<p>I am an international applicant [from Brazil] and have just finished my applications. </p>
<p>I notice now, however, a strange aspect making different the applications that I sent: in some of them, I was requested to fill an Affidavit of Financial Support, claiming that my family had enough resources to pay for my college education without any aid.</p>
<p>On the other hand, other universities told me that I would have to fill one of those Affidavits only if I got accepted, while some others didn't even mention such document. Does this really depend on the college to which I am applying? For a while, I felt as if I had forgotten to fill things in some of the applications (those that didn't request a financial statement). Note that I am not making reference to need-blind universities.</p>
<p>My question is: why is there such discrepancy? Does this really vary from college to college?</p>
<p>Did you apply for financial aid? If you did, you will have to fill out a form for financial aid anyway.</p>
<p>I am in the same situation. I filled out the finance form for American University and Davidson College, but no other schools. I applied to Columbia University ED without filling out one. I did get a decision (deferred) so I guess Columbia doesn’t require one. I was asked to fill out one after I was accepted to Georgia Tech for visa purposes.</p>
<p>My guess is that some colleges process their I-20s and other visa documents before the admission decisions are released. You don’t have to worry about only some of your schools requiring the finance forms.</p>
<p>It does indeed depend on the college. If they ask for this information now, you have to give it now. If they don’t ask for it, you don’t. </p>
<p>In either case, you will still need to complete the financial form that is required for your student visa application after you have your I-20 from the college that you are going to attend.</p>
<p>When you have to file the necessary information varies among colleges, but as an international who is not already in the US, you will have to provide proof that your parents or you have the ability/assets to pay the total estimated costs (tuition, fees, room and board, books, some discretionary spending amount) for the first academic year is documentation that is necessary for you to acquire a visa that allows you into the US to attend college.</p>
<p>Many colleges, particularly all public universities, do not provide need based financial aid to internationals. Many, but not all, of those require the submission of the required forms and financial info for you to be considered for admission. Others, including those that provide some financial aid to internationals do not require anything to be submitted until after you are admitted because aid given is considered in your ability to cover the first year of costs.</p>
<p>^The public colleges to which I’ve applied are Purdue, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and University of Michigan. Neither of them requested me (as far as I am convinced) to fill a financial form so far.</p>