<p>assuming the tuition of a college is about $13,000 how much would it end up being if I got enough financial aid, etc.? assuming my family can pay up to $5,000 only...</p>
<p>You already answered your own question.
"how much would it end up being if I got enough financial aid"
If you got enough aid, you would only have to pay as much as you could afford, which seems to be $5,000.</p>
<p>While American students go about their college search in a "pick the college that you would like to attend and then see how you can afford it" manner, internationals have to do it the other way round. Make a list of college that you could afford and then make your pick from those.</p>
<p>Financial aid varies significantly among colleges. If you apply (and are admitted) to colleges that award need-based aid to international students, the amount of aid depends on what the college judges your need to be. When I got my fin aid offers in April, the packages expected my family to contribute between 6K and 13K - a huge difference (our own estimate was 5K max).
Be warned that only the most selective colleges and universities in the US award need-based aid to internationals.</p>
<p>Then there are scholarships. How much merit aid you get depends on your qualifications and the generosity of the college. For anything in the amount of full tuition or above, you need at least a 1200/1600 SAT score. Two colleges that I can think of at the top of my head that might be in your price range with merit aid:
- Park University. A 1260 SAT would qualify you for a full tuition scholarship and a $2000 housing grant. Regular room & board rates are $5300 a year, leaving you with $3300 to pay for tuition, room and board.
- Southern Arkansas University. A 1310 SAT score would make you competitive for their highest valued scholarship for internationals, valued about $9400 a year. Total estimated expenses for tuition, room&board, books, supplies and medical insurance is estimated at about $13,300 a year, leaving you with expenditures of about $4000 for those items.</p>
<p>Financial aid varies significantly among colleges. If you apply (and are admitted) to colleges that award need-based aid to international students, though there are only few and they are among the most selective colleges in the US, the amount of aid depends on what the college judges your need to be. When I got my fin aid offers in April, the packages expected my family to contribute between 6K and 13K - a huge difference (our own estimate was 5K max).
Then there are scholarships. How much merit aid you get depends on your qualifications and the generosity of the college. For anything in the amount of full tuition or above, you need at least a 1200/1600 SAT score. Two colleges that I can think of at the top of my head that might be in your price range with merit aid:
- Park University. A 1260 SAT would qualify you for a full tuition scholarship and a $2000 housing grant. Regular room & board rates are $5300 a year, leaving you with $3300 to pay for tuition, room and board.
- Southern Arkansas University. A 1310 SAT score would make you competitive for their highest valued scholarship for internationals, valued about $9400 a year. Total estimated expenses for tuition, room&board, books, supplies and medical insurance is estimated at about $13,300 a year, leaving you with expenditures of about $4000 for those items.</p>
<p>You can also hold an on-campus job to cover your personal expenses during the academic year. Private outside scholarships are nice to add disburden your budget, but don't rely on them in the first place.</p>
<p>And when making your budget, don't forget to consider expenses for travel, insurances, break housing and purchases of stuff that you cannot bring with you due to a lack of space or incompatibility with the American standards (bedding, towels, a first aid kid, a table desk lamp, a hairdryer, cloth hangers, extension cords, maybe a mini fridge and table- and silverware...)</p>
<p>thanks....
its too late for me to apply for financial aid for this semester, though. </p>
<p>can you suggest anything i can do to help pay for my tuition besides scholarships?</p>
<p>Glam, you need to be careful. It's dangerous to start a school without aid and expect to get aid later. There is very little aid out there for intnls, and most colleges use it to attract the very top ones out there. Not many would give you aid later unless you're very unusual.</p>
<p>I agree with collegekid.. Most schools don't let students apply for financial aid during their school years...
Students who get financial aid when they arrive at the school may apply to get more fin.aid as the year progresses - however, students who don't receive fin.aid in their first year, generally cant apply to get any money for the remaining years.</p>
<p>How good are your stats? The very top colleges - HYP, MIT, Williams and Middlebury - are need-blind for internationals, ie. they don't look at your ability to pay/not pay when deciding whether to admit you or not.</p>
<p>i'm hardly a "top" student :(</p>
<p>I was thinking about taking out some student loans...would you advise this?</p>
<p>The problem with loans is that you'll have to cumber their weight not just through college, but also afterwards. This could be a potentially major setback if you're planning to do grad right after undergrad. Sure, you can slog it off and pay them back, but they are...tricky. Are you in the running for any scholarships? A lot of state univs and smaller privates offer great merit scholarships for internationals...might wanna look into that.</p>
<p>Can you take out a student loan in your home country? You would need an American co-signer to get a student loan in the US. And you not only need to find a way to pay for this semester but the 3 or 7 semesters after that, too. Keep in mind that there are no high valued scholarships for transfer students.</p>