Hey guys,
I know that Vandy has a good package of Financial Aid for International Students.
My family cannot fully pay my costs of attendance, and I may only be able to pay about 15k/year, which makes me in real need for good aid.
The problem is that a friend told me Vanderbilt is not that good with need base financial aid for International Students, who usually receives more of Merit based financial aid, but the deadline for Merit based aid is already gone.
Do you guys think Vandy can give me sufficiently financial aid with only need based financial aid?
Vanderbilt meets full-need for international students, but is not need-blind in the admissions process (I think there are 5 total US schools that are both full-need and need-blind).
What this means, is that if you get accepted, you will be provided a full financial aid package. However, Vanderbilt takes into account who will require financial aid when they decide which international students they want to admit, where they prefer to take people who don’t require aid. So it might be harder for you to get accepted, but if accepted, you’ll get aid.
There are a handful of U’s offering great aid to international students but the reality is most universities look for international students who can afford the full COA. As the COA goes up fewer US students can afford the full COA so U’s look for well funded international students to make up the difference. Some universities even charge a surcharge fee for international students.
It’s difficult for US universities to explain to law makers that they need a non-tax status then pass those savings to international students while US students are drowning in loans.