<p>I'm an international student, and I know applying for aid will hurt my chances...will it be better if I do not request for aid first, and, if I am accepted, I will then try to ask the school for aid. Does it work? Or will my request for aid be dismissed immediately?</p>
<p>No it doesn’t work. Especially since schools don’t have much aid for international students. Don’t do it.</p>
<p>Yep, fiona is right. With the exception of international need-blind schools, if you do not apply for aid right from the start during the application process as an international, you cannot apply for aid at anytime during your 4 years. </p>
<p>I quote Stanford’s acceptance letter: “Should you decide to matriculate at Stanford — and we sincerely hope you do — please understand that, as an international student, you will not be eligible for financial aid for the entire four years of your undergraduate study unless you indicated you were applying for financial aid on your application for admission. If you indicated you would not need financial aid during the admission process you will not be considered for need-based aid at any time during your undergraduate career at Stanford.”</p>
<p>depends…it can work with MIT…i mean, i didnt apply with aid, but then changed my mind (coz i felt guilty abt my parents having to pay so much), and they let me apply for aid with open arms…they were so nice abt it</p>
<p>but in the end, my paretns didnt want me to apply for aid, bcoz it wud have been pointless</p>
<p>if you’re unable to pay for college and require financial aid in the first place, how would you pay for the first one or two years in college before you apply for aid? it’ll obviously be a terrible and dangerous financial strain on your family. trust me, if you have a heart, even Harvard is not worth burdening your parents with overtime and debt. (well, Harvard is need-blind, of course =X)</p>