Hi, I’m an international student from Poland. My parents are self-employed and while my mom’s earnings are quite stable, my dad’s are all over the place.
He had a great 2015, acheving around $200k salary
In 2016, his income is negative. How is it possible? He had to pay taxes for money he wasn’t paid and he will be fighting for many years in court for, but on his tax report the amount he was supposed to be paid is present. It is how law works in Poland - even if you aren’t paid, if you want someone to pay you for something, you have to pay taxes for that - only way of getting that money back in the future. This dropped our 2016 real income to about $20-25k, while the tax report says almost $120k. In 2017 it might be even less.
How do I communicate that to the colleges? Do I just submit a normal CSS and then write an e-mail, maybe call each school I’m applying to? Or should I only do it after the decision?
I don’t want to have my chances impaired by financial complications, and I can’t afford paying $60k a year. Many colleges state that if they give financial aid to internationals, it stays the same for 4 years or at least that’s how I understood it.
You can write a letter or email with an explanation. Generally FA is recalculated each year. That said, I suspect you won’t get much more FA based on your explanation; be sure you have an affordable backup plan.
Let’s start here. This is NOT true. You apply for need based aid annually…and every year your need based aid is calculated anew. If you get a ton of need based aid first year…and your income goes up a lot…your need based aid using the higher income tax year will go down.
Another thing…MOST colleges do not meet full need for all students. So remember that. And even less colleges guarantee to meet full need for all international students.
For the 2017-2018 school year, your income from 2015 WILL be used to calculate your need based aid. I seriously doubt you will be able to get a school to reconsider that.
For the record…you don’t have an unusual financial situation at all. There are other students who have self employed parents with fluctuating incomes. It’s the way it is for the self employed often.
For,the 2018-2019 school year, your income from 2016 will be used.
Keep on mind that your “real income” just. Ishtar be what they use for you.
As an international student, there are a lot of schools that are need aware. This means your financial need IS considered when your application for admissions is considered.
There is a spot on the Profile to put additional information. You can include your info there.
Oh…one other thing…remember again…MOST colleges do NOt meet full need for all students and even less do for international students.
Are you also looking at affordable,options closer to home?
First, it sounds like your dad’s business is taxed as income accrues, not when it is paid. If he doesn’t end up getting paid, he then has to prove that it is uncollectable to get a deduction for the amount oreviously taxed.
I’m not sure how colleges see FA when income is taxed at accrual, since there is no cash there available. I would write a letter saying just that about the amount he did not get paid this year. They need to know that.
All presuming the school gives FA to internationals, and even meets need.
But @HRSMom the issue is…the dad didn’t get income in 2016. The financial aid forms for 2017-2018 are using the 2015 tax year information…not 2016.
And already we have heard of one school that is NOT making adjustments to a different tax year income.
The 2016 income will be used for the 2018-2019 school year.
To,the OP…do you have outstanding grades and an excellent ACT or SAT score? Perhaps you should consider schools where you could get merit aid that will not be dependent on a fluctuating self employed income.
If you do submit an explanation on the Profile or otherwise, try to use more sophisticated language than you did in your post so the situation is very clear. The terminology used by @HRSMom in her post–income being reported as it accrued rather than as it was received–is the way to go. But it seems to me your first obstacle will be finding a way to document your dad’s situation, since it doesn’t appear that his tax return will help. The colleges aren’t just going to take your word for it.
Use the terminology @HRSMom provided when searching for answers to your questions on google or individual college websites (assuming that terminology accurately describes the situation). You may not find answers that apply directly to international students but you can figure out how schools treat US domestic students in the same situation and then ask if international students are treated the same and what documentation is needed.
Thank you all for your answers, I will definitely send an email to colleges. Thanks for clearing up my misunderstanding @thumper1
I’m applying to Top schools, I’ve got a 1520 SAT, 800 Math 2 760 German Subjects, 43 predicted IB diploma and was an exchange student in the US where I got a 4.3GPA. Polish GPA is really high too but no idea how to translate it to the US system. I also got awards, scholarships for academic achievement and some contests won + some extracurriculars like tennis at a competetive level[maybe not D1, but definitely D3], politics, meteorology and some other volunteering.
And yes, I do have back-up plans in the UK, Italy, Germany or even Poland, but US is by far my Top Choice.
Also I will definitely try to use More precise language in the official documents my dad has an official letter asking for the payment and the response that he won’t be getting it + almost a finished lawsuit so we might send it to the admission if they will ask for proof.
My dad said that he sees my genuine excitement and determination to study in the US so he will even find the 60k$ for the first year but he is afraid he won’t manage $240+ As its hell lot of money in a country where the average salary is below 12k a year.
my dad has an official letter asking for the payment and the response that he won’t be getting it + almost a finished lawsuit so we might send it to the admission if they will ask for proof.