I am international student applying for financial aid. I didn’t exactly understand how the process works. When you apply for financial aid and the school is not going to give you the full package you need, do they simply reject you or offer a smaller amount of aid. Is this the difference between a school that promises to meet full need and a school that doesn’t? My parents are doing whatever they can to pay the maximum they can pay and how much they are willing to live with in our home country is probably much less than the schools expect them to live with and I don’t want to be a burden to them. Do schools calculate how much we need or do we request a certain amount?
Colleges have different systems.
One is merit aid: you get a scholarship for your stats. Some merit aid is automatic (see UAlabama, Miami Ohio) most is competitive (see UTDallas, Ole Miss). As an international, you’d get that merit scholarship, that’s it. Typically you’d need to score 1420-1450 on the SAT, or 32 on the ACT to have a shot at a significant award.
Then there’s need based aid. Applying as an international needing financial aid means you start with the biggest anti hook. Most meet need universities are also need aware, which means your odds of admission decrease as the amount if your financial need increases.
Only 5 universities meet need and aren’t need aware for internationals: Harvard Yale Princeton MIT Amherst. Your odds there, depending on where you’re from, are 1-3%.
I think as an international I am unlikely to get merit aid, we are not eligible for most. Yes pretty much all schools are need aware. Does that mean they will reject me rather than give me insufficient aid?
“Does that mean they will reject me rather than give me insufficient aid?”
This will depend upon the university. Some will reject you. Some will accept you but give you insufficient aid. Also, you will not be able to get a student visa unless you can show that you will be able to afford to pay for the education.
I see from your other thread that you will need enough aid to cover pretty much the full price of four years of education. This is going to be tough unless you are one of the very top students in your country (which I gather from the other thread you are not).
To me your chances of studying in the US look bleak. My wild guess is that your best chance might be one of the northern LACs, since they will get fewer international students applying and like to diversify their student base.
That depends on the college. Some schools that are need aware and meet full need will only accept you IF they can meet your need. Some colleges do not meet full need for all…and you could easily be accepted with insufficient financial aid to attend. Some schools meet full need for all international students.
Schools that don’t meet full need for all usually don’t meet full need for all. And as an international, you need to see what they do for international students.
That’s a good idea. You don’t want your parents burdened because they are spending every last penny they have t9 send you to an unaffordable college.
Read this response carefully. The COLLEGE computes your financial need…and also decides what your financial aid award will look like. You do not request a certain amount.
And most important…to get a visa to study here, you will need to show proof that you have funds to pay for at LEAST one year if your full costs to be a student here. Some schools require more than a year.
On your other thread, you posted your stats…some suggestions were given to you. Did you check the automatic and guaranteed scholarships at University of Alabama, and University of Alabama Huntsville? They are given to international students too.
MANY merit scholarships are open to international students. However, I can’t think of full rides.
Look at directionals, universities that serve their region (UIS in Illinois, Midwestern State University in Texas, University of Central Arkansas…) as they might offer full rides to internationals who meet their testing criteria.
The colleges offering the best aid are generally harder to be admitted to. Ridiculouly competitive. If they’re “need aware,” yes, the level of your need affects how they consider you as an applicant. You’d need to be perfect, in their eyes. That’s hard to do. Plus yes, it matters what country you live in.
You need to be careful not to set college targets in the US where your parents simply cannot pay the balance. On 35k income, even a few thousand dollars is too much.
You do not want them to take loans.
Read the information about aid for international students at each college/university website. If you cannot find the details, email the international admissions office and ask.