need-based aid for international student?

Paying for College
1

<p>On the common app, they ask: Do you intend to apply for need-based financial aid?
I definitely want to apply for need-based financial aid... buuut when i click on "yes", it tells me:
Federal law requires you to provide your social security number on your federal forms to be considered for financial aid. Colleges request that you also include your social security number on your application. This number is used to verify your identity and retrieve your record. Most institutions require you apply for federal student financial aid before you can be considered for institutional need-based aid.</p>

<p>Does that mean I can't apply for need-based aid because i'm applying as an international student?
So should I put " NO"?</p>

2

<p>^^^</p>

<p>Only very few colleges provide financial aid for international students. Many/most colleges depend of federal aid to provide financial aid to its students and that aid is only available to US residents. </p>

<p>It sounds like you are applying to schools that give federal aid, so a SSN is needed.</p>

<p>If you need aid, then you probably shouldn’t bother applying to schools that don’t give aid to int’ls. What’s the point of getting accepted if you can’t afford to go there?</p>

<p>There are are few colleges (Ivies and similar) that provide “need determined” aid to int’ls. To have a chance at acceptance (which is difficult), you have to have very high stats and a hook.</p>

<p>There are some colleges that give merit scholarships to int’ls with high stats. </p>

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>How much can your family contribute?</p>

3

<p>There are a number of LACs, especially in the midwest, that do give both need and merit aid to international students. Contact the Financial Aid Offices to ask how to submit the info without a SSN.</p>

4

<p>*emeraldkity posted this info for int’l students</p>

<p>Schools with Financial Aid for International Undergraduate Students
Some US schools are more likely than others to offer financial aid for international undergraduate students. The lists below indicate which schools offer aid (including grants, loans, and jobs) to the largest numbers of international students. The lists are based on a list originally compiled by Douglas C. Thompson.</p>

<p>To be included in the following lists, the schools must have an average award that is greater than 1/5 of the cost of attendance. The financial aid may include grants, loans, and jobs, and often includes both merit and need-based awards. Within each group, schools are listed in alphabetical order.</p>

<p>(Remember that a much greater number of schools provide financial aid for international graduate students in the form of teaching and research assistantships. For information about financial aid for graduate study in the US, you should contact the schools that interest you even if they aren’t included in the lists below.)</p>

<p>It a school is not listed here, it probably does not have much financial aid for international students. However, it is worth noting that some schools may have athletic scholarships that are open to both international students and US students. The lists below do not count the number of athletic scholarships awarded to international students.*</p>

<p>Schools with Awards to More than 150 Students</p>

<p>Arizona State University (AZ)
Barry University (FL)
Clark Univ. (MA)
Eastern Michigan Univ. (MI)
Grinnell College (IA)
Harding Univ. (AR)
Harvard (MA)
Illinois Inst. of Tech. (IL)
Liberty Univ. (VA)
Louisiana State Univ. (LA)
Macalester College (MN)
Marquette Univ. (WI)
MIT (MA)
Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Ohio Wesleyan Univ. (OH)
Princeton (NJ)
Univ. of Bridgeport (CT)
Univ. of Houston (TX)
Univ. of Pennsylvania ¶
Univ. of South Florida (FL)</p>

<p>Schools with Awards to 100-149 Students</p>

<p>Brown Univ. (RI)
Calvin College (MI)
College of Wooster (OH)
Dartmouth (NH)
Dordt College (IA)
Eckerd College (FL)
Florida Inst. of Tech. (FL)
Georgia Southern Univ. (GA)
Graceland College (IA)
Luther College (IA)
Middlebury College (VT)
Northeast Louisiana (LA)
Oberlin (OH)
Savannah Coll. of Art (GA)
Slippery Rock Univ. ¶
Smith College (MA)
Stanford (CA)
Texas Christian Univ. (TX)
Tri-State Univ. (IN)
Univ. of Miami (FL)
Univ. of Rochester (NY)
Yale (CT)</p>

