<p>Hey, </p>
<p>I am an international student and I'll start college next year and I have an older brother who is already going to college in UK. </p>
<p>Now, most of the money for college is coming from my parents' savings. Before my brother went to college, my parents estimated that from their income & savings they could pay around $60k each for my brother and me. </p>
<p>Since course duration for an undergraduate degree in UK is 3 years, my parents are paying ~$20k a year for my brother. But since I want to go to college in US, they can only afford ~$15k a year for me (as the course length in US is 4 years).</p>
<p>So, how should I explain this situation in the financial aid application? Would the colleges understand that my parents are actually contributing the same amount of money for both their children?</p>
<p>Schools don’t care what budget your parents have for college. Your parents could have a budget of $15k per year, but the school may say they need to pay MORE. Schools will determine how much your family should pay after they look at your parents income and savings. </p>
<p>And once your brother graduates, schools will expect your parents to pay even MORE. This will be a big problem for you. There will be at least 2 years that you will be in college and your brother won’t be. At that point, the amount that your parents are expected to pay will likely double.</p>
<p>Think about it…every family could say, “we have budgeted XX dollars for college per year for each child.” Why should a school care about some arbitrary number that a family decides? Maybe the family has set that number so that they can still afford a bunch of luxuries or a pricey house. That’s why schools don’t care what the “budget” is. The schools will decide what your family should pay. and, of course, I’m talking about schools that meet need for int’ls…which most schools aren’t.</p>
<p>If you want to be SURE that your family only has to pay $15k per year (even after your brother graduates), then you need to apply to some schools that will give you a huge merit scholarship so that your remaining costs are $15k per year.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that most schools do not give much/any aid to int’ls.</p>
<p>Colleges will not care what your parents want to pay. The very few that are need blind for international will ask for info on their income and assets and tell you what they expect them to pay. But even that is at a small handful of schools. Others will just decide what they want to give you, if anything. Getting all but $15K will be extremely difficult in the US unless you’re a very top student.</p>
<p>The CSS Profile requires quite an extensive range of information regarding a family’s earnings and expenses. And, as far as I’ve checked, most of the colleges I want to apply to also require financial aid applicants to submit their parents’ income tax returns. </p>
<p>Shouldn’t the information on the income tax returns and the information I provide on the CSS Profile be enough to show that my parents really can’t afford to pay more than $15k for me?</p>
<p>Maybe…it depends on what your parents have for income, savings, investments, etc. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that family contribution is not based on paying out of current income. There’s an assumption that parents will pay using savings, current income and loans. </p>
<p>And again, once your sibling graduates, the schools will think…ok, now they’re not paying for Child 1, so now they can pay double.</p>
<p>Well, my parents earn ~$31k a year (trust me, that’s a lot of money here) and at the moment we have ~$55k in savings. My brother would be in his final year next year. </p>
<p>So, wouldn’t it be unreasonable for colleges to think that “this student is paying $15k, but since his brother’s going to graduate next year, we can expect him to pay $20k/$25k from next year.” </p>
<p>One look at my parents’ income can show that its not possible for me to pay more from 2nd year onwards</p>
<p>You might want to look at the schools that meet need for all students on this list: [Need-blind</a> admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission]Need-blind”>Need-blind admission - Wikipedia) They are highly competitive to get into.</p>
<p>I am actually applying to 2 out the 6 need blind colleges. And I also want to apply to colleges like Middlebury, Grinnell and a few others who offer quite generous amount of aid to students. I’m also looking at colleges which have full scholarships for students like Richmond, Clark, Washington & Lee. I’ll probably finalize a list by the end of summer</p>
<p>At the need blind schools, you’ll do fine with the income and assets you describe. But from Nepal, which send lots of applicants, you’ll need to be a very top student with a 2350 and very top grades to have a shot at those schools in my experience. The others simply don’t meet need for most internationals, especially from competitive countries.</p>
<p>Make sure that you meet the requirements for aid as an international student at those schools you choose.</p>
<p>As others have said, the schools do not take your parents budget into account at all. They just push in all of the income and asset figures, and what is spit out is what the method says your family should pay. THen only if they so please or can, will they provide the remainder. Many times they gap. Or offer up loans to pay the amounts.</p>
<p>Unless you are a superstar student, I’d follow your brother’s path and attend a $20K UK college. Just too expensive in the US.</p>
<p>^
Yup, UK is my alternate plan. Although tuition fees are much higher now, it’s still much less expensive than US</p>