Because I wrote 24 applications to place where they give full need based aid, and I’ve gotten rejected from 14.
I’m still waiting for 10 more.
Did you ask for full aid?
Know that hundreds of thousands of kids-- my own among them-- would LOVE a free ride to college-- any college. But there simply isn’t enough money to give away college educations to the vast number of kids who would like it.
The schools which can afford to give full aid are also the hardest ones to get into, period.
Yes.
Look at me, rejected from 24 colleges! Thank god I got full tuition at U of Alabama.
But Paul, you are still paying some thing. Free lunch is NOT easy to come by. Maybe if your name is Malala?
No XD.
Yeah I am still paying downgraded meal(so no free lunch), international fee, dormitory, health insurance, etc. Costed less than 4500$ per semester.
“free lunch” is an American saying.
It means getting something without paying for it.
And, man, if my kids could get a college education-- and away at school for that matter, for $4500 per semester, we would call it the deal of the century.
@artloversplus
He didn’t say full ride (otherwise known as free lunch), he said full tuition. That means virtually by definition that he is paying everything else like room, board, books, transportation and any fees they tack on.
Still a good deal XD
It is tough for an international to ask for aid as this diminishes your chance of acceptance greatly.
Yes, it’s common. The more a university needs to invest in you, the more you need to be exceptional. You need to be unique in the pool of applicants for them to invest $60,000 in your education. In countries where the average monthly salary is about two hundred dollars, only students who are different and far above everyone else have a shot because their parents truly can’t contribute anything. Even in many European countries, where the average salary is below $20,000 a year, paying for room and board isn’t a choice parents can make, even if they wish they could. The more money you need, the harder it’ll be to get into any university with funds for you and the more they must want you.
That’s why it’s good to do things like Paul: apply to colleges that offer need-based aid, and apply to colleges that offer merit-based aid for your stats (ie., if you got 1400 CR+M in one sitting, apply to U Alabama’s College of Engineering. Or, if you have 1300 CR+M in one sitting, apply to Howard.)
Just to be clear, the saying is "There’s no such thing as a free lunch’. Meaning you always pay one way or the other., or there is a hidden cost.
It’s funny how none of you actually answered the question, but instead made comments on free lunches and other irrelevant stuff.
Yes, it is common.
Alrighty then. Yes, it is very common.
Apparently you weren’t paying attention to what we were saying…
International students don’t get federal financial aid. That’s why even rich colleges like Penn will reject international students that they would like to admit (they explicitly state this). If you’re asking for a significant amount of aid, they have to weigh how much you will bring to the college versus the money they would have to give you. Citizens/permanent residents have many more opportunities for aid (scholarships, state aid, etc.) so it’s just a practical thing for colleges. I was lucky enough to receive full aid at NYU despite being undocumented (I’m considered international at most places).
I do think that there is a distinction to make.
One, many colleges love internationals, IF they can full pay.
Two, just because you have comparable stats to a US citizen who would get federal and state aid, if you are an international you may not be eligible for it. So the option is to offer you a spot and very little aid if any, or not offer you a spot.
Three, I am sure even in your country that your citizens get priority over those from other countries. It is like taking care of your family first, and then worrying about your neighbor. US colleges have pressure to serve US students first and best, unless there are specific agreements in place.
Four, there is a stereotype which is sometimes true, that it is far easier to hide money if you are not from the US. We have everything tracked, so unless our money is under our mattress, the government knows where we are keeping it. Less so in certain countries.
On that last point, if an adcom sees someone asking for substantial financial aid, but they attended a well-regarded international high school with a high cost, that seems very fishy. People who have paid $50,000 US per year for pre-college education now needing financial aid to attend college seems suspicious. I have seen it happen, though it might be rare.
It all depends upon where you apply, and what your competition is. Some international students do very well with aid at LACs outside the top 40, say. But they frequently have to contribute at least something to the cost of their education. Location can be a factor, too. You might have more success in the midwest or south, rather than in the east coast urban centers. We met a young woman from Belarus who is getting a great education at Earlham College in Indiana.