50k up front for International students?

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi I am an international student and I want to apply to USC, UCLA, Stanford and Berkeley.</p>

<p>My parents can't pay the full amount I would need to study at one of these institutions for four years (aprox. 200k).</p>

<p>And even if they could, they would not add a single penny. Since university in my country and most of Europe is free, they don't see why I should spend money on it. However, an education at one of these places would be worth it to me.</p>

<p>(Please let's not start a discussion about this here ;-)</p>

<p>Up until now my plan was to apply, see if I get an offer, and if I am accepted, then get a bank loan. (Assuming that with an offer in hand, a bank would be happy to give me a loan).</p>

<p>After graduating from, let's say Stanford, I assume getting a job (perhaps at 100k a year) would be possible and then I could pay back my debt in a couple of years.</p>

<p>--- NOW I just read that I have to send in a financial statement in the mail up front. It would be great if you could answer the following questions:</p>

<p>1) What should I put down for the money my parents have got? Since there is no way they are contributing to this, I am essentially on my own. And I personally have no significant amount of money.</p>

<p>2) Have I understood that you have to prove that you can pay for the first year in the US? So I have to prove that I could pay 50k?
2a) That would not work since I would not have a bank loan yet.
2b) What if I can get my parents to jump in on this and help me prove they COULD pay - and then don't. That is when I would get the loan and foot the bill myself.</p>

<ul>
<li>at this stage it might make sense to ask if I am making false assumptions: Would I as an international student be able to get a loan at a US bank? </li>
</ul>

<p>If the answers to my questions is no, does that in effect mean that an international student can not pay for him/herself?
At the University of Cambridge, for example, you see if you get an offer, and if you do, you either pay straight away or they give you the opportunity to start paying back once you have a job.</p>

<p>Do international students basically have to forget about all the US universities apart from the few need-blind ones?</p>

<p>Thanks a lot for you help. It is much appreciated.
Best wishes,
Dan</p>

2

<p>Will you be able to secure a loan in that amount in YOUR country without a cosigner? I can tell you…you will not be able to get a loan in the amount you are talking about HERE in the U.S. I believe you will NOT be able to get a loan from an American bank in your own name for $50,000 a year. Sorry…not going to happen.</p>

<p>Some might say that if you can find a U.S. citizen to cosign a loan, you MIGHT be able to get one. Cosigning a loan is serious business…the cosigner is liable for these lons if you don’t pay. It’s not something a distant relative, friend or stranger is going to do for you. Even if you somehow managed to find someone to cosign a $50,000 loan for your first year, how would you be guaranteed they would even be able to qualify for loans in this amount for THREE subsequent years. Remember, they would have to apply every year for a new loan and cosign.</p>

<p>If you are not able to pay your college bills and have to leave college, you will not be able to stay here for very long afterward on a student visa. You will have to return to your native country. Also, there are restrictions on the amount of work you can actually do while here on a student visa.</p>

<p>As you noted, you will have to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds to pay the bills in order to even GET a visa to study in this country. Some schools require evidence of funding for the full four years…others for one year. YMMV depending on the school.</p>

<p>Funding for international students…a couple of things.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Some schools do not give financial aid at all to international students. Some give limited aid, and a very few give the same types of need based aid to all who apply. Some schools do not even give merit aid to international students. </p></li>
<li><p>Many schools are NOT need blind for admissions for students who are international students. In other words, your ability to pay will be considered when you apply.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Personally I think your plan is flawed. You are hoping to somehow “find” $50,000 plus for the next FOUR years…and really have no plan on how to get this money.</p>

<p>OH and one other thing…just supposing you did take $200K in loans…your repayment plan would be STAGGERING once you are done with college…another very poor idea.</p>

3

<p>thumper1 and your parents are right.</p>

4

<p>

You have to provide your parents financial information - income and assets. You need to provide accurate information which is supported by appropriate documentation (bank statements etc). Your eligibility for financial aid is based on your parents financial situation wheter they are willing to contribute or not (it is the same fir American students).</p>

<p>

As part of the student visa application process you have to show documentation proving that you have the finances in place to pay for your school. This would ether be proof of your parents (or your own) income and assets high enough to pay. Or proof of sufficient financial aid from the school.

