<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I'm really struggling trying to figure out what to do.</p>
<p>Thing is, I'm an international student living in Australia (born in South Africa), so I don't qualify for a lot of good scholarships out there, and my parents make a decent living, but for various reasons they can't really contribute too much to my college expenses. </p>
<p>I'm mostly applying to need-blind school in the US (HYPSM), especially MIT, however none of these schools give merit based scholarships, so i don't really know where i can get any support!!!</p>
<p>Does anyone know of any merit based scholaships out there for international non-minority males whose EFC is quite high, but who still can't afford to pay it??!! </p>
<p>Thanks so much!</p>
<p>M</p>
<p>Schools might see your family's financial situation as you describe it
[quote]
my parents make a decent living,
[/quote]
and they might decide that you don't qualify. Most people don't want to pay huge amounts of money for schools, and they would love to get aid. But it is meant for people who truly have no resources. There are many threads on this site of people both in your situation, little need, but lots of want, and people who have lots of need. Finances in the world are very precarious right now, as I am sure you know, and aid for colleges is meant for the students who are more desperate than you might seem to be to the schools you are applying to. That is not to say that your situation is not real; I am not insinuating that you are trying to get something for nothing. I am just saying how it might appear to the schools you are applying to. So, advice would be to try to figure out how to make your case seem compelling to the colleges. Are there scholarships that are for internationals? Are there and merit-based ones in Australia or other private ones that you could qualify for? You have to do some research on both the scholarships and the best way to present your case.</p>
<p>M-Brane, you need to look for schools that award merit aid to international students. Some schools do and some schools don't. The reality is that if your parents make a decent living, they will be expected to contribute to your college education in some way relative to that decent living...and this could limit your need based aid. As you have already discovered, the Ivies and such do not award merit aid at all. If you are looking for merit aid as an international student...you need to research schools that have that type of award.</p>
<p>There was a thread on this forum a couple of weeks ago that addressed this same problem, and people listed schools that offer merit aid to international students. Do a search for international threads.</p>
<p>thanks everyone,</p>
<p>the problem is that whilst my dad makes a "decent living" since we only recently moved to Australia and bought a house, he has made it clear that a HYPSM college is not affordable without assistance.</p>
<p>Do universities take into account mortgages and the like when they evaluate financial aid?</p>
<p>Cheers,</p>
<p>M</p>
<p>If you were a US citizen, or a US permanent legal resident alien, you would be able to file the FAFSA which most colleges and universities in the US use to calculate eligibility for financial aid. Some also use the CSS Profile. The difficulty with the Profile is that each college/university that uses it, adapts it for their own purposes so it is very difficult to get an estimate of aid packages that those schools might offer.</p>
<p>I think you will find some useful information in the International Forum. Click on "Discussion Home" in the upper left of this screen, and then scroll down until you find it.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Mortgages and debt are not considered for financial aid.</p>
<br>
<blockquote>
<p>Do universities take into account mortgages and the like when they evaluate financial aid?>></p>
</blockquote>
<br>
<p>Some do...but they also take into consideration the equity in your home. Really, your debt for your home isn't going to qualify you for additional financial aid. That is viewed as a choice...in other words...you could live in a less expensive home...or take out a second mortgage.</p>
<p>okay, thanks everyone,</p>
<p>i'll still fill out the finaid application, but i guess I need to be keeping my eye out for international merit based scholarships for non-minority males then. </p>
<p><em>sigh</em></p>
<p>Few and far between,</p>
<p>thanks for the help,</p>
<p>M</p>
<p>University of Southern California offers merit-based scholarships to international students (even non-minority, and even males). Consequently, they have lots of international students. Here is their international student financial aid webpage: USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - International Students
Good luck!</p>
<p>Bard College offers substantial aid to internationals.</p>
<p>Also, you might be best off applying, and if you get in, waiting for financial aid, then seeing how things go. I was really worried about MIT's financial aid, especially since my parents are divorced and I wasn't sure if my dad would pay. But it turns out the contributions for each of my parents were pretty reasonable, and my dad has agreed to pay his share. So, depending on what you mean by "a decent living," and also depending on how that living looks when converted to USD, you might not have as much of a problem as you think - especially if your income is under $100K, in which case home equity is not considered (or under $75K, in which case you don't have to pay tuition).</p>
<p>Hi M!
I looked at some of your other posts, and I was going to suggest you move your SAT schedule up a bit. Many of the "big" merit scholarships have earlier deadlines to be considered for them - as early as November 1st. As you mentioned, a 2170 is a good score, but you will probably need a 2250+ to be in the pool considered for the full-tuition scholarships at the more prestigious universities. Can you get a September or October test date? If you don't hit your score target, you can still take the December test you are studying for. Good luck!</p>