For anyone who can shed some light
If you want any kind of meaningful answer, you need to be more specific with your question.
You have an asset (a rather large one, likely). What explaining needs to happen?
Is your student an international applicant? Is she entitled to an instate rate?
OP- you do understand that if you aren’t requesting aid there is no need to fill out the CSS profile? All due respect of course- but a pretty significant portion of EB5 holders have very significant wealth and wouldn’t qualify for need based aid… even with all the asterisks and caveats that the investments aren’t liquid, can’t be tapped, aren’t available to pay for college…
Hi. Thank you for your replies. The EB5 application was filed last year. The applicant will be coming into the US with a F 1 visa. The investment itself was filed with gift money from family members and loans against collateral from banks. As such, the applicant does need financial aid as the money for the investment was not theirs. How can we explain this to adcoms? @blossom @Sybylla @BelknapPoint
What’s the collateral? That’s an asset- and presumably one that’s owned by the parents? It is not assumed that the applicant has ownership over enough funds to pay for the education- hence the questions around parent assets and income.
As she is an international needing aid, her choices are very limited and chances slight. The student isn’t coming in on her parents visa? Then she will only get her F1 if she is admitted to a school and can show funds. Make sure she has her home country schools shored up.
The collateral are the parents’ assets, but more money was from the gifts. The parents put everything they had into the EB5 investment so although most EB5 investors are presumed to be rich, in this case, the parents are middle-class people who earn about 115K a year. As you can see, it’s a complicated case. @blossom
The parents have not received the EB5 green card yet. They only applied last year. They expect it in about 2 years time. @Sybylla
If the parents have EB-5, the student can study here in that status. There is no need for the student to have F-1 status. The student should wait until the parents come, and move here with them. That way the student will have residency in the state where the parents are (when they have been there long enough), and the student will be considered a US applicant.
I know that’s not what the parents want to hear. But it really is the best option. Other than that the student needs to find a place that will give a big merit scholarship (at least full tuition and fees), or that is so cheap the family can pay all of the costs out of their income.
You are saying she is 16 ish now and the equiv of yr 10? The whole EB is really some kind of abstract notion? What country are you in?
As above, the EB-5 IS the advantage, if she is on an F1, then she has to be able to pay to have a shot, if she is actually a junior, what are her stats?
The application for FA is in conflict with the picture you are all painting of have the financials for investment. Make sure you don't set up a path for any cross referencing of conflicting finances.
What is there to explain? The parents have assets valued at $X. If the parents have received gifts of money from friends and relatives during the years covered by that PROFile application , unlike FAFSA, many schools using it consider that income as well.
It doesn’t matter ion terms of assets where you got them. If you own the asset then day you file the form, it’s considered your asset and valued as any asset is.
It really can hurt, as it did to a friend of mine done years ago. He made an adequate but hardly a hefty income from renting out housing he had bought and refurbished. The real estate rents were the main source of income. If he sold any of it, or borrowed against it, it would cut into his income terribly , especially if proceeds were to go to tuition or any other non essential to live cause. But HArvard, Hopkins and all his other schools wouldn’t budge. The housing units which represented the source of family income and nest egg for retirement were fair game for college payments. In our archives, a poster, called Evilrobot(?) . Was in same situation and had to turn down Yale because he could not expect his parents to pay those costs when their entire livelihood and retirement were invested in rental real estate.
So I see no quarter to be given by college financial aid because parents were given funds to buy an asset. Of course that asset should and likely would be so counted at market value as of date of Profile submission.
I see from your other posts you are already on a gap year as an international applicant looking for FA. It seems really late in this round to be throwing this information into the fray? Even at $115K USD income, your chances at FA as an international were scant. The EB investment $ amount is very large. Are you saying you have committed that from your CSS profile thus far?
Are you saying you have committed that from your CSS profile thus far?
@Sybylla what do you mean by that statement?
Sorry, I meant, omitted.
Nope, I didn’t omit anything from the CSS. I got into Grinnell already with 25K in aid with the EB5 mentioned and all assets, income mentioned. It just wouldn’t be enough for me to attend. 3.5K of that is in loans and 2.5K is in work-study as well. I’m trying to see how I can explain the EB5 in a letter of appeal. I’m currently trying to work on the letter of appeal
2.5K in Work Study is a great deal. WS jobs are typically on campus, very understanding of your academic schedule (like being sympathetic to cutting your hours before mid-terms and then ramping up again afterwards) and can give you valuable work experience as well. So don’t give that up.
I’m not sure what the basis of the appeal is- clearly they saw you have financial need since you got 25K in aid. How much more are you looking for- and what do you think they misunderstood about your CSS? They get that your investment isn’t liquid- but many things aren’t liquid- a parent with a small business for example. You sell that business, the income/livelihood goes away. But it’s still an asset.
What are your other choices and are they affordable?
So you are an american and getting WS and loans, but your parents are trying to get into the US?
I think you can just explain the funds as you have here. You state that you’ve filed the CSS, that a large chunk of the assets are for the EB5. They’ll either accept that or they won’t. That’s why they call the form ‘special circumstances.’ There is no magic formula.
@twoinanddone Thank you so much for the response. I am international.