Help me understand Certification of finances (for internationals)

“A CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY (Form 1-20 or DS-2019) will not be authorized until this form is completed and
returned to the institution to which you are applying. The institution will attach a copy of this of this form to your certificate of eligibility. both the form and certificate must be shown to the US consul to obtain a visa”

My Questions:

  1. All the colleges I am applying to early (including Tulane) require this COF to be submitted BY November 15 2018. Also, they require you to have a specific high amount in your bank account. For example, Tulane requires you to have about $45,000. But what if you don’t have that amount but you are applying for and expecting financial aid? I mean, Tulane could give me aid, but what if it’s less than we can afford as stated on the COF?

a) will they reject me since my COF shows i cannot afford?
b) could they accept me but then could my visa request be declined?

  1. Doesn't showing you can afford the very high fees on the COF mean that you don't need financial aid at all? I mean, you've literally uploaded a bank statement showing that you have the money for the first year and maybe other years of study. So why should they give you a scholarship??
  2. If my parents simply cannot afford more than $5,000, do they have to genuinely take a bank loan or genuinely borrow money, put in the bank account just so it shows that we can afford, so that i can be accepted?

I don’t understand how they can expect you to show what you can pay BEFORE you receive your aid package. Because some people can talk to relatives, etc, who can legit help with fees!

Please help me understand. What you should know about me is that we cannot afford more than about $2000-$5000, and also, we simply do not have more than $5000 in any bank accounts currently. Also, know that there is a relative who can help with fees should they impose a high fee on me (guaranteed).

What should I do??

You MUST show that you have sufficient funds to support at least one year of college here in order to get a student visa to study here.

This can include already approved loans, and financial aid grants or scholarships given to you by the colleges.

The other thing you need to know is that these schools likely are need aware for admissions. If your parents can afford $5000 a year, the schools know they must fund the rest.

Do NOT…I repeat DO NOT take out $50,000 a year in loans for an undergrad degree here.

Thank you thank you so much.

I received a reply from a Tulane admissions officer. I’m from sub-suharan Africa , and Tulane offers full financial aid for us, should we be accepted. So he said that I should just send in the COF showing what we are ABLE to pay. Which in my case will be $5,000 or more