Unable to prove financial status without loans, what can I do?

Hi all,

Looking to apply to NYU for the fall of 2017, everything seemed to go smooth sailing until I realised that you have to provide financial proof of a year’s tuition in order to obtain the visa. This is basically impossible for me because TSOTA are asking for around $74,000 a year, and neither of my parents have that just sat around in their bank account, or even combined. Does anyone know if NYU accepts loans as financial proof, and if not, is there anything I can do to somewhat work around this amount?

Taking on loans is fine for me, because I’m confident paying it off won’t be too difficult, but it’s looking unlikely for me to get past the financial proof stage right now :[

What loans? How do you know this?

Loans are a fine source of funding from the perspective of the US consulate, but NYU may or may not accept them as part of the application. Please note that you need a specific loan amount approved by a specific lender for visa purposes.

Do you mind me asking how you plan to repay loans in that amount? If you are unable to finance a single year without loans, I assume you’d need loans for the majority of those $74,000. That might leave you with $200,000 of debt for a full undergraduate degree.

If you got that on American student loan terms (with an average of 6.8% interest over 10 years), you’d be looking at monthly loan payments of $2,300. To live in a major American city, you’d want at least $3,000 a month for living expenses. You’d need a pre-tax income of at least $100,000 a year to pay your taxes and loans, and have enough money left for living expenses. That’s an ambitious starting salary…

If you were lucky enough to find a job in the US at all, you’d most likely be paid less than your American colleagues because you would require work visa sponsorship. At least in the US, you absolutely cannot expect to earn upwards of $100,000 as a foreigner.

Do you have a guaranteed job in another country…?

Even if you could get a visa without the financial proof, what were you going to do once you got here?

By the way, do you have a lender that would give you loans in that amount? You will NOT get it from an American source unless you have an American credit-worthy co-signer. In most other countries banks don’t like to give 6-digit loans to students either. Your best bet would probably be to have your parents take out on a mortgage on their family home, assuming your family has enough income and equity to qualify for loans in that amount.

What was your financial plan, before you knew about the need to provide one early for the visa?