I’ll be attending the University of Montréal in the fall, and me and my parents are trying to find scholarships to help fund my degree. Unfortunately, most of the scholarships I’m finding require that the applicant be attending a college in the US, which I am not. There are a very limited amount of undergraduate scholarships for international students in Canada and Québec, and my school states that it doesn’t provide scholarships to international students.
You’re in a tough spot, and it COULD be that your options are very, very few. I would start with your major – see if there is funding by professional and/or private organizations looking to boost particular fields. Whether or not they will fund an American planning to study in Canada - that no one can tell you. Only the funders themselves. At the same time, you should be looking for a back-up plan. If you got into University of Montréal, you might also get into an American school with merit aid. Of course, it’s too late for next year, but that could be an option for next year if your Canadian plan doesn’t pan out due to finances.
Hmm. Well tuition is only about 12,000 USD per year, and living costs are pretty inexpensive. Rent tends to be around $300 or $400 a month for a more than reasonable place. That was one of the reasons I could choose Montreal. Another option was going to a university in France where there is practically no tuition, and I did apply, but chose Montreal instead because I liked it better when I visited.
I should’ve mentioned I’m already on a gap year, so I don’t think taking a second one is feasible.
The good news is we are getting around $4200 in Pell grants and qualify for $5500 in federal direct loans, but like most people, we’re in a financial position where scholarships would make it a whole lot easier. I found a handful of private essay scholarships listed in UdeM’s directory; they each offer a few thousand dollars. Not much as far as scholarships go, but hey, it’s free money.
If I had to, I think taking out a direct loan could cover me for the whole degree. A total debt of like $22,000, assuming we took out the loan every year, still seems like nothing compared to the debt a lot of my friends will have at the end of their degrees in the US.
And “worst” case scenario, I can transfer to a school in France if we really can’t afford it. I’d still get to study in French and it would be much more affordable, although I much prefer the atmosphere in Québec.
I do wonder how many people are in the same situation. Do you think there’s any special reason that most scholarships won’t fund an American doing their degree in Canada? Is there maybe some legal reason?
The max that you can borrow is $5500, which you have already calculated as part of your cost. Anything more than that you will need a cosigner (a fool with a pen). If you have $4200 Pell grant, it may may be a challenge for your parents to get a PLUS loan and to get additional loans each year (they have to be approved each year based on their creditworthiness. Do you have an affordable option in the US?
Oh, does the Stafford loan not work the same as the Pell grant? The $5500 is a single amount and not every year (provided you’re approved every year)? I’m quite new to this.
I don’t have an affordable option in the US. This is in part due to the fact that my whole plan has been to get out of the US and resettle somewhere else. But if I had to, I could go to CUNY or one of the NJ state schools (my home state). However, any university in France with no tuition fees would be preferable to any school in NYC or especially in NJ.
According to the studentaid.ed.gov website, Direct loans are available for some schools outside the U.S., but Pell grants can be used only at U.S. schools.
Well, that’s a bummer. Grants cannot be. Federal loans, subsidized and unsubsidized as well as PLUS, can be. I guess that makes sense, but Jesus, I didn’t think it would be so hard to get funding. I think I’m going to have to discuss with my parents how we’re going to afford this.
I’m partly putting all this information down in case there is someone else who happens to be in a similar situation. It doesn’t seem that unusual or unreasonable to me that someone might want to go abroad to get their whole degree.
I don’t think it’s unusual to want to leave your state for college. Lots of kids want that, they just can’t afford it. Your budget seems to be the federal Pell grant of $4200 and the federal student loan (~$5500/year). If you work summers you can probably raise ~$3k/year. That gives you ~$12k/year. Are there any colleges in NJ that you can attend for $12k?
I don’t know if the Pell or student loan will be available if you attend an international school. Even if you could use them to pay the $12k yearly tuition in Montreal, you’d still need ~$10k or more/year for room and board, plus money for books, living expenses, and travel. There aren’t any scholarships for international students in Canada, and you’re not finding any in the US that will pay for you to go to college in Montreal. If you want to go to college in the fall, you may need to start looking closer to home.
Very disappointing Looks like I’m in a tough spot indeed.
Somewhere like Rowan University would be $9k. But the goal is to leave NJ. Public universities in France are free (or $400 a year), and then there’s living expenses. I predict that I’ll get in, or at least that’s what the CampusFrance agent told me over the phone. So if U of Montreal isn’t possible in the end, I can hope I got accepted to the NY and French schools I applied to.
If neither of your parents actually live in NYC, then you will have to pay the out of city rate for CUNY, which is $9600 a year at the community college ( you would have to do an on the spot admissions at community college because the deadline at the 4 year schools have passed.
Why did you choose Université de Montréal? McGill does offer merit scholarships and need based grants to Americans and it is in the federal student loan program. These are things you should have researched months ago.
The rate for the regular colleges is $16k I believe. But then again I would also have access to the federal aid and loans, as well as way more scholarships, right?
It’s kind of a long story, and say what you will, but I missed the deadline for McGill. I got an offer from Concordia though, I just didn’t particularly want to go to an anglophone university, and I’ve already accepted the offer from UdeM. I think Concordia offers a similar thing.
Looks like I’m in a tough spot indeed.