While my family’s household income (4 total members) is under 50k (and has been for over a decade), how will overseas assets factor in?
My parents have a bit over a million USD in overseas property (due to the housing boom).
Would it be possible to say that I grew up in poverty and use that for both admission and financial aid?
CSS Profile is pretty detailed and although i don’t remember specifics, seems to ask for every type income and asset possible. Providing false information on legal documents is obviously never recommended.
What answer do you hope to get with a question like this?
Right, but in my essays, couldn’t I make a case for growing up poor?
Need-based financial aid is based on the family’s current (or recent) financial situation. Saying that you “grew up in poverty” won’t make a difference for financial aid, if things have changed.
You financial aid will be based on how Your financials are in the prior prior year from filing the forms.
Sure…you can put whatever you want in your essays. That MIGHT (note…might) help,wothnadmissions if it’s about YOU and not your parents.
It’s not going to help you one bit in terms of need based financial aid…because the financial aid office is separate from admissions…and won’t SEE your essays.
You will need to be HONEST and list all assets your parents have on the financial aid forms. HONEST.
And that might not be the best essay topic. If that is integral to who you are, maybe it will work but as noted above, the financial aid department will never read your essay nor do they care about your financial status even five years ago.
And my parents financials have been pretty stable for the last decade or so (by housing boom I meant in the early 2000’s, not the 2008 American one).
Are you applying to colleges that require the Profile form? Or to Princeton that has its own form?
Why don’t you do the net price calculator on each college website…see what you get. Include the asset amount.
You assets could be located on the moon…and you would still be required to include them.
If your parents are self employed or own a business, this won’t be accurate. Are,they self employed?
You know what the ethics of this are. Have some integrity.
My mom is unemployed (and has been for about 15 years) while my dad is an engineer (making about 45k a year and has been for the past decade or so).
They don’t own a business, the properties were given to them from my grandparents around 20 years ago. It wasn’t really an investment, but it was the home that they lived in (me and my parents are immigrants)
Then run the net price calculators…and see what you get.
Do you qualify for free lunch or food stamps?
Can your parents file a 1040 A r 1040 EZ form?
I think it is a sign of the times (I hope soon to be former times) that the notion of growing up poor is considered a hook so much so that students hope for faux poverty as grist for the essay mill. In any case, the CSS profile is pretty detailed so if you are applying to schools that require the profile you should not fabricate information. The FAFSA is a bit less detailed but they do ask about real estate regardless of the country.
As an aside, your family might consider selling the real estate, investing it fairly conservatively in the USA and doubling your family income indefinitely.
Well my parents hate the US and they want to move back after me and my brother are out of college so that really wouldn’t work.
Could you please answer my questions posed in post 11?
What is your immigration status? Are you a citizen or legal permanent resident or in refugee/asylee status? If not, you won’t be eligible for federal (FAFSA) aid.
If you are in a category where you qualify for federal aid, then there are certain situations where you would not be required to include the value of the foreign property on your FAFSA. See the list in #11 above. Otherwise you will need to include the value in US dollars at the exchange of the day. If your parents are renting out the property, that income is reportable too.
@happymomof1 is referring to the si oilfield needs test. If your AGI income is below $49,999 AND you are eligible for a means tested benefit, OR are on free or reduced lunch OR one parent is a dislocated worker (yours isn’t), you might qualify for this IF you are able to do the fafsa. If so, your assets would NOT be asked for on the FAFSA.
But be alerted,.,there is NO si plofied needs test for schools that use the Profile.
Also, you say that your dad is an engineer and has earned less,than $50,000 for over 10 years? Are you sure? Does he work full time?
Not really sure, will have to check up on that.
Yep, he works full time (and graduated from Tsinghua, the most prestigious engineering university in China), and has about 20 years of experience.
The main reason he has made less that 50k for the past decade is because he is on a H-1B visa (so the company can pay him pretty much whatever they want). He doesn’t really work for the money, he works to maintain the visa extensions.
I am getting my Greencard(legal permanent resident) very soon (as in a couple months). I immigrated to the US about 11 years ago and I am still a junior (so I will have time before college to qualify for FAFSA).
Overseas assets must also be declared on your parents annual taxes, unless they have been deliberately filing false returns over the past 10 years also. This. drives. me. nuts…