<p>Hey guys! I'm a Chinese high school senior who is also a recruited track athlete. I'm applying to a prestigious LAC through ED and have already sent all my documents to the admission office. But there is still something that really bothers me. My family will gonna need roughly 20000 dollars of aid per year to get me through college. Otherwise, life will be much harder. Yet applying for financial aids might screw my application since the budget for international students is quite limited. This college has long been my dream school and this ED chance is so precious that should be treated discreetly. My question is, since I am a recruited athlete, which could serve as a "hook", will my chance be boosted even if I ask for aids or the fellows in the admission office will be like "Aid? No pile." Should I apply for financial aid or not? Struggling.</p>
<p>Any thought? 
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<p>What’s the use of not applying for FA if u cannot afford to attend w/o aid?</p>
<p>It’s not that my parents earn 40000 dollar a year and w/o the extra 20000 dollar I cannot literally pay the tuition and fee. It’s that attending college w/o the aid for four years will deplete my family’s savings and that is quite a risky thing to do because I live in Shanghai where the cost of living is incredibly high. We also have to support all four of my grandparents and have to save enough amount of money in case we run out of money for the potential medical expenses, which can be formidable. Financial aid will help us a lot. </p>
<p>@GMTplus7 But thanks anyway! 
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US citizenss would also prefer not to do a risky thing like deplete all their savings for a rainy day to spend it on college.</p>
<p>And that’s why they apply for aid. @GMTplus7 </p>
<p>You misinterpret my meaning. When US citizens have significant non retirement-fund savings, colleges expect them to spend that money on college. They’re not going to give u FA just because u prefer to save the money for something else.</p>
<p>So you are saying college will take every penny from you simply because you have it? You can’t start to save money after you got cancer right? And by the way, my family’s savings ain’t no significant so we do not “prefer” to save the money for something else. We have to. @GMTplus7 </p>
<p>Thanks for your response.</p>
<p>I think GMTplus7’s point is that just because you think you need financial aid doesn’t mean the school will agree. Your family will be expected to contribute to the cost of your education the same way an American’s family would. I would get on the financial aid web page for the college and do the calculations to figure out how much, if any, aid you would qualify for. The college FA department will treat different types of savings differently. For instance, money in a retirement account to which your parents don’t have full access will be treated different from a bank account in your name.</p>
<p>College financing in the US can be painful. Most American families start saving for college before their kids are out of diapers.</p>
<p>I did use the NPC to calculate my family contribution and it showed that I would get approximately twenty-five grand from college if I’m admitted. Though the Net Price Calculator is for US citizens only, the number still means something. That’s why I post this question. I’m struggling between reality and my irresponsible dream. </p>
<p>Thanks for your reply.@Sue22 </p>
<p>My question would be, can your family really come up with the extra $100,000 on top of the $150,000 or so it would cost your family to pay for 4 years of college even with financial aid? There’s no point in applying to an expensive school if you’ll run out of money before graduation. If you need aid you’ll need to apply this year. If you don’t your chances of getting aid in subsequent years is slim to none.</p>
<p>The good news is that as a recruited athlete you may go to the front of the line for international financial aid. Do you know where you fall on the coach’s list? If you’re his/her number one prospect you’re probably in good shape. If you’re in the “we’d like to have him/her too in case we don’t get our top prospects” category your chances may be more tenuous.</p>
<p>The other good news is that many of the top LAC’s give international aid in the form of grants, not loans, so unlike US students you’re likely to come out of college without much debt. Of course you’d need to confirm this on the college’s website.</p>
<p>Little known fact: LACs don’t receive many applications from full-pay international applicants. (International students who can shell out $60K a year for a college education seem to prefer universities with name recognition.) I think you should apply for financial aid in the ED round. If you don’t get accepted, you can apply to other LACs in the regular round without financial aid. And if you’re qualified for admission, you will get offers in the regular round even without the ‘recruited athlete’ hook.</p>
<p>By the way, being a recruited athlete does not automatically translate in an admissions advantage. I know LACs where coaches have zero input into admission decisions. (But I also know a LAC, Haverford in particular, where the coaches wish list is given very serious consideration.)</p>
<p>Dude, no point of applying when you can’t afford the school.
Colleges decide whether you need how much, not you. They expect you to pay if you have money unless it’s like for your medical expense, retirement, etc. </p>
<p>You are a recruited athlete. The coach wants you. Apply for the aid. You have a much better chance of getting aid that the college/university thinks you need than a student who isn’t a recruited athlete has.</p>
<p>And do talk with your parents about your options in case the aid doesn’t come through. If this coach wants you, another will, and the money might be there for you somewhere else.</p>
<p>“It’s that attending college w/o the aid for four years will deplete my family’s savings and that is quite a risky thing to do because I live in Shanghai where the cost of living is incredibly high. We also have to support all four of my grandparents and have to save enough amount of money in case we run out of money for the potential medical expenses, which can be formidable. Financial aid will help us a lot.”</p>
<p>Financial aid is not there because you would prefer to save money for other purchases. And US schools are not as sympathetic to the “I have to support the entire extended family” argument; do you realize that anyone could claim that they have to support an entire extended family? That’s not the college’s problem. </p>
<p>Yes, attending an elite LAC is a luxury good, like a Mercedes. So it’s meant to tap into your family savings. </p>
<p>First of all, thanks for sharing your thoughts.@Pizzagirl I apologize for my words if they really bother you. So what exactly, according to you, do “demonstrated needs” mean?</p>
<p>They will expect you to dip into your family’s savings, just like American students have to. </p>
<p>Demonstrating need means that you NEED the money, not that you would LIKE the money. </p>