<p>Hey everyone! I'm Bart and I come from Poland. I'm 16 years, so I've got about 2.5 years ahead of me before going to US to study (just if I'm admitted, of course). I think my English is quite good and I'm likely to get good results in SAT (I'm gonna take World History and Literature as Subject Tests). I also have a lot of extracurricular acitivities that I hope will impress the people who will see my applications. However, my family is not rich and I wonder if I'll live up to the financial expectations of American universities. Harvard (and generally the Ivy League) is my dream. I know that they first look at my personality, interests etc. and if they know that I'm right for the university then they will cover all the costs. Obviously, I also consider a lot of other universities, but I'm afraid I won't be able to pay for them. Many American scholarships are accessible only to US citizens. Scholarships for international students are often not enough for paying for the college. What do I have to do then? Where do I have to look for money?</p>
<p>Thank you
Bart</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Um…no this is not the way financial aid works at the Ivies…or at most other universities.</p>
<p>Let’s talk about the Ivies and similar schools first. The schools in the Ivy League offer need based aid only. They look at your family finances and then make a determination of your financial need. It has nothing to do with your personality or interests. Of course, FIRST you have to get accepted to one of these schools. While your personality and interests will be weighed a BIT…your standardized tests scores, rigor of your high school classes, and high school GPA will be considered first (in my opinion).</p>
<p>Remember some of these schools accept less than 10% of applicants. International student applicants are competing with other international applicants and I think their %age of acceptance might actually be lower. Regardless…the first hurdle would be to be in the small %age of students who get accepted.</p>
<p>Need based aid is ALWAYS awarded based on student need. Student need is largely determined by looking at parent assets and income in U.S. Dollars.</p>
<p>The other thing to remember is that some schools are NOT need blind for admissions for international students. This means that they will look at your ability to pay when they look at your application for admissions. Some schools are need blind for international students. It varies and it’s worth checking.</p>
<p>There are some schools that do provide aid to international students. I hope Happymomof1 sees this thread because she has some good links to places where you can get information as an international student.</p>
<p>It’s good that you are starting to look now.</p>
<p>Thank you really for the reply! </p>
<p>I know that there are three major types of financial aid for students: grants, scholarships and loans. I’ve read that Harvard can even cover ALL of the costs, including money for everyday needs and plane tickets for the journey home and back. But is that a loan that I’ll have to give them back by working for some time after graduating?</p>
<p>cowalski, the type(s) of financial aid you receive…grants, scholarships, loans…will be dependent on the college to which you are accepted. You will be looking for institutional aid ONLY (you are not eligible for federally funded aid here as you are not a permanent resident or U.S. citizen). That being the case, your aid package will be completely determined by the colleges and funding provided by them. Some schools have “no loan” policies for very low income students. Some do not have that policy. You need to check EACH college financial aid website for this information.</p>
<p>The MOST generous schools (Harvard and similar schools) award decent financial aid based on THEIR calculations of your need. Again…including a loan in the package is up to the school’s policy regarding doing so. So…check each school website. Remember the no loan policy is usually for students with very low family incomes.</p>
<p>One thing to remember…most of these colleges, even the very generous, DO require a student contribution that is a couple of thousand dollars for freshmen, and increases in subsequent years.</p>
<p>cowalski -</p>
<p>You need to visit the International Students Forum, and hunt down the threads that have comments from b@r!um. She is the resident expert there on this topic. She has reported that she investigated 500 (yes five hundred) colleges in her search for the kind of aid that she needed.</p>
<p>You also need to read through everything at the website of EducationUSA, and then pay a visit to the advising center closest to where you live. There are several in Poland [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/Poland]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/Poland) These advisors are expert at helping students from your country find good places to study in the US, and they can tell you if those students received good scholarships and financial aid.</p>
<p>*even the very generous, DO require a student contribution that is a couple of thousand dollars for freshmen, and increases in subsequent years. *</p>
<p>Right…that is really the “spending money” for the student to use throughout the year.</p>
<p>As for money for transportation…some schools don’t include int’l travel costs…and the few that do might only allow for the trip for fall and the trip home in the spring. any additional flights (such as during Christmas) are not covered.)</p>
<p>And, Thumper is right… These schools look over your family’s income and savings to determine how much the family should pay. You need to talk to your parents about how much they’ll contribute. If they won’t contribute much or anything, that may be a problem.</p>
<p>You also need to understand the difference between need blind schools and need aware schools. Some schools are need blind for all i.e. they make their decision first and then determine if they can give you aid or cannot give you aid. So while making the decision, the admission committee does not know about your financial situation. Need aware schools are those that take into consideration ability to pay while making the decision. So even if you are qualified, they may not give you admission as they cannot give you aid.</p>
<p>For international students, most schools are need aware (they can be need blind for domestic and need aware for international at the same time). Verify if the school is need blind or need aware for international students before you apply. Duke for example asks international students to choose if they are looking for financial aid at that time of the application. If you say “NO”, then you are treated like a domestic candidate but they will not give you aid and you cannot change your mind. If you say “YES”, they will give you admission only if they can provide you necessary aid.</p>