<p>Hi everyone,
I'm an international prospective student from Asia, and I want to study in the USA! :)
However I cannot contribute much money, only around $8000 per year. I'm not a brilliant student, so for need-blind's I have very little chances.
I was thinking, is that possible if I get admitted to one college asking for financial aid only, say, half of the total costs, and re-apply again the next year, saying that my circumstances have changed, etc. Some colleges require students to re-apply for fin aid, I'm talking about them.
In fact My family will have to sell our car and assets in order to pay for my first year of studies, so if I ask for a full ride when I re-apply for finaid the next year, (since they meet 100% demonstrated need) will they give me significant aid for the last years of college?</p>
<p>Many colleges have a policy that if international students don’t apply for aid the first year, they will not be eligible in future years. </p>
<p>Colleges determine how much your family must pay. Your family may not find this amount reasonable or feasible.</p>
<p>Thank you for your response!
I will be applying for fin aid the first year, but I will be asking less money.</p>
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</p>
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That is not the way FA works. You do not get to ask for a certain amount of money. You have to provide all your financial information to the school (income/assets etc), with supporting documentation. The school determines how much your need is based on this information. So, a need aware school will be aware from the outset what your real need is and will use this information when making their decisions.</p>
<p>thank you swimcatsmom, Then lets put that in that way: When I apply for admission, I will be completing Financial aid form and there I will say that I have money (assets). Then, when I re-apply the next year, I will say that I do not have assets anymore. Will they, in that case, increase my financial aid award from the second year?</p>
<p>You will have to show documentation that proves you have the assets the first year. For International students this generally involves having officials of institutions such as banks certify that the information is correct. These forms are also part of the visa application process that is submitted to the US government (who also want a true picture of whether you have the funds to attend the school before they issue a visa).</p>
<p>So saying you have assets that you do not have is not a good idea. You will not only be attempting to deceive the school, which can lead to your admission being rescinded. You are also attempting to falsify information to the US government in order to obtain a visa, which is, to put it mildly, frowned upon.</p>
<p>Lying on any part of a college application is a very bad idea. Lying to the US government is probably a worse one.</p>
<p>thank you for your warnings very much, I’m very glad… But, I actually am not going to lie. Our family has a car and we will sell it in order to pay for the first year. But for the next years we do not have more cars, so I want to indicate that in my re-application in 2012. I hope that they will see that my financial situation has changed, as we do not have money anymore and give me financial aid.
Moreover, my little sister is going to start college in the 2013. At the time when I apply, we have money for my education, but a year later it can be not enough, since my sister also needs money to study. My financial situation has changed, will they think of that and award me a new package?</p>
<p>The value of a car is not going to make enough difference to your assets to affect your eligibility for aid whether you have a car or don’t have one. In fact it is probably not even a reportable asset for financial aid purposes. When determining your financial need, a school is interested in income, and in assets such as real estate, cash in the bank, savings, investments. Not cars - your car is pretty much irrelevant in the FA process (unless you have a fleet of Rolls Royces). </p>
<p>When a school looks at income and assets they are not expecting parents to spend 100% of their income and assets on school. They have a formula they use to determine what they think your family can contribute, and use that along with their cost of attendance to determine your need. So if the school costs $50,000 a year and they determine you can contribute $15,000 a year, your need would be considered to be $35,000. A need aware school will take that $35,000 need into account when considering your application. The $15,000 would not be based on you having $15,000 in assets which you would use up in the first year. It would be based on using a much smaller percentage of your assets. Schools will vary on the %, but FAFSA for instance (which is not for international students) uses about 5.6% of assets. So $15,000 would represent about $270,000 of assets (not taking into account any income. So thinking you can sell your car and it will make a difference to your need is wrong. (cars are not generally even considered by schools when determining financial aid, unless the family is driving Ferraris or something). </p>
<p>Also remember most schools do not promise to meet full need for International students. Many do not offer any financial aid to International students at all.</p>
<p>And the government will expect too see documented proof of sufficient assets and income (or financing such as financial aid from the school, or loans) to pay for the full four years of school before they will approve a visa.</p>
<p>That information is really helpful, swimcatsmom!
I’m going to apply to those who promise to meet 100%, there are few, but they exist and they are my way.
We have two cars and we can sell one and get 30K, which can be enough to pay for the first year. I mean if documents will be needed, we will just put these money in a bank and show them the proof.
