1b:I[3821,["874","static/chunks/874-5853b36c417a5f43.js","598","static/chunks/598-8e8b350c69b61725.js","735","static/chunks/735-5d5145bb0f79dc16.js","881","static/chunks/881-64080935572a77c4.js","671","static/chunks/app/%5Blocale%5D/submitted/page-9972e6b84e2d7c4f.js"],"default"] 1c:T7c1,Hey HN,

I've been living in the United States since the age of 2, but I was actually born Saudi Arabia. During my sophomore year in high school my parents clued me in on the fact that they never actually got me my citizenship, and that I only had an overstayed tourist visa.

But things became really problematic when I graduated and realized that my illegal status makes me ineligible for all of the scholarships I earned (one in particular is a full ride Floridian scholarship) and would force me to pay out of state tuition.

So with no way to pay for school, I took a gap year which I'm four months into. I've been supplementing this off time with OCW computer science lecture videos and a ton of self study; however, everything's much more arduous and lonely than studying in a college environment and I don't want to fall behind.

I've come up with two solutions: apply to universities in Canada and Europe and hopefully be admitted to one of those countries on a student visa or stick it out here and find a way to pay for school. So I'm coming to you, HN, for some advice on how I could possibly pay for school. Are there private, merit based scholarships I could earn? Could I work a job with only a ITIN and no SSN? Is there a way I can petition for in-state tuition?

Please, any advice would help me out.

edit: I realize, on paper, I'm a criminal. I really don't see it that way, and I'd like to try everything I can to stay in the United States. I also cannot apply for citizenship with an overstayed visa and leaving the country would prevent my reentry for 10 years; something I'm trying to avoid.

edit 2: I'm here to talk about how to pay out of state tuition, not my status. For those who are curious, here are the onl

Submissions by idontlikebacon

Ask HN: Paying for University as an undocumented student

Ask HN: Paying for University as an undocumented student