<p>Hi everyone, i had a doubt regarding financial aid. My family might possibly be able to afford a complete 4-year college education, however, i was wondering if i could still apply for Financial Aid, and also, if a college declines my financial aid request, is it necessary that they will decline my application all together? Thanks for your time :)</p>
<p>If you are an US Citizen/Permanent resident most schools are going to be need blind so your ability to pay may not matter. If you are an international student, there are only approximately 7 schools in the country that are both need blind and will meet 100% of demonstrated need to international students. They are the most competitive when it comes to gaining admissions. All others, your ability to pay ill be a factor in the admissions process. </p>
<p>If you think that you are going to need financial aid at anytime over the next 4 years, apply because financial aid is limited for international students and many schools will not grant you aid if you do not apply for aid as a freshman. it is better to apply for aid and have the school turn you down, leaving the door open in later years than it is not to apply for aid, need aid down the line and not be in a position to receive aid.</p>
<p>It looks like you are international and that you are applying to some very expensive schools. Are you still applying ED to Brown, because if you are accepted then you can’t apply to other schools.</p>
<p>Look at the lower tier schools that offer merit scholarships based on grades and test scores. </p>
<p>Ask your parents exactly how much they will be able to pay for your schooling.</p>
<p>And this is what I always wonder: lots of high school students ask that same question about whether or not applying for financial aid means that they might be rejected altogther. Perhaps it might, but the alternative is that you don’t apply for financial aid, get accepted, but then can’t afford to go anyway. Best to be honest about your situation!</p>
<p>User22 -</p>
<p>The expert on financial aid for international students is b@r!um. Go look for her posts in the International Students Forum. She has excellent ideas on finding places that will offer some some aid.</p>
<p>* My family might possibly be able to afford a complete 4-year college education, however, i was wondering if i could still apply for Financial Aid, and also, if a college declines my financial aid request, is it necessary that they will decline my application all together?*</p>
<p>If you’re applying to schools that are “need aware” for int’ls, then you might face some risk. Your app will be in the “applied for FA pile” as opposed to the “full pay” pile. That can hurt your application.</p>
<p>frankly, I think schools find it a pain in the tush to look into the income/assets for int’ls from some countries, so applying without a request for aid would seem to be a big plus.</p>
<p>If you’re not sure if your family can pay for all 4 years, then apply to a couple of schools that will give you large merit for stats. that’s not applying for aid, since that doesn’t usually requre applying for FA.</p>
<p>What are your parents saying about how much they’ll pay? If they can pay $60k+ per year, then it’s very doubtful that you’d qualify for any need-based aid anyway.</p>