<p>My family income is less than $25,000 for our family of 6 (low cost of living here compared to the US). Our expenses every year amount to around $22,500. That leaves $2,500 for extra, though my parents declared in my applications that they won't contribute for my education through income (will save it/put it aside for emergencies).</p>
<p>But we have a lot of assets (at least for me they are). House has a current market value of $500,000. Another land worth $420,000. Savings worth $230,000. Investments of around $12,000. The thing is, these are not just under my parents' names; they're shared with their siblings. </p>
<p>My parents can afford to pay $15,000 a year (and that's stretching it already -- I will be responsible for $3,000 though my own immediate funds would probably allow me to only pay $1,000/year), which makes $60,000 at least for 4 years. I have 3 younger siblings. </p>
<p>My question is if $15,000/year is considered reasonable? Or would colleges expect me to pay more due to our assets? Based on US institutional aid methodology, what do you think will colleges compute as my EFC?</p>
<p>Thanks!!</p>
<p>First…EFC is a FAFSA term. As an international student you can NOT complete a FAFSA as it is for the awarding of U.S. federally funded need based aid. </p>
<p>You can use one of the online calculators and use the institutional methodology to get an ESTIMATE of what your family contribution will be to colleges.</p>
<p>A couple of things…look carefully at the schools to which you plan to apply. Some schools in this country do not offer need based aid at ALL to international students, some offer limited aid, and some offer the same aid.</p>
<p>Second. When you put in the assets, you put in YOUR family’s share of the asset value. You need to know that if your assets really ARE as high as you are posting, your eligibility for need based aid will be less.</p>
<p>MOST colleges in the U.S. are NOT need blind for admissions. They WILL consider your ability to pay when they consider your application for admission.</p>
<p>There are only a handful of colleges that are both need blind (do not consider need when admissions are considered) and also meet full financial need (Cost of attendance minus what THEY compute your family can pay). These are amongst the most competitive colleges in this country for admissions and they are even MORE competitive for international students.</p>
<p>Your family size factors into the financial aid equation a bit…but the reality is that unless your siblings are in college at the same time as you, that will not reduce your family contribution significantly.</p>
<p>Is $15,000 reasonable? Well…that depends. If you are attending a school that costs $52,000 a year then $15,000 will not come close to covering your costs of attending. The school will determine your family contribution using income AND assets. There is no way to predicte what the schools will award you. We don’t know the schools and we don’t know enough about your family finances (and I personally don’t want to know more). </p>
<p>So…run your numbers through an online calculator…but remember…check those college websites to see what their policies are for awarding need based aid to international students. YMMV.</p>
<p>Can you tell me how those assets compare to an average American family?</p>
<p>They are very high compared to an average US family. The very generous schools that even give aid to some higher income families limit some of their generous aid to families with “average assets” and the upper limit cut off I have seen mentioned is around $250,000 (which is more than most US families probably have).</p>
<p>Your assets are high. Most American families don’t own second real estate properties. They have a primary residence and that is it. IF and I mean IF a family has $230,000 in savings of here, it is usually retirement savings in an actual retirement account, not just money in the bank.</p>
<p>But your income is low.</p>