I’m applying for Brandeis and F&M for business, w some financial needs. However, my family, like most Vietnamese, is tucking away money outside of the bank, as in cash in safes (my grandma keeps her money under the mattress) and in unofficial investments (lend it to other people without government-issued contracts, and it is not illegal). That is basically our culture regrading money. (in my case there’s also properties that we have waited 10 years for local authorities to finalise the papers. And we’re still waiting)
Is there any other way to prove our ability to pay for college? We have thought about pulling everything into a bank account but that means my family would lose lots of interests while waiting for the results.
Thank you very much for your comments.
Try posting in the Financial Aid forum. You may get more responses there.
You should report these assets on any financial aid forms that request parent asset information. You don’t have to prove you can pay for college, though. But you need to be honest on the FA forms.
The situations you described are part the reason US colleges are reluctant to give FA to int’ls-- it’s not possible to verify their family’s finances.
I’ve conducted overseas interviews for applicants to my S’s school. It’s staggering that some families arrive in a Mercedes Benz, live in posh addresses, and have the chutzpah to tell me they need FA.
International students do. Colleges are legally required to verify a student’s ability to cover the estimated cost of attendance before they issue visa documents.