<p>I'm a international student from India. I have SAT score 2080. I am re-taking snd woul probably get somewhere between 2100-2250. I found at many places that requesting financial aid will hurt my chances. How muchgof that is true? If it will hurt, then why and how ? If not , then why and how?
My parents are ready to pay whatever amount it may be. But I think it's too much to spend for ug studies. My family income is 80k+ which increases every year by some amount. I have no siblings. I am confused whether I should apply for FA or not. If I didn't, then are there any chances to get it later e.g. in sophomore year?
Universities on my list
UCSD
UIUC
cornell
Duke trinity
Princeton
Brown
Dartmouth
University of Colorado at boulder
Boston Uni
University of Chicago
Pennsylvania</p>
<p>Almost all of those school are not need blind and do not guarantee to meet need for international students. Only Dartmouth and Princeton are need-blind and will meet full need for international students. That being said, your aid package, even at Princeton and Cornell, may be different than domestic applicants. You are not eligible for many of the amenities provided by the federal gov, such as stafford loans, federal work study, etc. I would encourage you to consider if you believe you are a strong enough applicant to get into the school if the school knows that they will be expending extra resources on you. That doesn’t apply to the three need blind schools on your list.</p>
<p>Why don’t you just apply to one of the universities where you’d qualify for automatic merit aid? There are several that don’t limit their awards to domestic students. You can see the list here:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-8.html#post16145676[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships-8.html#post16145676</a></p>
<p>You should not expect any aid from UCSD. I don’t find any indication that they award scholarships to internationals. Further:</p>
<p>“UC awards a very limited number of grants, loans and scholarships to international undergraduates. At some campuses, no assistance is available to international undergraduates.”</p>
<p>Many of those schools are need blind when it comes to admission, but offer FA to very select few internationals, and Cornell is one of them. If you are a very strong applicant then I would apply to as many schools as possible to see which school would give you most aids.
Here is Cornell’s FA policy for internationals:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1539541-financial-aid-apply-not-apply-help.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/1539541-financial-aid-apply-not-apply-help.html</a></p>
<p>If your parents make 80K per year, I don’t think your parents could afford to pay full fare (60K) unless they have saved a lot of money.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’d get any money from those publics like UIUC, UCSD, Colorado, etc.</p>
<p>Costs for an int’l is about $60k+ for many of those schools. that’s a lot for your parents’ income.</p>
<p>I agree…apply to some schools that will FOR SURE give you merit for your stats as back up schools. </p>
<p>What is your Math + CR? What is your major? What is your GPA</p>
<p>Hey ScienceFreak…</p>
<p>I’m an international student like you… We have many things in common…</p>
<p>I’m like you have no idea to apply for aid or not. my D says that he will even pay 60k for me, but i know that would be a great weight for my family…</p>
<p>I have one Q guys:
Does the “amount” of EFC really matters? i mean if i say i can afford 35k and another applicant with the same stats has 10k. does the 2nd applicant really has less chance to be admitted???</p>
<p>My CR + M score is 1420. But I am retaking SAT. I have As in all the subjects. (We don’t have GPA here).My ECs are okay and so are recommenders. But I think my esssy will be pretty good. And yes, my parents have lots of saving 140k+. But I really don’t want my family to pay 60k every year for me. It’s really a lot. Thanks for your responses. If I don’t apply for FA, and then request FA after freshman year, will college give me FA?</p>
<p>“If I don’t apply for FA, and then request FA after freshman year, will college give me FA?”</p>
<p>In most cases, you will not receive aid in future years if you don’t apply for your freshman year. So if you will need the aid, apply for it at the beginning.</p>
<p>What do you want to study? It may make more sense for you to complete your undergraduate degree in your home country (or in any of the other countries where it would be less expensive than in the US), and then come to the US for post-graduate studies.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the arithmetic where your family’s 4 year income of ~ US$320K and it’s acceptable to spend $250k of it on your undergraduate education at an American university.</p>
<p>Please consider the advice given by happymom.</p>
<p>Well, oops. I fotgot to convert it in US currency. Roughly it will be 130k $ and in this country you csn live pretty luxurious life in 20k$.
And I want to major in biology for which I don’t have good colleged here. And living in hostels is very insecure here. For Girls specially. Statistic of rape here is 1 oer 20 min. My parents don’t want to me to live here until I complete my education. And I don’t have any siblings.
I am still in dilemma about FA. Is there any way so that I can tell college that I will be grateful if they give me FA, but it’s okay if they don’t?</p>
<p>No; that’s already a given when you apply for financial aid. You either apply for financial aid or you don’t.</p>
<p>Fadaee, at schools that are not need-blind, then yes the second student may have a lower chance of getting admitted.</p>
<p>So either I can apply for financial aid or I can not. Um, so there is no middle eay, right? But if I need like 30k aid and it’s okay with me if I don’t get, I csn manage, on the other hand there is someone with 10k need, but need it compulsory. Then they will accept 10k student just because I applied for FA? </p>
<p>Really sorry , I know I am getting bit annoying 
but I am really facing huge dilemma</p>
<p>When you apply for financial aid, the college/university will use its own formula to determine whether or not you qualify for any aid, and if so how much. Different places use different formulae, so you won’t know which are affordable (or not affordable) until you get the information about the aid package. The differences in the amount of aid awarded can be huge. If you don’t get any aid, but your family can pay somehow, you can still decide to attend. However, if the visa officer at the US consulate doesn’t believe that you can afford the college or university, you won’t get your student visa.</p>
<p>Since you are a girl, you have a few more options in the US. Read through the list here: [The</a> Women’s College Coalition](<a href=“http://womenscolleges.org/]The”>http://womenscolleges.org/) Some of them offer excellent financial aid to international students that they really want.</p>
<p>If your parents do not want you to complete your education in your home country, you should also look at colleges and universities in other countries besides the US. Colleges and universities in Australia and Canada generally are less expensive than here, and the work provisions for international students are better, so it is easier to get a part-time job to help cover your expenses. I don’t know about colleges and universities in other countries, but if you ask in the International Students Forum here, you will probably get some information. For specific information about each country, contact the Education Officer at the Consulate of that country that is closest to where you live. That person can help you find out what you need to know.</p>