My original question is still unanswered. =)
Some colleges require to submit financial application every year: Can that system turn up to be useful for me? Will a US college (that meet 100% dem. need of every student, including internationals) grant me a bigger aid if my financial situation dramatically changes?</p>
<p>All colleges require you to submit paperwork every year. Unless you go to a no loan school, loans may be a part (or all) of your package. f your need increases, your loans will likely increase. How do you expect to get such loans? There are very few no loan schools and you yourself said your stats aren’t the best.</p>
<p>Perhaps consider studying in your home country, saving up money, and then come to the US for graduate school?</p>
<p>At most schools you will have to have been admitted as a financial aid student in your first year in order to apply for aid in subsequent year.</p>
<p>If you as an international student show that you can pay for the first year, the school is not going to assume that you will not have enough money to pay for the second year. You will not be eligible for finanical aid in subsequent years. You will have to demonstrate that you will have money to pay for your 4 years based on the package that you have been given in year one in order to get your visa. So if you have to pay $30k in year one, you will be expected to show that you have $120k in the equivalent of US currency, loans from your bank or funds from your government to pay for 4 years of college before you get your visa.</p>
<p>Most schools have very limited financial aid for international students, which is why they must demonstrate that that they can pay for 4 years before they receive a visa. If a international student is going to get a large amount of grant aid from a school, this is most likely going to happen in the first yer. While the family must apply for financial aid each year, barring the family hitting the lottery or inheriting a large amount of money their income is going to remain relatively stable year over year.</p>
<p>We have two cars and we can sell one and get 30K,</p>
<p>Your family is lowish income and it has a car that will sell for $30k? If it’s not lowish income, then you’re not going to get a ton of aid for the later years.</p>
<p>*However I cannot contribute much money, only around $8000 per year. I’m not a brilliant student, so for need-blind’s I have very little chances.
*</p>
<p>What are your stats? If you’re not a top student, then this conversation is rather meaningless. To get into the top schools that meet need, you need tippy top stats.</p>
<p>You may need to apply to schools where you could get merit scholarships for your stats.</p>
<p>You still don’t understand how FA works. At schools that are “need-aware,” they are going to see that you only have $30k or so in your bank acct. That’s going to “clue them in” that you’re going to need a LOT more aid for those later years.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already done so, read through everything at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) Then make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to where you live. They are expert at helping students from your country find good places to study in the US. They can tell you which colleges here have accepted students like you in the past few years, and whether or not those students received any financial aid. They also can help you with the financial aid applications. Since EducationUSA and its affiliates are non-profit organizations, any fee they charge for a counseling session will be very inexpensive. Lots of the people who work in those offices are volunteers - I used to volunteer at the office when I lived in South America.</p>
<p>Unless your family will have enough money on hand to buy a new car after you have finished college, it probably isn’t a smart idea to sell the second car just so you can go to college for one year. Your education will need to be funded for four years (at least) in the US, and as you point out, you have a sister who needs to be educated as well. If both of you want to study in the US, your family will need to be able to come up with something like 250k for tuition, fees, books, materials, personal expenses, transportation, etc.</p>
<p>You don’t get to set the amount of financial need you have. The college does that based on the information you provide. They will see your financial circumstances (which you MUST present honestly) and determine if/how much aid you will receive from them. You can’t just say “I only want half”…they determine your need.</p>
<p>Since you are applying the first year, your financial circumstances will be VERY clear to the college. How in the world would you demonstrate that they “changed” the second year?</p>
<p>*Since you are applying the first year, your financial circumstances will be VERY clear to the college. How in the world would you demonstrate that they “changed” the second year? *</p>
<p>I think he thinks that after he has spent the “car money” that that will show a “circumstance change.” He doesn’t realizde that if his family doesn’t make a good income and all he has is $30k or so in the bank, the school is going to know (from the beginning) that all they have is $30k to pay for the first year …and nothing for the following years.</p>
<p>However, if this family has enough income that it can have 2 cars…one which can be sold for $30k…then it probably isn’t that low income…so may not qualify for a lot of aid anyway.</p>
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You seem to be completely missing the point. To get your visa you will have to demonstrate the ability to pay for the entire 4 years of school. This means you either have to have a good financial aid offer from the school before school starts, have financing such as loans already in place before you start school, or have sufficient income and assets to show you are capable of paying for 4 years of school - before you start school. $30,000 in the bank will not demonstrate that ability at all. The $30,000 from the car sale, though it seems a lot for a used car, is really an irrelevant amount of money in the FA/visa application process. </p>
<p>If you have the income to afford 2 cars and the second one is worth $30,000 used, it is likely a school will expect your family contribution to be considerable higher than $8000.</p>
<p>Yes, schools can increase aid in subsequent years of the family financial situation genuinely changes. But having $30,000 in the bank one year and not having $30,000 the next is not going to make much difference one way or another.</p>
<p>Gotta say…that must be SOME used car if it’s worth $30K on the used car market. Plus it would need to be fully paid for to have that $30K available for college. I’m not sure this is really going to work for this OP.</p>
<p>P.S. When you apply for financial aid the first year…the school will see your family INCOME. The CAR sale (that $30K) will only show as an asset amount. The school will very clearly see your family income. VERY clearly.</p>
<p>people thsnk you for your advises, just to clarify here… In my country cars are very expensive. 
No, I’m serious, cars are considered the same value as a real estate, we often exchenge apartments with cars - it is normal here.
My stats:
SAT1: 2000-2100 (retaking in october, maybe also in november)
SAT2: math/physics - 700
GPA: 4.0
Good extracurricular list
Internships, jobs…
I’m in top 100 students in from our Capital city (golden medal for excellence at high school)</p>