<p>Hi guys! I just had some questions about international students at Vassar- I was looking at the stats and it said that Vassar accepted 40/850 international students who asked for financial aid. That number seems pretty low to me. If you don't apply for financial aid, do you have more of a chance than the aforementioned data? (because I didn't)
Thank you :) </p>
<p>bump</p>
Yes. Applying as an international student without financial aid greatly increases your chances. Sometimes it’s even easier to get in than domestic students.
^^
How did you derive that alledged fact?
@AkLvKk oh wow is that really true? does it say that somewhere? 
Thank you 
I’ve never seen anything written that says full pay international students get preference over US students. Why does the number of accepted international students who need aid seem low to you? How much do you think Vassar should pay for international students?
@austinmshauri no no I think you misunderstood. I don’t mean more of a chance than US students. I know a lot of internationals ask for aid. That’s why, considering vassar is need aware for internationals, I was wondering if not asking for aid will increase my chances compared to other internationals.
@12354n, Can you afford to pay for Vassar without financial aid? It won’t do you much good to get accepted if you can’t pay.
@austinmshauri yup I’m willing to pay the full fee and am able to as well
If you don’t need financial aid, why would you apply for it? I think competition between internationals is tough enough. I imagine it’s more difficult for those who ask for money.
@austinmshauri I think that you are a bit confused. I mentioned before that I have NOT applied for financial aid. I was merely asking if the internationals who don’t require it will have a higher acceptance rate than those who do because Vassar is need aware for internationals. That’s it. That’s all I was asking. Hope that clears it up.
@12345n, I missed that, sorry.
Schools have limited money, so it stands to reason that students who don’t need aid have a better shot at schools that are need aware than those who do. The more selective the school, the tougher the overall competition, but I think having the ability to pay the full cost of attendance helps as long as a student is academically competitive. Good luck.
@austinmshauri oh okay thank you so much
You’re welcome. Good luck.
Vassar is need aware for international students, so yes, applying without asking for financial aid would give an international student a higher chance of admissions. Not the case for American students and permanent US residents, as Vassar is need blind in admissions for them.
As for full pay international students having an edge over US students, I don’t think that is a rule of thumb, however, in some cases, the international background, especially from countries not well represented could be a plus, adding diversity to the Vassar community.
@cptofthehouse thank you
Vassar is NEED AWARE for non-US citizens. It’s in their FAQs. What that means is that international students applying for financial aid face a harder time being admitted.