<p>Hi, I'm having a bit of trouble with the Financial verification/certification form that international students have to fill up to show that they can attend school and get an I-20. Can anyone familiar with the process of filling up the form help me?</p>
<p>I'm applying to a few (need-blind) schools, some which I know I won't be able to pay for unless I get a scholarship but I wanted to try out for them anyway. However, I have to send in a Financial verification form together with my application to show that I can pay for the full cost of the school. But I can't show that I can pay for the school, and I won't know if I afford to attend the school until I know if the school gives me any scholarship (and I will only know this after I have to send in the financial verification form). </p>
<p>So I'm wondering, how do other international students (who couldn't pay the full costs but were given aid/scholarships) went through the whole process of the financial verification? </p>
<p>Thanks for any help in advance! :)</p>
<p>Are you talking about a financial aid application or a certification of finance? Typically the certification of finance is only sent AFTER you got admitted. In some cases the school will send it to you to expedite the process, in which case you use one line to write “institutional scholarship” (and no number next to it) and one line for “work-study” (and no number next to it). For the rest you fill it out truthfully, showing what you family can afford for 4 years (ie, divide what they can afford by 4 - you can’t put the whole amount for the 1st year and keep your fingers crossed for the other years. 
)
Typically though need-blind schools will NOT ask for a certification of finances, but rather for a financial aid application. Need-blind means they’ll decide whether they admit you or not AND THEN ONLY they’ll look at your finances.</p>
<p>That’s indeed the case. I filled out a financial aid application for a not needblind, but fullneed school. After I was accepted and offered FA, I was asked to fill out the Certification of Finances. My school sent out their part of the form filled out (which said the amount of aid I got) and we just had to fill in with the amount we could pay for every year and sign it. If you have savings (we didn’t) they’ll ask for those too and a signature from a bank official to certify that those funds exist, as well as funds from organizations or government, if I remember correctly. A few weeks later, we got the I-20, which had already been filled out by the school.</p>
<p>Also, I suggest you broaden your list a little, since there are very few schools that are both needblind and fullneed, and they’re ridiculously competitive, even more for internationals. A lot of schools are need-aware, but ARE fullneed, so if you get accepted you’ll usually get a nice financial aid package. A couple of them that come to mind are Colby, Grinnell, Macalester, Kenyon, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Trinity, Colgate, and all the Seven (actually five) Sisters, if you’re a girl: Smith, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Barnard, and Wellesley. </p>
<p>There ARE some schools that ask you to send the Certification of Finances first, but they usually don’t offer great aid for internationals. You should probably email the specific schools first, although I only saw a few that actually asked for it before acceptance.</p>
<p>Thank you for your very helpful replies MYOS1634 & Guitar500! ^^</p>
<p>The schools I’m applying to are need-blind but they still ask for Financial Certification. I thought that this is required for all international students regardless of what college they apply to? </p>
<p>Also, I also thought that international students are not given any financial aid? I was under the impression I could only rely on getting scholarships to help keep the costs down :(</p>
<p>Thanks again for the advice and I shall check out more schools according to what you’ve both said! :)</p>
<p>Yeah, they all ask for it. My school (need-aware, but full-need for internationals) sent it to me in May, and I had to complete it to get my I-20. The schools you want to apply to are probably need-blind, but they don’t meet need, which is why they want to make sure you can pay for it. Some schools that don’t award need based aid for internationals ask for it at the time you apply. All the schools I mentioned in my previous post offer great financial aid for international students, although that makes admissions rather competitive.</p>