<p>Is filling out CSS profile worth it? Taking loans? Do colleges give good grant or scholarships? (For international students)</p>
<p>It’s not worth it to take more than $5,500 in loans your first year. if you need financial aid, apply for it: what’s the point of not applying for financial aid, getting in, and not being able to go because you don’t have money?
However, if your family can pay all but $5,000 or so, yes it’s worth it NOT to apply for financial aid because getting in will become much easier.</p>
<p>You can’t borrow any money here except if the college/university offers its own loans to international students, or if you have a fully qualified US citizen or legal permanent resident who will co-sign the loans with you. That means that if you are going to borrow money, you will need to do that in your own country. </p>
<p>Colleges and universities decide for themselves how much they think your family can pay. So if you need aid, apply for it. It isn’t useful to be admitted somewhere that you can’t afford without the aid. Check each college/university website to find out if they do indeed offer any aid for international students. Many don’t.</p>
<p>MYOS1634 is correct that if your family can pay for most of your education, and would only need to borrow a little bit of money to make up the difference, then it might be best to not apply for aid and just plan to pay for it yourselves. There are a fair number of colleges and universities that do not admit international students unless those students can demonstrate that they can cover the full costs of their studies.</p>
<p>Lastly, no matter what you think or what the college/university thinks, if the visa officer who interviews you for the student visa doesn’t believe that you have enough money to pay for your studies, you won’t get that visa. So make certain that you can demonstrate that the money really, truly, is there.</p>
<p>Filling the CSS is no commitment to take loans! It just gives colleges an idea of what you can pay and how much you will need to assist that college.
Saying that, the amount of grants and loans you will receive depends on the college. You need to find which colleges give good aid, with few loans. Regarding loans, i agree with MYOS. I would not take loans higher than $5000. It’s just too much. You should analyze your options carefully.</p>