International Student Financial Aid

<p>I got accepted to Smith! but I'm international student.. So far, I haven't got my financial Aid package... But I'm scared... My question is.. do international students get a good financial aid package? I have a 4.0 GPA, also I participated in a couple of activities such as PTK, business club, etc (I'm also a transfer student from Miami Dade College- Both schools have an agreement to transfer credits!)</p>

<p>Vanecriss, did you receive your acceptance letter in the mail? If you applied for financial aid, there would be something in the packet to indicate Smith’s response.</p>

<p>They called me saying I got accepted, I haven’t received the package… I’m waiting for it! but I’m scared… I really wanna go to Smith</p>

<p>I appreciate your anxiety. There’s nothing to do but wait till it arrives. I know it’s hard! Let us know when you receive it. In the meantime, enjoy the coming spring! It’s finally becoming beautiful in Massachusetts and I hope it’s beautiful where you are! :-)</p>

<p>Your aid will be need based, so your GPA and other activities don’t have much bearing on it. It will be based on how much aid Smith decides you need to make it viable for you to attend. International student aid is different from domestic student aid, there is definitely less of it and it has to be spread around to a large pool. But I wouldn’t spend too much time stressing about it. It will come when it comes, hopefully it’s great, and otherwise you’ll deal with it when it gets there.</p>

<p>I’m an international student too and I’ve received a horrible financial aid package. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I read the financial aid letter. I’m utterly disappointed. As much as I want to go to Smith, the financial aid package isn’t appealing enough. My parents would still have to fork out a large amount of money and they would rather sell our house and send me to UC berkeley:(</p>

<p>My financial aid package was good…
I got a 5k loan and I’ll pay additionally 4k per year…! That’s not too bad!</p>

<p>My financial aid package was quite good.The family contribution is similar to what I have written on the application form.</p>

<p>thiscantbe, I’m so sorry the financial aid package was not satisfactory. Were there large differences in your financial aid offers from other schools? If so, then perhaps Smith could explain to you what they based their offer on. I know there isn’t a lot of financial aid for internationals, but if you tell them Smith is your first choice and you really want to go, perhaps they can help you. It doesn’t hurt to ask. As a backup plan, while the college experience would be very different, perhaps you could go to UC Berkeley for a year or two and then transfer to Smith and keep your costs down that way. Good luck! Let us know how it goes.</p>

<p>vanecriss and wenzheng, I’m glad you are satisfied with your financial aid packages. I’m sure it’s a relief for you!</p>