<p>Hi. I am absolutely new to this and can barely distinguish merit-based from need. </p>
<h2>I was wondering about the criteria that an international transfer student might be subject to when applying for need-blind financial aid at, say… Yale. Big school, lovely academics, lots of cash, loads of competition, the works. Here goes:</h2>
<li><p>My understanding of need-blind: the applicants’ requests for money do not factor into the school’s selection of students. Have I got this right? </p></li>
<li><p>The big question: Is it possible for a school to accept a student and deny the student any financial aid sought, at the same time?</p></li>
<li><p>If a school <em>can</em> say YES to an applicant but also say NO to financial aid, what are the specific criteria of a NO?
-Are financial aid applicants’ papers drawn on a scale from well-off to minimum-wage - and then cut beneath a certain line?
-Are international market currencies and things taken into consideration? My parents are both lawyers, but their meager pay belies the posh-sounding job description; besides, life necessities cost a lot in Seoul, where we live.
-Does the presence of siblings enhance chances of a YES? I have a little brother who will be entering college very soon, and I’d hate to hog the family finances.
-I read somewhere that in the case of some transfers, the schools that are “transferred to” (for lack of a better word) look at the cost of the school that is “transferred from” when settling tuition fees. Is this true in the case of Yale?</p></li>
<li><p>Can being an international student, or being a transfer student, or being both, play down an applicant’s chances?</p></li>
<li><p>Does need-blind financial aid have interest, and are beneficiaries expected to return the money …like a loan?</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>6. Is need-blind financial aid 100%? Or can percentage etc. vary depending on the sort of family circumstances I fretted over in question number 3? </h2>
<p>Sorry, I’m a wordy nerd, scared stiff by the prospect of having no money to pay tuition, applying transfer to the most scrumptious college imaginable. Help would really be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.</p>