There are also quite extensive scholarships available for international students. More info at http://apps.carleton.edu/intl/.
posted by SemiSophos at 6:29 PM on April 15, 2008

If you are looking into the scholarships for foreign students route, there will be a lot of information available if you go to the library and find their college guide section. The reference librarian should be able to help you find a list of schools that offer significant financial aid to foreign students.

(Offhand, I know there's a book called 'Colleges that Change Lives' that lists some less well-known schools that may not get very many international applicants, so they might be more likely to offer scholarships to lure foreign students.)
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:21 PM on April 15, 2008

Echoing others, I know my school offers a number of full-ride scholarships to international students, and pretty massive financial aid and work-study benefits to those who don't get the biggest awards. Definitely look into the smaller liberal arts schools, as they tend to have all sorts of money to give away and a lot of interest in attracting diversity.
posted by Rallon at 7:46 PM on April 15, 2008