<p>I have applied for financial aid but I am quite doubtful about getting any aid. My parent's real estate value is alone about $ 800000. My cousins, who have almost similar possessions, did not get any aid. Do I have any chance of getting an aid?</p>
<p>Question- why do you need aid with assets like that? :S</p>
<p>Prudent…just wait and see. There really isn’t anything else you can do. </p>
<p>Is that real estate fully paid for? Is it your primary residence ONLY or are there other properties in addition to your primary residence? What is your family INCOME (in U.S. dollars)? Do your parents also have money in the bank? How much?</p>
<p>All of these things are considered.</p>
<p>AND lastly what colleges are you talking about?</p>
<p>@thumper1: The value given above is for properties apart from my house and is fully paid for and has no debt or mortgage on it. My parents do have money in the bank and a couple of other businesses. The colleges that I am aiming for give good financial aid packages. My family’s income is not very high (about $20000) every year. Am I eligible for a need based aid?
@leo118: Is it necessary to sell off all your property to attend college?</p>
<p>prudent,</p>
<p>Colleges and universities expect that families will pay for their children’s education out of a combination of current income, savings, and borrowing against future earnings. The assets that your parents own are assets that can be sold, rented out for increased income, or used as collateral for a loan. And yes, many families do sell their assets in order to fund their children’s educations because paying for that education was the primary motivation for accumulating those assets in the first place.</p>
<p>The assets that my parents own is ancestral and they are quite reluctant to sell it or take a loan on it. Is there a secondary option?</p>
<p>Choose a school that is within your means.</p>
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<p>These secondary properties that are all paid for are very significant assets. Colleges will expect that your family would be able to either borrow using them (as they have almost a million dollars in equity). If your family chooses not to, that is their choice. BUT the reality is you have very significant assets. It is your parents’ choice not to use them.</p>
<p>What you are saying…please just read…you are saying that you have almost a million dollars in assets that your parents must keep for whatever reason and you think the colleges should ignore that asset so that you can receive need based aid. </p>
<p>I think you need to look at colleges within your means.</p>
<p>Also, those VERY generous colleges you speak of award significant aid to students with TYPICAL assets. Yours are WAY above what would be called “typical”.</p>
<p>*The assets that my parents own is ancestral and they are quite reluctant to sell it or take a loan on it. Is there a secondary option? *</p>
<p>Can they rent out these properties?</p>
<p>Colleges won’t care that your parents have a sentimental attachment to various properties. The fact remains that those properties have value…which can be sold or borrowed against.</p>
<p>Your parents also have savings…that will also be considered.</p>
<p>Life is choices. If your parents are choosing not to use any/much of their assets to pay for your college costs, then that’s their choice. Schools aren’t going to give you money so that your family can keep their assets.</p>
<p>Prudent, on another thread, you are asking about cars for college (or investment). I would suggest you use the money that would be spent on a car to pay for your college costs.</p>
<p>Also, there are some very fine universities in Canada where your costs would be significantly less than the U.S. Since that appears to be your country of residency, check out those.</p>
<p>OOPS…Prudent…meant to say that you should consider applying to affordable colleges in YOUR country…wherever that is.</p>
<p>The U.S. colleges will also look very carefully at your family’s business assets, and your primary residence equity is used by many schools in the equation as well.</p>
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<p>If you can afford a Mercedes or Ferrari and have nearly $1MM in real estate, free & clear, why are you asking about financial aid</p>
<p>*I have a GPA of about 4.5, ACT Score: 29, SAT Math 2: 720, SAT Physics: 760 and TOEFL: 109. Apart from these, I have done about 100 hours of community service and have a decent list of extra curricular activities. My teacher and counselor recommendations are also quite good. Which engineering colleges will I be able to get into?</p>
<p>I have also applied for financial aid but I am quite doubtful about getting any aid. My parent’s real estate value is alone about $ 800000. My cousins, who have almost similar possessions, did not get any aid. Do I have any chance of getting an aid? *</p>
<p>It looks like you’re applying to top tier programs - and you also mention Stanford, Purdue and UMich.</p>
<p>Purdue and UMich are state schools - they don’t give any int’l financial aid. You’d be expected to pay all costs.</p>
<p>Where all have you applied?? Your stats aren’t likely high enough for the top schools like Stanford and MIT.</p>
<p>Where all did you apply?</p>
<p>^I didn’t think internationals qualified for fed aid anyway, right? So this would be a moot point, unless what the poster meant is ‘will someone give merit to offset the cost?’</p>
<p>Prudent, financial AID, as in need based aid, is for people without means. There is no definition on the planet wherein your family could be called “without means.” Be grateful you are so fortunate, and be prepared to either pay or find other options that are more palatable to your family.</p>
<p>For example, University of Michigan is expensive out of state/country – the Cost of Attendance estimate for freshmen this year is a little over $50,000 – reaching more like $55,000 in junior and senior years.</p>
<p>By comparison, University of Toronto would be a steal, even at the international rate.</p>
<p>So start planning for a “financial” safety – one you and your parents agree you all can pay for. You will HAVE to do that because you will HAVE to prove that you have the money to cover the COA in order to get a student visa to study in the US or Canada.</p>
<p>Best wishes.</p>
<p>kmc, the OP is looking for institutional need based aid. The likelihood of him getting it with the assets he says he has is about ZERO.</p>
<p>Prudent, would you consider a gap year? If you really can’t finance college…take a Gap year…retake the ACT and aim for a score OVER 30…if you get that, you would be eligible for guaranteed significant MERIT aid at University of Alabama which has an excellent engineering school.</p>