<p>Ok, I can't seem to find too many posts about this issue (which is surprising because I presume everyone has to fill out these forms as study is so expensive!) but maybe I'm a bit on the 'dim' side and these questions have easy answers that everyone else has managed to figure out.. I'll ask them anyway:) :</p>
<p>1) Paper forms are available from CB. Is there anyway these forms can be filled in online? Also PROFILE requires you to pay for every form sent, is this the same for the ISFAA? </p>
<p>2)The forms have space for 6 universities. What if I'm applying to more than 6 universities (as in 17!)? Also, on college supplements when asked to list what other schools I'm applying to I vary my list depending on the univerisy, trying to list schools from my list that have things in common with the college whom the supplement belongs to - what do I do if I list different universities on my FA form to what I said on the supplement?!!</p>
<p>3) I have a father that is a new Canadian citizen. He doesn't have a job but gets income from property rental so he does pay Canadian tax. I live with my mother in South Africa- she is my gaurdian. Do I only list her info on the form or my dad's as well? My dad is helping to pay for college but college websites require Canadian permanent residents (which I also am) to fill in the CSS PROFILE application. HOWEVER I consider myself more of a South African and am applying as a South African int'l student and therefore need to fill in the ISFAA!!! So a) which form should I fill in? b) should my dad's info be on it?</p>
<p>4) What if my dad is remarried? Would my stepmom then be a dependent on my dad's income? Even if she earns more than him and I'm not directly related to her?</p>
<p>5) What do "Emergency funds" include? Is it just money in my South African bank account to say I can get out of the US if I need to? What if I don't have emergency funds? What if I create "emergency funds" simply for the application - will the univerisities then look at that and think "Well if she can afford to have that much for spare funding then her family can obviously afford to pay a bit more than we would have thought"? or will they look at that and think "Gee, despite her family's income they are still responsible enough to keep aside spare funds"??</p>
<p>6) The form asks "How will you pay for transport?" The thing is that I am going over to the US in Dec to see my Canadian family whom I haven't seen in 2 years and while I'm in North-America I've decided to visit colleges. Then I've reasoned that there's no point in me returning home in Feb only to hopefully go back out to the US in August, so I'm going to be staying in Canada and working a bit. So, to fund my transport from SA is simple: It's a holiday my family has been saving for. But to fund my transport to the university itself will be from Canada and will probably be paid with the money I've just earned! </p>
<p>So generally I'm VERY CONFUSED and sometimes wonder if I'm just making this more complicated for myself - I just want the form to be filled in properly!!</p>
<p>1 and 3) You have to file the Profile. It doesn't matter what you self-identify as, the point is that Canadian citizens/permanent residents are usually eligible for more financial aid than pure international students, so it is in your and the college's best interest to reveal your Canadian resident status. That won't influence who is considered your guardian if you are concerned about that, it only influences how many sources of financial aid are available to you. </p>
<p>If you file the ISFAA you usually have to report the income from both of your parents as well - either using two copies of the ISFAA, one for each parent, or by using a special "noncustodial parent statement." So in the end you will have to report everything anyway. You might just as well report it in the correct way, which also maximizes your chances of admission and financial aid. (Many colleges have significantly less financial aid for non-Canadian internationals, and if a college cannot offer you financial aid they have to reject you!)</p>
<p>2) I left it blank. Colleges don't need to know where else you are applying to.</p>
<p>4) My college's financial aid office handles divorces like this: Except in very rare cases (say your step-mon is a multi-millionaire and you have been living with her ever since you were 2 months old), step-parents are never held financially responsible for the student's education. If the step-parent's main source of income (i.e. more than 50%) is one of your parents, then the step-parent (and his/her kids if applicable) would be considered a dependent on your parents' income. Otherwise the step-parent's income and assets would not affect your financial aid offer at all. In order to make the more-or-less-than-50%-decision, my college requires us to report the income and assets of all of our parents and step-parents. But policies vary by college, so this information may not be accurate at all for the colleges you are applying to.</p>
<p>5) Emergency funds as in: would you have enough money to see a doctor if you broke a leg? A few colleges provide a source of emergency money for international students (e.g. short-term loans). But if there is no source of emergency money for you, it might be a reason to reject you because you will almost definitely need extra money at some point. A few hundred or thousand dollars in the name of e.g. your step-mom that you have access to won't affect your financial aid application if your step-mom is not held accountable for your educational expenses.</p>
<p>6) Say you expect to pay for your transportation with the money you expect to earn in the upcoming months.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do you have a source of emergency funds once you arrive in the United States? 500$ OK enough??</p></li>
<li><p>How will you pay for your transportation to the United States?
What will the ans be here? No idea? Or maybe personal expenses? Isn't it a part of the financial aid package?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>That form is terrifying! All I can fill up is just zeros, zeros and more zeros!</p>
<p>I have a question about the internation student financial aid form… my parents are separated, and so it says my father must fill out the form (noncustodial) but there’s one question that says “During 2011, how much of your household income came from the following sources?” </p>
<p>Is it talking about my household income? because I don’t live with either of my parents. Or is it talking about my father’s household income (and not my mothers?)</p>