<p>The way I look at this is that I think it is a good thing for foreign students to be admitted and attend universities here in the US. But I think it is a very bad thing for them to be given aid or grants when so many people here in the US cannot afford college or are struggling to pay the ever growing cost of tution. I think all the money granted to foreign students should be going to help our students here. I emailed the Dartmouth admissions office and they replied that they don't look at it that way -- that they admit all students without regards to finances and let the chips fall where they may as far as financial aid is concerned. </p>
<p>I think Dartmouth has the right to use its money the way it does. A lot of schools in that range are also very generous to US applicants and the money that foreign students pay – even with a small break on the tuition – helps support the cost of running schools in this era of dwindling endowments, shrinking state support, and/or falling donor levels as the economy continues to languish. </p>
<p>I understand your frustration but it’s important to avoid the temptation to blame foreign students and the money they receive for the fact that we choose not to guarantee an affordable higher education to our own people. The amount of money that foreign students get from US college is miniscule compared to the amount that would be needed to give every qualified US applicant a free ride to college.</p>
<p>The issue described in that article seems to be primarily the lack of colleges and universities in India that are acceptable for Indian families. A secondary factor that is not discussed in depth appears to be a notion that only certain degree fields are worth studying in the first place. Nowhere did I get the sense that US colleges and universities were throwing away money on these students. If anything, it appears that institutions in the US view them as a ready source of cash income.</p>
<p>There is no shortage of financial aid, both need based and merit, for any American who can get into Dartmouth.</p>
<p>While I appreciate your point`it’s very hard for many Americans to get the needed aid, I think our top students should be educated with kids from around the world. I wish all kids could be. We live in a global economy and the best minds should be interacting.</p>
<p>There are countries where Americans kids can get a cheap or free education, but I don’t see many seeking them out. We’re insular and other countries are not.</p>
<p>Kudos to any foreign kid who an get himself into Dartmouth.</p>
<p>Schools are allowed to use their funds however they please, especially private universities. </p>
<p>The vast majority of international student get almost no or no aid- they are full price. I would say that the income that they bring in probably outweighs any aid that is given out to international students (I have nothing that proves that, it’s just a guess).</p>
<p>The vast majority of international student get almost no or no aid- they are full price.</p>
<p>this is very true, but I don’t think many int’ls realize that. That’s why we see so many int’ls assuming that they can go to school here with lots of FA. Even int’ls with good, but not ivy-like stats, are often surprised to find that there aren’t schools that will give them free rides with tons of FA.</p>