<p>Hello everyone! I have had a post <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1563062-how-does-oxford-compare-us-schools-2.html?highlight=oxford%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1563062-how-does-oxford-compare-us-schools-2.html?highlight=oxford</a> and I learned a whole lot about how to get into Oxbridge as a US student. Know that I know how to get in I was wondering:
How do I get financial aid? I heard that there is little to no aid for US students, something that would kill my hopes of going to Oxbridge seeing as my family has an income level of 80-120k a year + we already have a kid in college so I would need a lot of aid to be able to attend (if I get in of course).
Thanks for all the help!</p>
<p>Have you applied yet? I think the deadline is today. There is virtually no financial help for international students at Oxford. There are some scholarships offered at Cambridge but most are only partial so you will still have to pay the majority of the cost yourself. Personally I don’t think there’s much point applying if you can’t fund at least 75% of the cost yourself (and even then, the chance of getting financial aid to make up the rest is small).</p>
<p>No offence but asking people to do your research for you makes me wonder whether you’re right for Oxbridge. All the information you need will be on Oxford’ and Cambridge’s websites… you really should be able to find it yourself.</p>
<p>I am a junior, so I won’t be applying until next year. I am not asking you to “do my research for me” I simply value the input of students who are at Oxbridge and who have experience with the scholarships offered. If scholarships and any need aid is not enough then I will not be attending Oxbridge, simple as that. I was just wondering because if I know that it is impossible to attend even if I get in then I won’t waste my time with it and I will focus my efforts on domestic schools instead.
Thanks</p>
<p>Financial aid per se doesn’t really exist in the UK for international students. I’m afraid that the funding model is based on international students financially shoring up unis, whilst UK students can be in receipt of significant FA. However, I believe that it is possible to use some US student loans to study in the UK. </p>
<p>However, it should be noted that costs of attendance are invariably lower in the UK than at a similar US institution, because
- tuition fees are usually cheaper
- a degree takes only three years, not four
- cost of living isn’t that high - outside London, £7500-8000 per year should do it, if you wish to live comfortably but not extravagantly.
- if you want a part time job, wages are higher in most sectors - you’ll earn a minimum of £6.31 ($10.14)
- you’ll be entitled to free healthcare from the NHS (yep, socialised medicine, and it’s a fantastic system).
However, you’ll also have to budget for the costs of flights.</p>
<p>You might message uscamstudent, who has info specifically for Cambridge (usually she pops up on her own, but her term has just started so she might not be minding CC as regularly.</p>
<p>To enter the UK on a student visa you have to prove you have enough funds to cover your living and tuition costs for the entire duration of your course. So you cannot say you will pay for it out of future earnings (if you were considering that. I know you did not mention it). Also, the economy being what it is at the moment means part time jobs for students are in short supply. </p>
<p>You are extremely unlikely to obtain any significant financial aid from a UK source (book grants and the like for a few £100s are common, but you will need £1000s). As mentioned above, foreign students are the cash cows that fund the system in the UK.</p>
<p>Also if that 80-120k is US $ you will be considered quite wealthy by UK standards and would likely not be eligible for any income based aid. I don’t even know if that exists for foreign students, but for UK students I know they used to get extra government loans if the family income is less than £25k and more if less than £17k I think. That is less than $40k US. This may have gone up since I graduated.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I thought this as well. My household income was around $22k per year and I didn’t get any funding or scholarships from my university, only the bigger loan and maintenance grant from the government. Oxford and Cambridge will almost certainly focus the small number of grants and scholarships they have on the very poorest.</p>