Hi all!
so I am from India and am applying for journalism undergraduate program in US universities. I have filled out the application forms and am told that if I want to be considered for financial aid, I need to fill the CSS PROFILE as well which would drop my chances of getting admission into my desired universities since for international applicants, most universities have a need- aware policy.
Below is a brief summary of my application and the universities to which i am applying. Can anyone please guide as to what would be the ideal course of action? Should I apply for aid and risk being declined admission? or should i apply and hope for the best?
SAT score: 1990
TOEFL: 115
GPA: grade X- 10/10 AND grade XII: 87/100 (unweighted; this is not according to US standards, but indian where curriculum is slightly tougher which is taken into account by the universities)
ECAs: some state and national awards in debating; went for a cultural echange program to Japan, rotary member; internship at Asian News International(ANI), and lots of other activities in school like president of literary club, school magazine, etc.
Universities to which i have applied: Northwestern university, NYU, IU Bloomington, UNC Chapel Hill and Pepperdine
Presently my family can pay half of my tuition and I think I’ll get some scholarships as well and I don’t mind some part-time work.
What to do folks? Help!
What will you do if you are accepted with no aid and no scholarship? To me, if you can only pay half tuition then you really need to apply for aid. In addition to the other half of the tuition, you need to pay about 15,000 for room and board and expenses. As for working, international students are very much restricted by OPT/CPT and I think to only on campus work and you can’t expect to make more than 1,000 to 3,000 per year doing that. That won’t help much. Fill out the CSS and indicate how much you will be able to pay, I think there is a slot for that. So even if need aware, they can see how much you need and maybe they can admit you and give it.
Northwestern is a difficult admit and your SAT is low for them, although your grades look great. You could get into NYU, but I would be surprised if they gave you any money. I don’t know if IU gives money to internationals, doubtful as publics usually don’t. UNC does but it is often said that you need to be a star athlete to get in from OOS. Pepperdine, I doubt they give big money, not sure. What an odd collection of schools.
Look and see what the schools require for international students to be considered for need based financial aid. Then complete all of the requirements for each school, and don’t miss the deadlines!
If the Profile is required, yes, you need to complete it.
Do all that the school requires for financial aid applications. If you don’t, your file will be incomplete and you won’t be considered for any aid at all.