<p>When calculating your level of need for financial aid, do colleges take into account the cost of living for american citizens abroad? I live in Australia (my mum is australian) and the cost of living here is much higher than in the US, and that's not even taking into account that the Australian dollar is worth more than the US dollar so that makes even more of a difference. Not too mention how much more we pay in taxes...</p>
<p>The cost of living isn’t part of the formula for computing need based aid for anyone, not citizens living in the U.S. and not for those living abroad.</p>
<p>No. They don’t even take into account different cost of living in different parts of the USA, and that can vary wildly from small town mid west to say New York City.</p>
<p>The income taxes paid would probably be taken into account though.</p>
<p>well I guess that makes sense for inside the US because you choose where you live within your own country, but Australia is home and all my mum’s family is here so its not really the same situation choice-wise. anyway thanks for the info, this is going to be a huge problem…</p>
<p>Well, I’d assume that you have the choice of attending an Australian university instead, wouldn’t you?</p>
<p>yeah I will also be applying to an australian uni. do you know what the reason is that they don’t factor in cost of living? I feel like that’s sort of a massive oversight in determining a family’s ability to pay for college</p>
<p>Where you live is considered a choice. And for you, as a student abroad, you also have the choice of attending college in Australia. </p>
<p>It is very difficult to compare your cost of living with folks here in the U.S. while the costs are perhaps high, you also don’t have expenses for things like health insurance and health care. </p>
<p>Your family is living in Australia, but the cost of living there isn’t really higher than Midtown Manhattan, or Fairfield county CT.</p>
<p>Well, look at it this way . . . you have two families, Family A and Family B. Family A lives in the most affluent community in the United States, in a multimillion dollar home, and spends a huge chunk of their massive income to pay the mortgage on that home. Family B lives in a one-room house (you could generously call it a “shack”) in one of the poorest rural communities in the country, and spends a huge chunk of their very, very small income just to pay for heat and electricity for that house. So, would it really be fair to consider only the income that’s left for each family after their living expenses are paid?</p>
<p>The reality is that Family A probably wouldn’t be able to earn the income that they do if they lived elsewhere in the country, so, to some extent, they’re kind of stuck with the cost of living in their community. So, to ignore cost of living doesn’t always produce a fair result. Still, I guess that it’s as close as one can get to a fair result for most families most of the time.</p>
<p>*Where you live is considered a choice.
And for you, as a student abroad, you also have the choice of attending college in Australia. *</p>
<p>Exactly.</p>
<p>@thumper1- health care is NOT free here. I’ve had some health problems over the past 6 months and its cost my family thousands of dollars. also, you would only live in midtown manhattan if you had a lot of money, when en entire country has a higher cost of living, its not really the same situation
@dodgersmom- I’m talking about for instance two families with the same income who live in areas with extremely different costs of living</p>
<p>When you file the paperwork, you will convert all figures to USD at the exchange of the day. They might not look so bad after that. Check <a href=“http://www.EducationUSA.state.gov%5B/url%5D”>www.EducationUSA.state.gov</a> for the locations of the advising centers in Australia. Even if you can’t visit in person, the counselors there should be able to give you some help by email or phone.</p>
<p>Summer…</p>
<p>The fed gov’t doesn’t give much “free aid,” so even if there was some kind of adjustment, you probably still wouldn’t qualify for “free money”. </p>
<p>What is your FAFSA EFC? If you don’t know, what is your family income in US dollars?</p>
<p>Also look at it this way…your family isn’t paying taxes here, so really how much aid should you expect from US taxpayers?</p>
<p>mom2collegekids I’m talking about institutional aid from private universities</p>
<p>Each place gets to make up its own policies about institutional aid. Fir a guesstimate, convert your figures to USD and run each institution’s Net Price Calculator (NPC). For specific details, ask the various Financial Aid offices. Yes, it is OK to ask. Right mow might not be a good time, because it is busy season for them. But try in June or later.</p>
<p>Each college has their own formula for computing institutional need based aid. The most generous schools use the CSS Profile (exception Princeton which uses its own form) in addition to the FAFSA, with more weight given to the information on the Profile. I agree, you should run your financial figures using the net price calculators for your schools. Make sure you do each one as the formulas vary wildly.</p>
<p>yes I was planning on doing this, thanks for the advice! also @happymomof1 I checked out your link and they have an admissions info session this week at the US consulate 20 minutes from my house!</p>
<p>Excellent! They should be a good resource for you.</p>