<p>Please, please, please be patient with this post as I am trying to get all my questions answered. None of my other friends are applying abroad and I don't know who to turn to.</p>
<p>I'm a high school senior in the Philippines, applying to MIT, Yale, Amherst, Stanford, NYU. I explained my situation to my guidance counselor and she is willing to write any and as many supporting statements as I need. However, she is not familiar with the college application process abroad and is asking me to search about the things needed in the letter she is making. She barely knows how to use the internet, so I'm there in the room while she fills out the stuff, pointing out what needs to be clicked and typed from across the room. Also, I have a few questions of my own as the student applying. </p>
<p>To those who want to answer the questions straight, jump to "What I Am Confused With".</p>
<p>Financial Background Info:
I'm in a family of five with two siblings still in college here in the Philippines. My parents are separated (but not legally) and don't help each other out with finances at home. We struggle to pay my tuition early and in full because there are additional charges if we take a staggered plan at my school. I didn't qualify for financial aid at my school because their maximum is very very low. My brother studies at an expensive college and he doesn't have significant financial aid to help with the tuition. My sister and brother were both delayed for more than one year each, and my parents have been struggling to pay for their tuition. Combined, my parents' annual income is less than $40k, not counting the tax deductions. My mother's salary also has a huge chunk deducted from her salary because she is paying for the loan we got for our house. </p>
<p>How I Paid for the Tests I Took Before:
I asked my dad if I could take the SAT I and II, not telling him I was planning on applying for college here. The tests are very expensive for us, and because my family bought me a graphing calculator too, my expenses incurred from taking the tests as of now are already more than $300. (and because we paid with a credit card, that amount will rise very quickly)</p>
<p>Why I Need the Fee Waivers:
Asking my dad to pay is most unlikely, as he will start to struggle financially. My mother barely has enough left over from all our expenses to even consider asking a significant amount of money for her. My relatives will not pay for anything that is not sure (they will most probably help with my tuition if I get into any university abroad, but they will not pay for application fees and the like). My savings are not enough to apply for even one university, as I lend my money to my mother to help her out with finances.</p>
<p>What I Am Confused With (and need answers to):
1) What should be in the supplemental letter that my guidance counselor will write? What details should be there?
2) When do I know if my Common App fee is waived? Is it before or after I submit my applications?
3) Does it follow that if my Common App fee is waived, so are my application fees for the universities I mentioned? (probably not, but I'm making sure)
4) How do I (or my counselor) send the supplemental letters to those different universities?
5) How do I know that those fees have been waived?</p>
<p>I might have follow-up questions, so please stick around if you have the time to answer :(</p>
<p>Please help a girl make her dreams possible :( Please. </p>
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