<p>I live in US but am not permanent resident or citizen so I will apply to college as international student. Is it harder for international student to get financial aid than for permanent resident or citizen? If so is it much harder or just a little harder? Thank you very much for your thoughtful responses.</p>
<p>It’s much harder. Internationals don’t qualify for Federal grants, loans and work study which is generally a significant component of an aid package. Colleges have limited money for internationals and many to choose from.</p>
<p>In a few states you can qualify for in state tuition at your state schools if you went to high school in the state.</p>
<p>Very few colleges provide aid for internationals, and those colleges are places like HPYS, the most difficult to gain admission to in this country. It’s even harder for internationals to be admitted to such colleges than it is for American citizens.</p>
<p>I am grateful to the two moms for responding. May I ask you more questions. I have very high GPA, SAT, and ACT scores. My extracurriculars are much stronger that any other student in my school. I play varsity tennis and soccer. I do hundreds of hours volunteering in my community. I also live in the United States for nearly six years. I must apply as international applicant because my family are not citizens. I very much hope to attend a leading university like Harvard or Princeton but this is very difficult. Do international applicants have a more difficult time being accepted to these great universities than citizens? Do you think these universities would allow me to be considered with citizens because I have lived in the United States for so many years? Will my need for strong financial aid be any hindrance to my goals? What are the best leading universities for applicants in this situation? I live in New York. Are my chances applying to distant schools like Stanford increased? Thank you for your kind attention and wisdom.</p>
<p>You’ll have to check with each college you are interested in as policies will vary by school, but it only takes a few minutes since most schools clearly state their policies on their websites.</p>
<p>For example, Harvard says it makes no distinction between citizens and non-citizens in admissions or financial aid decisions:</p>
<p>[Harvard</a> College Admissions § Applying: International Applicant Information](<a href=“http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/index.html]Harvard”>http://www.admissions.college.harvard.edu/apply/international/index.html). </p>
<p>Princeton says the same:</p>
<p>[Princeton</a> University | International Students](<a href=“http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/faq/international_students/]Princeton”>http://www.princeton.edu/admission/applyingforadmission/faq/international_students/)</p>
<p>Even though they say it’s true, do you really thing Harvard and Princeton make no distinction between citizens and non-citizens in admissions? There are some pretty dynamic people out there, if these schools really didn’t make a distinction, it seems to me that there’d be a whole lot more internationals on campus, especially undergrads.</p>
<p>I don’t believe colleges when they say this. I think need-blind schools peek at an applicant’s financial situation, and I think schools also treat internationals differently than citizens, no matter what they say. The numbers seem to be in alignment year after year, which tells me there’s more to the process than “blind” consideration of applicants. But what do I know?</p>
<p>actually I have also been wondering if the need-blind colleges really don’t peak at the applicants’ financial needs when reviewing the application…</p>
<p>shanghaison -</p>
<p>You need to find out just exactly how much your family can afford to pay for your education. You also need to find out if you can work with your current visa status (so that you can help pay for your education), and if you can study with your current visa status or if you will need to convert to an F1. When you know about your personal financial situation, you will be able to look around for schools that you can afford without aid (there should be good options in NY), and for schools where your profile will make you competitive for financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks happymom. I can not work in the United States so my boss pays me cash. I make only a small pay. My parents have applied for a change of status but the process can take many years. I have two younger sisters so my parents don’t make enough money to pay for my college education. I am hoping that I can get into HYPS because I have read many times that these universities are willing to provide financial aid for people like me who have low incomes. If these unversities judge me against other high school applicants than I will have a good chance of acceptance. If they judge me differently because I am international then I will be very sad.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about visas and stuff but I attend an open house recently for several East Coast schools and a question was asked about internationals living in the US. They said that internationals are treated the same no matter where they live and that an international who needs tons of aid can’t apply ED. So I think it is harder on you dudes. Good luck though.</p>
<p>You may qualify the merit scholarship in other decent schools. You face paramount competition from student living elsewhere but America.</p>
<p>katrinayin, this is what I am trying to discover. I have lived in the United States for many years and am a typical American teenager. Are you saying that I will be judged against other Internationals and not against American applicants?</p>
<p>Yes, you will be judged against internationals. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve lived here or how American you act. There’s much less aid available for internationals, so the competition is very fierce for those admission spots. Some colleges want internationals in order to increase the diversity of their student body, particularly their students’ exposure to various cultures. For such colleges, you’ll be at a disadvantage compared to international applicants who are living in their home countries.</p>
<p>“If these unversities judge me against other high school applicants than I will have a good chance of acceptance.”</p>
<p>No matter how wonderful your stats and ECs are, virtually no one has a good chance of acceptance at places like HPYS, which routinely turn down outstanding students whom other good colleges would be thrilled to accept. </p>
<p>Even an Olympic gold medalist was turned down by Harvard. </p>
<p>Take a close look at the CC boards here for HPYS and look at who was accepted and rejected last spring.</p>
<p>I also see that your parents work underground and don’t file taxes. I don’t think it will be possible for you to get financial aid from any college without your parents providing tax records.</p>
<p>shanghaison -</p>
<p>You need to find out what the policies are for determination of state residency for tuition purposes at the various public universities, colleges, and community colleges in the state where you reside. You may be eligible for in-state tuition and fees even though you aren’t a citizen or permanent resident.</p>
<p>You also need to look for institutions that have good merit aid for students with your statistics. Again, some won’t make that aid available to international students, but some will. You can get an excellent education at a lower-ranked institution if you are willing to put forth the effort. Most of what you get out of college is up to you.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>My state sees me as a resident because I will graduate from a state high school but I can not afford this tuition anyway. I will either hit the jack pot and be accepted by a great university that will pay for my education or I will be screwed. My family just does not have money. My saving is $1100.</p>
<p>Even to get merit aid, some universities require that you submit a FAFSA, which means your parents’ tax info will be needed. No chance of getting financial aid without tax info. It’s very difficult to get merit aid covering everything.</p>
<p>You may have to start at community college, which probably is affordable for you if you work and live at home.</p>
<p>It is very very difficult for international student, regardless of their residency in US, to get a financial aid. Thats a fact. Its like int’l studnets getting in US Med schools. </p>
<p>As others have already said, there is extremely limited fund for a whole lot of students. Plus most of international student financial aid are from external (not the school) institutions and they tend to be quite objective on selecting a candidate. so its difficult to tell you
your chances.</p>
<p>BTW…</p>
<p>Even if you somehow get a great scholarship from some US school that is far away, the scholarship won’t cover EVERYTHING…such as travel…So, how are you going to pay for your trips back and forth (summers, winter break, spring break, etc)?</p>
<p>And, I agree with what others have posted…if your family doesn’t file taxes, you won’t be able to do a FAFSA. Your only hope is to find a private school (I don’t think publics can help you), that will award you an automatic merit scholarship for your stats…but even that will likely not cover “everything” (such as food, books, fees, etc). So, how will you pay for that?</p>
<p>BTW…I think when HYP says that they view citizens and non-citizens equally…I think they mean citizens and legal permanent residents. I don’t think they mean citizens and internationals without residency. But, I could be wrong.</p>
<p>Another option…have you considered applying to colleges in your home country? Are there any scholarships there?</p>