<p>Deadline: March 1 or Feb. 1? It's March 1 on the website but I recall that on the College Board website it was February 1, and it was also Feb. 1 on the PDF you can download from the website that's entitled Harvard Fall 2011 Full Freshman Application.
Is there anything required aside from the CSS Profile and the wage statement? And should the latter be mailed or just sent to CB by scanning and e-mailing?
Can I submit the CSS Profile now?
How come no colleges require some form of ID/Passport photocopy? Shouldn't they verify that or something?</p>
<p>One more thing that's not related to Fin. Aid: On the timeline page on Harvard's website, they say Jan 1 is the postmark deadline for all materials, including the Personal Statement. I already submitted everything the Common App requires me to, and my teacher evaluations and secondary school report, but I have no idea what the personal statement is or if I'm missing out on anything. Am I?</p>
<p>It’s March 1. You just need the CSS and IDOC tax returns if (when) Harvard asks.
Don’t mail anything to CB until you get your IDOC instructions. You can submit the CSS online now. Colleges use your SSN to verify citizenship status, mostly. It’s very difficult to fake citizenship status, since you’re usually not eligible for full institutional aid coverage if you haven’t done federal grant programs i.e. the Pell, FAFSA etc. (doesn’t apply to Harvard).</p>
<p>Personal Statement= common app essay. relax. you’re fine.</p>
<p>^I know, and I don’t have a passport Submitted an ID photocopy instead. Has the same basic info anyway, and the support number people said it’s alright.</p>
<p>To be completely honest, you don’t have to have all of your materials in. I heard from a few dozen people who hadn’t fully applied for aid that Harvard was giving them some extra time to get the info in… after they were admitted in April.</p>
<p>Since Jimmy and I (I’m also Jimmy haha) are applying internationally, the best chances we have at a college are the most competitive ones. Even if accepted to the lower tiered schools, we will be unable to attend due to the 40k a year tuition fee.</p>
<p>I don’t think you can get a student loan if you’re an international. So yeah, those lower tiered schools that are begging for internationals? Internationals just can’t aford them.</p>
<p>^Schools charging close to 40K in tuition tend to provide great FA for domestic low-income students. Really, at the top few institutions, if you’re academically qualified, you will be able to attend, regardless of financial need. The problem is really with structural difficulties for low-income students to even get to the academic level required for admission, but that’s a different issue altogether. All in all, it is significantly harder for a low-income international student to finance a pricey US education than it is for a low-income domestic student to do so.</p>
<p>Well, depends on what you call a “great FA”… Also, it’s not only the top few institutions that charge very high tuition, nor is it only relevant to low-income students. </p>
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<p>True, but most low income international students don’t reside in the U.S. and are not looking to attending college over here either.</p>
<p>Meeting 100% of need, being no-loans, etc. or offering packages in a similar range are pretty generous, and are most commonly found among top institutions with large endowments (Harvard, Yale, Swarthmore), or small LACs that have mostly wealthy students and can afford to pick up the tab for a student who has demonstrated need (Sarah Lawrence, etc.)</p>
<p>Very few schools charge 40K tuition (about 43 in the US). Harvard charges 35K. There are some solid schools which CC members might consider middling, but offer $20,000 yearly tuitions (still expensive, but more manageable).</p>
<p>I’m not sure what your comment about relevancy to low-income students means. They tend to have low EFCs and have higher demonstrated needs, and be offered more FA.</p>
<p>Your second point is almost a tautology. By definition, international students are those who don’t hold legal residency in the US, so clearly, most of them don’t reside in the US. It’s also a valid point. But if you’re among the few international students applying to US schools, financing your education is a pain in the arse, especially without the benefits that US citizens are eligible for. Objectively, given two applicants who are equally academically qualified, the international student will have a harder time than a domestic student in financing her education.</p>
<p>To answer OP’s question, you actually don’t need to file your things on time, though it would certainly help. :o I got a pretty generous offer, and I was going back and forth with the financial aid office up until June; none of my documents were filed (income taxes, CSS Profile) before I was admitted. They’re truly need-blind.</p>
<p>everlynsita made it sound like every international isn’t able to afford a US college education. While there are many who can’t, there are still many who can. Top schools continue to do what they’ve always done: Admit a small portion of outstanding poor international students, and a larger portion of outstanding (but to a lesser extent) rich international students.</p>
Submitted an ID photocopy instead. Has the same basic info anyway, and the support number people said it’s alright.</p>
Also, it’s not only the top few institutions that charge very high tuition, nor is it only relevant to low-income students. </p>