California Aid for Internationals?

Paying for College
1

<p>I'm from the Netherlands and I want to study in the USA.
Well, I want to apply to a lot of colleges, a few examples are: UCLA, USC, NYU and some Ivies. I just took a look at the USC site and this is what I read: </p>

<p>The United States government requires all international applicants to provide proof of ability to pay tuition and living expenses before a formal letter of admission, or the forms needed for obtaining a visa, can be issued.</p>

<p>Each applicant relying on personal or family support must furnish, at the time of application, an original financial-guarantee letter— preferably a bank letter—stating the sponsor's name and address and verifying the ability to pay the annual cost of education-related expenses (approximately U.S. $46,000) for the first academic year (nine months). This document must be verified by a bank. It is crucial that students submit a financial-guarantee letter with the application if they wish to receive notification of admission in a timely manner.</p>

<p>I'm in shock, so you don't even have to TRY if you don't have enough money? I think this is just ridiculous, right?
Should I still try to get accepted or what? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>StevenHilton, the requirement to be able to provide complete support is a long time one. The U.S. government wants to be sure that folks entering the country are able to be self supporting and are NOT going to be a financial burden to this country. I believe ALL international students must complete this form.</p>

<p>Now, having said that...when my son did his study abroad while in college, we had to guarantee the receiving country the same...that our son had sufficient financial support to pay all of his expenses while there. AND we had to even include our bank account numbers. I believe this is very standard.</p>

<p>What I do NOT know is how financial aid that some schools provide to international students affects this needed documentation. Regardless, you need to check each school on your prospective list to see if they even AWARD financial aid to international students. Some schools do and some schools do not. In any event, you would not be eligible for any federally funded financial aid provided by the U.S. government (Pell grants, etc)...I believe that is correct.</p>

<p>Swimcats or Sybbie might be able to fill in the blanks.</p>

3

<p>california state schools (and probably many other state colleges) barely have the funds to provide aid to students from their own state</p>

<p>Do not expect aid for international students to be generous at most/many state schools. Read the posts at the top of this board to see the many threads about aid for international students and where it is most available.</p>

<p>If my son wanted to study in the Netherlands, would your government or schools give him money to do so??</p>

4

<p>Thumper is correct - international students are not eligible for federal aid or probably for State funded aid. The only schools that are likely to provide any aid are those with large endowments that can provide institutional aid. That would not include State Us.</p>

5

<p>I don't understand why you are "in shock." What would be the point of applying to schools that you know in advance that you can't afford? Just to collect "trophy" acceptances?</p>

<p>It is not in the least bit ridiculous -- in fact, it is perfectly reasonable -- for State and federal governments to restrict the limited funds they have available for financial aid to residents only, since it is the taxpayers picking up the tab. If you need financial aid to study in the US, then you should limit your search to those schools that do offer assistance to international students. Just search for past posts on this discussion board and you will find some of these schools.</p>

<p>If you object to the rules, take USC off your list; otherwise, be prepared to comply and submit the required documentation.</p>

6

<p>YOu may actually qualify for merit aid at a school like USC. The chances of merit aid at a UC are slim, maybe a regent's if you are amazing, but not likely. Look at private schools for which you may earn merit aid, then be prepared to pay at least half the costs</p>

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<p>Thank you all for responding. The reason why I'm 'shocked' is because here in The Netherlands studying is free, our goverment provides all the money. I think studying in the USA is really expensive, and I think I'm not the only one who does. But still, I really want to study there. I now understand why they do not provide Financial Aid for internationals. </p>

<p>And to worried_mom: what do you exactly mean with the "trophy" sentence? I've simply picked all the colleges I like, I think that's the first step in the whole process. Now I'm figuring out which schools offer financial aid to internationals. </p>

<p>Anyway, Thanks! And if someone has more information about this, please tell me!</p>

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<p>"Trophy acceptances" is a term sometimes used here to denote college acceptances that are collected just so the student can brag about how many prestigious colleges they got into -- even though they have no intention of going to any of them. </p>

<p>As an example, when a student is accepted under a school's Early Decision program, they are supposed to immediately withdraw all other pending applications. But many students do not do that because they want to see where else they would be accepted. At that point, however, it's solely for bragging rights, since ED is binding and they can't choose any of the other schools anyway.</p>

9

<p>Steven, In another one of your threads, (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/551679-i-really-need-some-help-application-process.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/551679-i-really-need-some-help-application-process.html&lt;/a&gt;) I just gave you some links for websites that have information to help you identify the colleges that offer financial aid to international students. I also sent you a private message with some additional advice. </p>

<p>I agree, however, with what the other wise moms have told you here: it makes little sense to apply to colleges that you can not afford if they do not offer financial aid for international students. There are very, very few "free rides" at U.S. colleges, even for U.S. citizens, and especially for international students. Competition for the few that exist is typically very intense. I wish that our government provided free college educations to our citizens, but most students in the U.S. have to pay something towards their educations. </p>

<p>My advice is this: be sure to sit down with your parents and dicuss exactly how much your family is able and willing to contribute to your education in the U.S. BEFORE you start drawing up a list of colleges. Listen carefully to what your parents have to say, because you will need their financial support to study here.</p>

<p>Then, go to the OACAC link I gave in the thread above. Open the database for the handful of U.S. colleges that offer financial aid for international students, and look at the average financial aid packages given to international students at each school. Subtract that amount out from the cost of attendance, allowing extra for airfare. If it is way off of what your parents can contribute, or are WILLING to contribute, then you need to investigate carefully whether there are other sources of aid such as merit scholarships to make up the difference, and what the qualifications are for getting merit money.</p>

<p>However, it is also VERY important to understand the way financial aid is determined here in the U.S. for international students. It is done somewhat differently than it is for U.S. citizens, and as a result, many international students are disappointed when they receive their financial aid offers. </p>

<p>Colleges will ask you and your family to provide detailed information about your family's income, assets (the value of your house, bank accounts, even family jewelry), and other personal information about your financial situation. Colleges will use that information to determine how much THEY think your family should be able to pay. The number may not match up with what your family thinks they can pay, or what they are willing to pay, so those "average" awards in the OACAC database may be very different than what your family will actually end up being offered.</p>

<p>It's important to have these conversations with your family now, before you apply. I've worked with too many international students who hoped that somehow money would magically appear and make studying in the U.S. possible, even though their families were unable or unwilling to contribute. Make sure this doesn't happen to you, and also consider very, very carefully whether studying for four years in the U.S. is worth turning down a FREE college education in the Netherlands. You may be better off looking for opportunities to come to the U.S. as an exchange student for a year through a university in the Netherlands.</p>

<p>We're not trying to discourage you -- but it is important to consider all of the possibilities as you make decisions about your future. Good luck!</p>

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<p>My advice- stay in Europe. You have a great deal there- I think you can even go to other universities in the EU countries for free. Maybe you can come to the US as a graduate student on scholarship from your own country. But don't expect to get much here as an international student. The state of California, for example, has a 15 billion dollar budget deficit, no state budget yet, and the Governor has threatened to cut education funding by 10%. There's no money for children of taxpayers, let alone for non-citizens. Get your excellent free Dutch education and good luck to you!</p>