You will not be able to get a loan from a US bank. Banks do not even lend money to American students unless they have a cosigner with an excellent credit rating. Being a cosigner is a huge risk as the cosigner is completely responsible for the debt if the student does not pay it. So in general a cosigner for a student would be a parent, and most parents will not do it as the risks are too great. As an international student you would have to have someone in the US willing to cosign a loan for you as a bank would be unwilling to take the risk of not being recover their money from a foreign cosigner.</li>
</ul>

5

<p>

</p>

<p>OP, no bank is going to be happy to give you a loan just because you have an “offer in hand” from a college. That’s not how it works. Banks want to see evidence that they will be repaid.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>You’re planning on getting a $100K/year job right after graduation? Are you kidding? And you’re going to pay back that $200K loan in a couple of years, so I guess your entire $100K salary is going to go towards loan repayment. What are you going to live on? </p>

<p>It’s all moot anyway because you won’t get a bank loan without a cosigner. Please listen to thumper1 and swimcatsmom. They’re right.</p>

6

<p>Thank you all for your replies.</p>

<ul>
<li>that’s a shame. Studying in the US is more impossible for out-of-state residents than I thought.</li>
</ul>

<p>I did some research and found this overview:</p>

<p>[Powered</a> by Google Docs](<a href=“International_Students_2010.pdf - Google Drive”>International_Students_2010.pdf - Google Drive)</p>

<p>It shows what the banks will give you to what conditions. You were right about the co-signer.</p>

<p>I would like to ask you a follow- up question. Thanks already for being so kind to help me.</p>

<p>1)
So basically, my only option is to apply to Stanford (the only one giving (limited) grants to internationals) ? And then see if I can convince my parents to pay (or help co-sign) the remaining money Stanford will want? (It is unlikely to get a full grant.)</p>

<p>Somewhere on this forum I read that USC gives full-grants to a few internationals. Is that true?</p>

<p>2)
Okay, so I now know about the banks (thanks again). So just to be completely clear about my ambitions to study in America: Berkeley, for instance, will not allow me to study and then pay back once I start working? Unlike Cambridge mentioned in my initial post?</p>

<p>I would have to have scholarships (unlikely that I find any?) in place before applying to the University of California? I always thought you apply, see where you get in, and that in turn will help you get the scholarship money. I thought people giving out scholarships would think that “if he/she got accepted there, the future looks good, so we will grant the scholarship”.
Or also not the way it works?</p>

<p>If the parents won’t pay and no scholarships can be obtained, there is absolutely no work-around or other way unis handle this in America?</p>

<p>3)
My step-father actually is an American citizen, however he could not co-sign a 200k loan.
However, this leads to another question.</p>

<p>If I got into one of these institutions this would be a reason to go back to the States. My Step dad is originally from San Francisco and has always wanted to go back and leave Europe.
Would the fame’s new permanent residence make me count as a residential (not being a US citizen myself and not having gone to high school in the US).

  • This last bit would involve finding a way to prove I can pay 50k, apply, get in, and then try to change from international to non-international. Well, I listed this as 3) since it is probably the least feasible option.
    But I would still like to hear your opinion.</p>

<p>Thank you all again,
best wishes,
Dan</p>

7

<p>Dan-
Perhaps enter the EU university that has the best study abroad (emphasis on prestigious US universities) program.
You can then come study in the US for a year and have an advantage by networking and making contacts for US grad school.
You have to be financially smart and patient.
Good luck.</p>

8

<p>Dan - Most of the obstacles that you describe are the same for those of us who are US citizens. If you can obtain a free or low-cost university education in your country or in Europe, it would be crazy to pass that up. We would love to have such options over here!</p>

9

<p>

</p>

<p>NO…in the U.S. you pay first…not after you graduate. In fact, you pay by the term. If your account is not paid in full, you will not be allowed to register for the following term.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>You are not a U.S. Citizen. You do not have a green card or any other kind of permanent resident status. Simply moving here isn’t going to gain you either quickly…there IS an application process for this. Just having a step dad who decides to reside in the U.S. will not give you this instantly.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Not likely. How do you think you are going to do this?</p>

10

<p>Dan, what field do you want to study?
If it’s in the sciences or engineering, you might consider staying in your country for undergraduate and applying to graduate school in the US. </p>

<p>Generally, graduate school programs in the sciences are “fully funded” meaning that you would not pay tuition, and might also get a stipend to work as a teaching assistant or research assistant. Also, universities generally help foreign graduate students with getting the appropriate visas.</p>

11

<p>dan141,</p>

<p>If your stepfather is serious about moving back to the US, you need to find out if you will be able to get a green card (permanent resident status) because he is married to your mother. Then, you could move to the US with them and wait out a year while they establish in-state residence somewhere. That would give you in-state status for the public colleges and universities in that state. Once you have permanent residence, you can file the FAFSA which will allow you to receive federally determined financial aid.</p>

<p>Most international parents who I know do their level best to send their kids “home” for their college educations because it is so much less expensive there. Happykid has high school classmates now scattered all around the world because the options in their original countries were so much more affordable than the options here.</p>

<p>If you haven’t already done so, you should read through everything at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) Then you should make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to where you live. They can help you with the whole application process, and they should be able to tell you which colleges and universities in the US have admitted students like you in recent years, and whether or not those students received any financial aid.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>