<p>I’m still not very sure if I’m going to be applying to Wharton or the college. Probably the college cuz’ it’ll be less competitive. But, I was wondering if anyone could help me out on Penn’s financial aid policy towards internationals. I come from a family whose annual income translated in dollars probably comes up to 39000. So, I need all the aid I can get. Are there anyy instances of Penn giving near-abouts full rides to its students?</p>
<p>Penn is not need-blind for intl students as I'm sure you realise. AFAIK the situation is that if you are accepted to Penn they will meet 100% of your need. Apparently this is different from places like Cornell where you will get accepted but they won't give you any money. So if you get in then it's all good, but it is <em>much</em> more competitive than the regular pool, or so they tell you. I got in with relatively mediocre stats and I get fin. aid though, so it can't be all bad. I'm not quite on a full ride but they are OK about money, and they will help you out if you go and speak to them about it. The one problem is health insurance. Most people are covered by parental insurance so they don't really factor it in to your aid calculation. $2000 isn't that much compared to the sticker price, but when you compare it with a $7000 EFC it gets a lot more intimidating.
Don't get discouraged though, and do apply to wharton not the college if that's where you really want to be.</p>
<p>Financial Aid for International students is miserable, UNLESS you are Canadian or Mexican. Last year, they sent me a letter saying that because I was an international student and I had applied for financial aid, I had two options, either reconsider and withdraw or stay and expect my admission to be MUCH MORE competitive. They will meet all your need if you are Canadian or Mexican, so no worries if you are coming from there.</p>
<p>they sent me that letter too...and I still got in with aid.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot you guys, for replying. lauraanne, so, does that mean that you need to pay $2000 annually for health insurance alone? Wow! Okay, that's all I can probably contribute towards my college expenses in total. Also, since I want to major in Economics (but not yet sure whether I want to concentrate in Business), can you recommend which would be a better choice - the college or Wharton?</p>
<p>And most universities say that its going to be really difficult to get in with aid. Northwestern mentioned that a million times in their brochure. I was just wondering about the reality of the situation, so your case, lauraanne is inspiring. :)</p>
<p>If you just want to take econ you should probably apply to the College. Wharton is all business with a lot of required classes and not a lot of flexibility in terms of electives. If you major in econ in the College you can still take some classes at Wharton, maybe do an interschool minor, but also get a more liberal arts education.
And yes, health insurance is $2000 a year. I'm sure you can find cheaper options, but as a non-citizen it's not too easy to find good deals, and it makes life a little simpler to purchase Penn insurance. You do get some loans as part of your fin. aid package, and I expect if you really struggle they can increase your loan amounts too.</p>
<p>Okay, now it sounds more do-able if I take loans into account as well. What do you mean by "really struggle" though? As in, once you're in, then keep begging them to give you more aid? Well... first I need to get in to take on that headache.</p>
<p>Also, the College would probably be the best way to go then, cuz' I am looking for a liberal arts education primarily. That's why I wanted to go a college in the States in the first place. Thanks a lot for clarifying my doubts.</p>
<p>"once you're in, then keep begging them to give you more aid? "
that's more or less how it works! It took me a while to get through to them when my financial circumstances changed, and also to convince them that I needed my financial aid calculated some time before July so that I could apply for a new visa. What I found really helped was talking to my academic advisor about it, he was able to pull some strings for me and get me an appointment with someone who knew what they were talking about. Basically if you make enough of a fuss they will eventually notice you.</p>
<p>And yeah, the College is definitely the way to go for a liberal arts education at Penn.</p>