Financial Aid for International - Page 3

MomofTwoinCA · 10-03-2009, 02:53 AM

If you have outstanding statistics and want to apply to HYPS, by all means do it! You have nothing to lose, except for application fees. You have to realize though that these schools have very, very low acceptance rates, so almost everyone has very slim chances to get in.
You need to apply to wide range of schools. Take a hard look at small LACs -Middlebury, Oberlin, Grinnell have more than 10% int. students and they give some fin. aid to int. students too. You're not eligible for federal or state aid, but if admitted, colleges can give you generous aid from their funds, if they choose to do so. With your status you can not file FAFSA, but you have to file International Applic. for Fin. Aid (can be found on Colledgeboard or colleges' web sites). Take a look at it, you will get an idea what fin. info is required from your family.
You also mentioned that you play sports. In addition to your good academic record, it can make a difference in admission decision. All small colleges have teams and compete with other colleges. If you're interested in playing, check athletics pages of schools you're interested in, even pay attention to how many seniors there are in the team this year. Fill in form on athletic page, if interested, coach will contact you.
Also, are you included in your father's petition for permanent resident status? If so, you can apply and obtain EAD (employment author. doc.) and will be able to work (with no limits) until the decision in made in your family's case.
Despite you status, you still have a lot of opportunities to be accepted by good schools (maybe less known than HYPS). Try to write an excellent admission essay.
Good luck!

shanghaison · 10-03-2009, 11:02 PM

Thank you for the encouraging message MomofTwoinCA. I intend to apply to LAC. I am contemplating Amherst, Williams, and Pomona College. Maybe two of these only. I am not a good athlete. My school has poor athletics programs and any student can participate. I lost most of the matches but I had an enjoyable experience. It would be impossible for me to play at a collegiate level. I appreciated your kind suggestion even so. I find much hope in your statement "you still have a lot of opportunities to be accepted by good schools." Thank you very much.

Northstarmom · 10-04-2009, 10:03 PM

Your main problem isn't your getting accepted to a good 4-year college, it's getting the financial aid that you need. If your parents aren't filing income taxes, it will be next to impossible for you to get need-based financial aid because the colleges giving need-based financial aid require tax info from parents.

When it comes to merit aid, few 4-year colleges are generous enough with merit aid to be able to cover all of your need if your parents aren't able to provide any financial help with your college education. All of this would be true even if you were a U.S. citizen.

MomofTwoinCA · 10-05-2009, 10:11 PM

shanghaison,

Amherst, Williams, and Pomona still have very low acceptance rates. I would recommend you to add to your list a couple of schools with higher acceptance rates. You can find such schools even in top 20-25 LACs. They are all very good schools and very challenging academically (pick fin. aid for internationals-friendly schools). Some LACs wave applic. fees for int., some wave fees for everybody who applies online. As a NY resident, you probably have slightly better chances in midwest schools, than in northeast.

Northstarmom is right - "full need" means "full demonstrated financial need". Colleges calculate your need, and they might use different formulas to do it. That's why your fin. aid packages from different schools may have different numbers. You will have to provide proof of your family income. If your father works on H1B, he should file taxes, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Until you have a green card in hand, for private schools you're international applicant, and for financial aid in most colleges you'll be competing in different pool - with other international applicants. Competition is tough - they might admit one out of 10 or more int. applicants with financial need. Even schools that claim that they meet full need for domestic student say they can not meet 100% need for internationals (some still meet around 85%). Schools that claim they meet need for all students simply don't admit or waitlist int. applicant if they are not able to provide fin. aid. Even if you're admitted and get a grant money from school that covers tuition, you'll most likely have to come up with money to pay for room/board/books.

As other posters suggested, you have to talk to your parents about how much they can contribute to your education. On H4 neither your mom nor you can work in US - this complicates your situation. You won't be able even get part-time job on campus. Your family of five is fully dependent on your father's income.

I agree with others, that you have to try to be realistic and have a back up plan - apply to a couple of state schools - maybe there are schools that you can commute to to save on room/board. You're lucky in NY to have in-state tuition.

