| One very difficult area for internationals is the financial and merit aid situation. In this country, nothing is standardized in this area, so advice is very mixed. In order to get a student visa, you must be able to demonstrate that you can pay for the year of study. So if you do not have the money and cannot get it from family or sources in your own country, you do need to go through the aid process. Complicating this situation is that not all colleges, and not all programs are open to foreign students.
There are a limited number of needblind colleges for internationals. For the top candidates, they are certainly the staples, especially those who guarantee 100% of need. But admissions is the most competitive to those schools and for some kids, a better bet might be a school where the line is not as long. That is why it is important to check your eligibilty of aid at all of the schools on your list if this is a necessity. There is no reason to apply to a schoo that shuts out ALL funds from internationals. However, even for schools that are need blind and not that generous, you can hit the jackpot, perhaps more so than the more generous schools. So some of those should be on the list as well. It is truly a balancing act. |