Do colleges have bias against international students applying for financial aid?

Will not applying for financial aid as an international give me an advantage over other international applicants who are applying for financial aid when it comes to getting accepted?

It depends if the school is need aware or need blind for international students. If the school is need-aware, then not applying for/needing financial aid could help (assuming stats are competitive).

If the institution is need-blind for international students, then admissions will make its admit decision purely on the merits of your application, and will not consider your financial aid status.

Yes, being full pay will be an advantage at all but the five schools that are need-blind for internationals: HYP, MIT, and Amherst.

Can your family afford to pay full freight for your college education?

@fastfingers02

Can you family pay the full costs for you to attend college here? If not, apply for aid. The fact is…an acceptance that you can’t afford might just as well be a rejection.

Keep in mind also that international students who don’t apply for aid as incoming freshmen are not allowed to apply for aid in subsequent years at almost every college here.

Some things to keep in mind.

  1. First and foremost...if you can’t pay the college bills, you can’t attend the college. Some of these schools are over $70,000 a year USD.
  2. The colleges that meet full need for all here are highly competitive for admissions for international students regardless of how they pay. Admission rates at some are 5% or so for international students.
  3. You need a four year plan to pay for college. This means...you need to know how you can pay for college until you graduate. Not just for one year...or two...
  4. Free advice. Make sure you look at affordable colleges in your own country.
  5. Remember, you will need to complete a certificate of finances which shows you have the funds to pay for at LEAST one full year of college. Otherwise, you won’t get a visa to study here.

My family can afford 4 years of college in the US and my parents have a certificate of finances and all ready, so that is not a problem. Additionally, with my current family income, chances of getting financial aid are almost null. I just wanted to know how much of an advantage will being a full payer give me.

If you are able to fully find a college education here, that WILL be an advantage to some degree at schools that are need aware for admissions. You have no financial need for the school to fill.

But that would also be the case if you applied for aid. The data on the forms would show that the college had no financial need obligation to fill for you. Right?

Is being a full pay student something that will gain you admission to a college that you are not really competitive for in terms of admission…probably not.

BUT being full pay does open the door for you to apply to a much wider range of colleges here…including ones that don’t even give aid to international students. THAT is the big advantage to being able to be full pay. Much wider application options.