<p>Hi. I'm an int'l. In the International Student Financial Aid Application, they ask how much I expect to contribute from my summer employment. So I did some calculations: Take Princeton for example. In the view book:
- a student generally earn $2400 in an academic year with a 9 hours/ week job ---> $267 a month ---> $67 a week ----> $7.4 an hour. So if I work 40 hours/week for 3 months, I will earn: 7.4 x 40 x 4 x 3 = $3552
- Room and board are $8600 ---> $956 a month ----> $2868 for 3 months
So, if not consider personal expenses, I can save only $684 the whole summer. It's a too small amount (and the viewbook also says that a student can save $2100 after living expenses are met.)
Could you please tell me what is wrong with my figures?</p>
<p>You can save whatever you want but there is still an expectation that you are to be an active particiapant in the financing of your education. Once the school determines your student contribution, if you do not make the money, the school will not adjust yoru financial aid. The typical student contribution from summer earnings are usually between 2200 and 3000 per year.</p>
<p>Your package will be broken down as follows</p>
<p>Cost of attendance( tution, room board, books , travel exepenses, misc)</p>
<p>The school will get the tuition, room and board however, if you fall short on your student contribution, you may end up not having book money, lab fees, movie money or money to come home for the holidays.</p>
<p>My kids always lived at home and worked. That way they did not have to pay room and board. Also there were some summers when some of them double dipped at jobs, working two or three of them. When they gave swim lessons or sports instruction or music lessons on top of their 40 hour a week job, they generally got a lot more than the $5-10 per hour. Also bussing tables and walking dogs and waitressing netted some cash.<br>
The way financial aid works is that your PARENTS are primarily responsible for your college costs. So unless they want to subsidize your room and board for the summer, you live at home. That is how the summer earnings is calculated.</p>
<p>If I want to earn money in the summer, I have to stay at the U.S. Therefore, I will have to pay for room and board from my own earning.
If I return to my home country, sure I will stay with my parents but it's difficult to get a paid job and even if I find it, the salary will be extremely low when exchanged into U.S dollar.</p>
<p>I can see that this is a problem. But the way the financial aid system is set up in this country does not take this into consideration. You may have to scrounge for a very cheap place to live--like a friend's sofa, for the summer and work double shifts. A bunch of us would do that to stockpile funds over the summer. It was not easy and involved groveling to find a cheap, cheap place, and working very hard and having very little fun and eating cheaply as well, but we did do this for a few summers, and saved a nice bit of money.</p>
<p>ngohuongly, this is a conversation best held with your college financial aid office. All any of us can do is to speculate. If you stay in the states will that save you the cost of a round trip? Does your college offer a summer job that includes room and board while allowing you time for studies? Good luck.</p>