I have a big question about how FA works

<p>I'm a student in US who has a green card but is not a citizen. So I'm not counted as an international student right?
My questions are:
What's the difference between need-blind and need-based financial aid? and what about merit-based financial aid? The one I care most is which one of the three will affect your admission?
It seems very normal but I just didn't find a way to figure it out exactly, because the people who I asked all have different(even slightly) opinions.
Thanks for help!!</p>

<p>Need blind for admissions means that your financial need is not considered when you apply for admission. In other words, the admissions folks do not know if you are eligible for need based aid and how much…when they review your application for admission.</p>

<p>Need based aid is what is awarded to students with financial need. Each school determines how THEY award institutional need based aid (the school’s money), the level of need, and the %age of need met. This varies wildly by schools. There are school’s that meet full need for all students (this is the minority of schools, and most are highly competitive for admissions). MOST colleges do not meet full need for all accepted students.</p>

<p>As a green card holder, you are able to complete the FAFSA form. However, you need to understand that this is used to determine eligibility for federally funded aid primarily. Some schools use only the FAFSA to determine financial need, but those schools do not meet full need for all accepted students.</p>

<p>The other thing you need to find out…do your colleges also require completion of the Profiie? If so, this delves much deeper into fully finances than the FAFSA.</p>

<p>Thanks for explaining! I’m still confused about which one will affect my chance to get into college?</p>

<p>If a school is need aware for admissions, then your ability to pay will be a factor when your admission application is considered. If you need a lot of financial aid, it could negatively impact your admission prospects. However, if you need aid…apply for aid.</p>

<p>I got it. That’s what I thought. </p>

<p>Another thing is that Columbia says in its website that" All applicants who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or students granted refugee visas by the United States are read in a need-blind manner, no matter where they attend school or where they reside. The term “need-blind” means financial need has no bearing on the admissions decision. All other applicants are evaluated in a need-aware manner, which means that the admissions committee takes into consideration how much financial aid a student requires when rendering an admissions decision. Columbia admits a large number of foreign students who receive a substantial amount of financial aid."</p>

<p>Do you intend to apply for need-based financial aid? Yes No</p>

<p>But the check box in common app of Columbia is about whether I will apply for NEED-BASED financial aid. Do they read my application for NEED-BASED FA as NEED-BLIND when they find out I’m a PR of U.S. and I should say YES?</p>

<p>No fafsa for international students.</p>

<p>liberal, yes, they will read your app as “need-blind” but you should check yes to need-based financial aid if you want to be considered for it!</p>

<p>

He’s not an international student. Green card holders are treated exactly the same as US citizens.</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>