<p>Schools with Awards to 50-99 Students
Abilene Christian Univ. (TX)
Allegheny College ¶
Augsburg College (MN)
Beloit College (WI)
Bethany College (WV)
Brandeis Univ. (MA)
Bryn Mawr College ¶
California Lutheran (CA)
Cleveland Inst. of Music (OH)
Colby College (ME)
Columbia Univ. (NY)
Concordia Coll. (MN)
Cornell Univ. (NY)
Denison Univ. (OH)
Franklin & Marshall ¶
George Wash. Univ. (DC)
Goshen College (IN)
Houghton College (NY)
Ithaca College (NY)
Julliard School (NY)
Knox College (IL)
Lake Forest College (IL)
Lawrence Univ. (WI)
Lewis & Clark (OR)
Lynn Univ. (FL)
Maharishi Intl. Univ. (IA)
Monmouth College (IL)
North Park Univ. (IL)
Principia College (IL)
Rochester Inst. of Tech. (NY)
St. Augustine’s College (NC)
St. Johns College (MD)
St. Lawrence Univ. (NY)
St. Olaf College (MN)
Trinity College (CT)
Tulane Univ. (LA)
Univ. of Maine (ME)
Univ. of Wisc./Eau Clair (WI)
US International Univ. (CA)
Washington College (MD)
Washington Univ. (MO)
Wesleyan Univ. (CT)
Western Maryland Coll. (MD)
Wittenberg Univ. (OH)</p>

<p>Schools with Awards to 15-49 Students</p>

<p>Albright College ¶
Amherst College (MA)
Augustana College (IL)
Bard College (NY)
Bates College (ME)
Bennington College (VT)
Bowdoin College (ME)
CalTech (CA)
Central College (IA)
Coe College (IA)
Colgate Univ. (NY)
Davidson College (NC)
Dickinson College ¶
Earlham College (IN)
Eastern Nazarene (MA)
Elizabethtown College ¶
Elmira College (NY)
Gettysburg College ¶
Gustavas Adolphus Coll. (MN)
Hamilton College (NY)
Hampshire College (MA)
Hood College (MD)
Johns Hopkins (MD)
Kalamazoo College (MI)
Kenyon College (OH)
Lafayette College ¶
Messiah College ¶
Michigan State Univ. (MI)
Mount Union College (OH)
Occidental College (CA)
Spalding Univ. (KY)
Swarthmore College ¶
Taylor Univ. (IN)
Thomas Aquinas Coll. (CA)
Troy State Univ. (AL)
Univ. of Chicago (IL)
Univ. of Colorado/Bldr (CO)
Univ. of Oregon (OR)
Univ. of St. Thomas (MN)
Univ. of the South (TN)
Vassar College (NY)
Wabash College (IN)
Wellesley College (MA)
West Virginia Wesleyan (WV)
William Smith College (NY)
Williams College (MA) </p>

<p>But as you can see it is quite competitve-I don’t think schools are need blind or generally offer 100% either to internationals.
In our area international students generally attend community colleges to save money.</p>

<hr>

<p>Another poster provided this info…</p>

<p>*I would also like to warn international students seeking aid that need-blind does not mean it is generous when giving out aid. Middlebury for example award loans, and lots of it. Whereas schools like Bates, Connecticut College and Colorado College do NOT award loans. All grants which will increase as tuition increases. </p>

<p>Do ask colleges questions about financial aid because if you don’t ask, you will most probably get a shock when you receive your aid package. Ask about loans, interests (and whether it’s interest free while you are in college), and questions like cost of air tickets and such.</p>

<p>And as a matter of fact, schools that award more aid to a greater number of international students means that their aid package wouldn’t be that good (unless of course they have got huge endowments). For example, Beloit, Knox usually never go beyond half-tuition whereas Bates, Kenyon can go all the way up to full tuition. *</p>

<hr>

<p>So…more info is needed…</p>

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>How much aid do you need? Privates cost of attendance can run about $40k -50k per year, so how much can your family contribute.</p>

<p>If you need a lot of aid, then you need to target those schools that can give a lot of aid to internationals. As someone mentioned, the schools that give BIG aid to numerous internationals are often the ones who don’t give a lot of aid (non loans) in their packages.</p>

<p>BTW…how do you feel about loans? Do you have someone who can co-sign, if needed? </p>

<p>Others…is it true that some schools require internationals to have
a US resident co-signer? Someone mentioned that on another thread.</p>

<p>Also, does anyone know if any of the above schools use stats to determine which int’l students they will give aid to?</p>

5

<p>They give the aid to their top candidates with demonstrated need. Many if not most have a certain number of seats for each country. So from India and most Asian countries competition is brutal and from small African countries much easier.</p>