Hi all, I am an international student from Vietnam who have been accepted to Vassar in the ED2 round. I have some questions regarding my finaid package.
As always, Vassar has been incredibly generous with its finaid offers, but my package still contains an international loan of 3.5k per year. I cannot afford to go higher than my expected contribution, and after graduation I will go back to Vietnam so it would be really difficult for me to settle any forms of debt. What should I do? I would really appreciate attending my dream school with cropping debt on my back.
Thanks.
It’s rare that schools will give a FA package that does NOT include some form of debt. If you think about it, you’re getting an almost $70K per year education for $3.5 per year. That’s astonishingly generous.
I think that you need to make a decision whether it’s worth it to get a top education for rock-bottom price, or let that opportunity go.
As for “settling” debt when you go back to Vietnam, you will make payments toward your $14K total bill. That bill for an amazing education is less than an economy-class automobile in the US. I think that you will be able to pay that back.
Thank you so much, of course I’ll go to Vassar, I was only wondering what I should do with the money. You are right, Vassar is definitely worth it.
But the thing is, my contribution is 20k, and that’s all we can afford, that amount alone exceeds my parents’ combined salary before tax. My student loan means that my family will technically be paying 23.5k a year. And the working condition in Vietnam is ridiculously cheap. Newly graduated students here are highly unlikely to make 5k a year. What I’m saying is that I want to do sth about the loan. I really live Vassar and I really don’t want to go there constantly worrying about mounting debts TvT
You can try contacting their financial aid office and explaining your family situation and working conditions in your country. They may be able to adjust their initial offer. It can’t hurt.
@smollperson, def do as ninakatrina suggests. Running your numbers through any tuition calculator will show just how far off that award package is. There’s obviously an error somewhere. Vassar does not expect a family making $20k to pay $20k, and it does not matter that you are international. Vassar has an amazing commitment to bring the best students from every corner of the world, no matter their ability to pay. They will WANT to hear from you. They will WANT to get this right. Just FYI, I had planned earlier to apply to Vassar exactly because of its community, but am reluctantly instead going where I applied SCEA. Vassar has a great new President who is carrying on a legacy that truly cares. Good luck. And contact them ASAP!
Fwiw-
https://studentfinancialservices.vassar.edu/types-of-aid/
Colleges and universities that are no-loan for low-income students:
Amherst College
Appalachian State University
Arizona State University
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brown University
Bryan College (Tennessee)
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Carleton College
Colby College
College of Holy Cross (Worcester, MA)
College of William and Mary
Colorado State University-Pueblo
Columbia University
Connecticut College
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Davidson College (North Carolina)
Duke University
Emory University
Fairfield University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Grinnell College
Harvard University
Haverford College
Indiana University Bloomington
Kenyon College
Lafayette College
Lamar University
Lehigh University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Miami University (Ohio)
Michigan State University
North Carolina State University
Northern Illinois University
Northwestern University
Oberlin College
Pomona College
Princeton University
Rice University
Sacred Heart University
Stanford University
Swarthmore College
Texas A&M University
Texas State University - San Marcos
Tufts University
University of Arizona
University of California at Berkeley
University of California System
University of Chicago
University of Florida
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Louisville
University of Maryland, College Park
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
University of Minnesota System
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of Tennessee
University of Texas at El Paso
University of Toledo
University of Vermont
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Vanderbilt University
Vassar College
Washington and Lee
Washington University in St. Louis
Wellesley College
Wesleyan University
Williams College
Yale University
https://www.edvisors.com/plan-for-college/money-saving-tips/no-loans-colleges/
There might be assets. (Otherwise I don’t see how OP’s parents can pay more than they earn which is what s/he said).
Just to point out, I haven’t yet see Miami of Ohio offer this and they are on the list. After scholarship, grant, right now the balance around 25k plus with an EFC of 1.5k. We are OOS. I understand we are OOS but I’m surprised they are on the list. Maybe for instate students they offer this.
If the family is making four times the national average income ($5,000) there may be a reasonable assumption that there are substantial savings accounts somewhere. Nailing down what assets a foreign national may or may not have is not as simple as it is in the United States. There is also the opposite situation where the family tries to improve their child’s chances of admission by not applying for financial aid at all their first year - then pleading changed circumstances the next. It can get messy.