<p>I'm an international student currently living in the United States, and I've already gotten into a couple of colleges. However, I know that paying for these colleges will be pretty tough, as I do not think I qualify for any financial aid. I can get merit scholarships, but the schools I've applied to are pretty big schools with a lot of students, and I don't think they will be able to give everyone money.</p>
<p>So, would it help me to fill out the FAFSA and CSS form on collegeboard? Should I even bother?</p>
<p>Wait, do you have a green card? Are you a US “citizen”? You have to make sure you’re eligible to fill the FAFSA. If not, you have to go through a different process…</p>
<p>^Then you don’t qualify for the FAFSA or federal aid. Sorry. What you need to is see schools who offer NEED-BASED aid to internationals. If you have good stats, you can also look for merit-aid.</p>
<p>The above applies to FAFSA and its limitation to aid for US citizens and permanent residents. There are colleges that provide need-based financial aid to internationals, see partial list at [eduPASS</a> | Financial Aid for International Students | Schools with Aid for Undergraduates](<a href=“http://www.edupass.org/finaid/undergraduate.phtml]eduPASS”>Schools with Financial Aid for International Students - eduPASS), and a number of those require the CSS so check your colleges for thier rules because you could be approaching deadlines for submitting a CSS at some colleges.</p>
<p>US citizens, legal permanent residents, and certain other non-citizens qualify for federally determined aid by filing the FAFSA. You need to visit [Home</a> - FAFSA on the Web-Federal Student Aid](<a href=“http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/]Home”>http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/) and read through the details in order to find out if you fall into that last category.</p>
<p>Some colleges and universities use the FAFSA for determining their own institutional financial aid. This means that you file it even if you aren’t eligible for the federal money.</p>
<p>Depending on the state where you are living and studying, you may qualify for in-state tuition and fees at the public institutions, and you may qualify for state aid. Don’t forget to ask your counselor for help finding out about that.</p>
I guess I should talk to my counselor then.</p>