International student help

<p>Hey guys I just wanted to know more about financial aid..if some1 is from a upper middle class family but due to some reasons feel they need financial aid, could they be given financial aid like other students or would they be discriminated against?
Also, I wanted to find out are there other things that qualify one to gain financial aid, like maybe sat scores? So for some1 with an average sat score, would ey still be able to gain financial aid ?
Lastly do financial aid apply to international student they way eh apply to home students or is there any difference
?
Thanks guys </p>

<p>You need to do a lot of research on financial aid for international students here in the US. First of all, some schools give zero financial aid for international students, and they may also exclude them from some or all merit awards, or not have any or many merit awards, so that the chances of you getting ANY money from those schools for ANY reason is just about ZERO. If you need aid to go one of those schools, you had better take it off your list if you cannot independently get the money. </p>

<p>There are scholarships (merit awards) and financial aid. Usually merit is given by admissions to those students the school wants the most, and often it doesn’t matter if you are international or not for a lot of those awards. But you need to check specifically for each school as to whether or not there are stipulations or restrictions for international students. There are lists of schools on this board where merit money is given for test scores and grades, and guaranteed on that basis. </p>

<p>Financial aid is a whole other thing. You need to fill out an application for financial aid to see if your family income and assets are such that you even qualify. You can run some preliminary numbers on the schools’ NPCs to get some idea if you are even in the running to get financial aid. YOU do not determine whether you need it or not. The school does. IF your family has income and assets to a point that the college thinks they should be able to pay for college,according to their formulas, then you don’t get aid. You have to fill out family income and asset figures to get an estimate on what the schools think you should pay.</p>

<p>Most schools are need blind for US students. Which means they get accepted even if they need financial aid. Doesn’t mean they get the money, but the schools don’t look at need in giving out acceptances, and it’s up to the students to come up with the money if the school does not give them anything, or whatever the gap might be. For international students, it can work differently at some schools because internationals cannot get a student visa unless they can show that they can afford to come to the US. So it’s a waste of time to accept an international student who cannot show that they have the money to come here, unless the school is willing to fill in the gaps. YOu don’t get your visa without that. So a lot of schools look at what your finances are if you are international, and if the school does not want to give you the money that bridges the gap, then you are rejected. Even schools that are need blind to all US students, may screen international student for financial need/.</p>

<p>Your best bet to get money is to apply to those schools where you are the very top of the top of their student, looking at test scores. Such schools may come up with your financial need and/or have scholarships for you. Go right on ahead and apply to some other schools where the chances are low in acceptance since you are not the top of the top, or everyone seems to be there (like say, Harvard, MIT), but understand your chances of acceptance are very low, as they are for everyone. But do understand what the colleges are going to expect your family to pay. Run those NPCs. You get accepted to Harvard, for instance, (and Harvard is need blind and does meet full need for international students), they are going to offer an aid package based on what they think your family should pay, not what your family can necessarily afford to pay. Your family owns property or a farm or a business, for example, your parents may not have the loose funds to pay for you, but that’s just tough luck. It’s up the school to decide what you should pay. So run the NPCs to find out if you even are eligible for penny one.</p>

<p>Need based financial aid is based on your family income and assets. Your colleges will have policies for awarding need based aid. YOU will not be discriminated against at all. If your colleges determine you should get need based aid, you will get it…no more or less an guarantee than ANY other student applying.</p>

<p>You do need to know that some colleges award LESS need based aid, or NO need based aid to international students.</p>

<p>Merit awards are based on your SAT scores and GPA. What exactly do you view as an “average” SAT score. Merit scholarships are for high achieving students. Are you high achieving? </p>

<p>Some colleges do not award merit aid to international students. Some do. Some award limited aid to international students. It varies by college.</p>

<p>Ok so basically I was thinking of applying to community colleges as well as apply to some universities as a transfer student. I planned to do this is because I felt that would broaden my chances. At the moment , I already have good A level results, however my GPAs from university are quite low( as low as 1.5). so I felt that most unis might consider the low GPA and that might hurt my chances. Now I wanted to find out if community colleges will accept my A level grades for transfer into 2nd year since the grades were okay. In view of this, do u guys think I am better off applying as a transfer student to community colleges or I should apply to unis. is applying to community college a good idea? </p>

<p>I have been told that one cannot apply for visa using i20 from a community college and only university i20 is accepted for obtaining visa. so I felt if I was going to apply to community college, maybe I can use the i20 of another uni to gain visa and thereafter transfer to community college. do u guys think this is a good idea? are there any possible implications?</p>

<p>I am sure y’all can tell that I am rather confused, yeah , it cos I am rather new to the American system . so any contributions from you guys will be more than appreciated/ Thanks yall.</p>

<p>Start by reading everything (and I do indeed mean every single thing) at <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/”>https://www.educationusa.info/&lt;/a&gt; Then follow the links <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php”>https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php&lt;/a&gt; to find the contact information for the Advising Center closest to where you live. The counselors there are expert at helping students like you find out what they need to know about higher education in the US.</p>

<p>If your GPA really is 1.5 the chance that you will qualify for a scholarship is infinitesimally small. Find out how much your parents can pay for your education. That will determine whether or not you have any possibility to study here.</p>

<p>Hey guys, what are some things you can advice some1 going to college to do before going to college.I mean like productive things they can be doing to make the most of the time…any tips would be highly appreciated. Thanks</p>

<p>Buddy, your last post sounds like it belongs on a different forum than financial aid. </p>