We had H4 when my son applied to college. He graduated 2nd in his high school class (of around 600) in SoCal (not high enough SAT though - 2080 - with high math and low english scores), got into some state schools (applied only in CA state schools), but there was no way we could afford 4-year school with him living on campus. There were no schools he wanted to attend within commuting distance, so he did his first year in local community college + AP credits, transferred to UC with junior status (in-state tuition for H4 visa holders), and graduated in 3 years. Community college was very affordable, we paid in full for his junior year, he got a part-time job that covered his room/board/living expenses in his senior year (by this time we got work authorization documents and then green cards). You have to be creative in this situation. He was not the only one with good grades in comminity college. Many talented students have to go this route for financial reasons. It's a real life.
My daughter had to apply as an international too (we got GCs, when she was already in the middle of her freshman year in college). She was rejected and waitlisted in many LACs she applied to. She is very happy now in the one that accepted her with substantial fin. aid. The one she did not even want to apply at first. She visited then for admitted students days, loved it, and paid deposit on the spot.

Good luck in your application process! But, please, include some safety schools in your list. Do some research about honors programs in your state schools. Applying to a wide range of schools, you'll have more options come April.

Dzilyabch · 10-06-2009, 07:52 PM

A lot of colleges say that international students admitted without aid are not eligible for fin aid during their entire 4 years.
Personally I think that is really unfair, cuz what if your family became bankrupt? are you then forced to quit?
Can I Apply for financial aid if my status changes from international to permanent resident aka green card holder in for example, my second year at the college?
Can I reject the ED admission offer because of lack (meaning 0$ fin aid) of fin aid?

Thanks .

juliohidalgo · 10-07-2009, 09:44 AM

The requirement to qualify for Federal finacial aid is that an applicant must be a US citizen or pemanent resident. Furthermore, you had to have sing up for selective services between the ages between 18 and 25 yrs of age.

happymomof1 · 10-07-2009, 11:44 AM

1) A lot of colleges say that international students admitted without aid are not eligible for fin aid during their entire 4 years. Personally I think that is really unfair, cuz what if your family became bankrupt? are you then forced to quit?

Either you find the money somehow, or transfer to a cheaper school, or you quit entirely. Happens every year.

2) Can I Apply for financial aid if my status changes from international to permanent resident aka green card holder in for example, my second year at the college?

Most colleges/universities will let you do this. Ask for their specific policies before you apply for admission.

3) Can I reject the ED admission offer because of lack (meaning 0$ fin aid) of fin aid?

If the college/university can't meet your need AS THEY DEFINE IT, you can get out of the ED agreement. If the college/university can't meet your need AS YOU DEFINE IT, it will be a bit trickier. You might find yourself locked out of a number of other schools as well because of the way they respect each other's ED contracts. However, there are any number of less selective schools that will admit you.

Dzilyabch · 10-07-2009, 01:06 PM

Thanks, now I feel a lot better. At least there is a glimmer of hope.

shanghaison · 10-08-2009, 02:44 PM

MomofTwoinCA you have a kind heart. Thank you for your story. I will apply to safety schools with backup plan. I am interested in your daughter's experiences. What LACs did she find that is willing to offer substantial financial aid? I believe we will get GCs in the next year or two years. Did you son's opportunities increase once you received GC?

Thank you very much for your thoughtful words.

sk8rmom · 10-08-2009, 08:43 PM

shanghaison, I haven't read the entire thread but I believe that SUNY will be both forgiving of your "international" status and probably quite generous with aid. Your dad should certainly be filing taxes - that's a requirement of anyone working in the US and it will be required for financial aid. NYS is fairly generous with state aid (top award is around $5K/year) and the SUNYs have additional grants, subsidies, and scholarships for low income students. I would recommend adding Geneseo to your LAC list.

MomofTwoinCA · 10-12-2009, 12:20 AM

shanghaison,

My daughters attends a small LAC in midwest (top 20 LAC in USNWR). She finds academics very challenging and she's happy with her overall college experience.
My son got his GC when he was in the middle of his senior year in college. So it was too late for financial aid purposes. You file FAFSA in February, and it's used to calculate your fin. aid for the next school year. He still got some small scholarships with H4 status -one from community college and another one from UC (both from school funds). Besides, UC offered transfer fellowship - one summer session for free with a stipend (he took 3 classes). Also he had summer research fellowship in his UC the summer before his senior year ($3,000 stipend). All of these were on H4 and pending status. Gaining employment was probably easier with permanent status vs temporary.
Check your state schools, there should be some good opportunities. Some scholarships and fellowships are available for citizens and permanent residents only, but not all of them. Also if you want to do engineering major, you will have more opportunities in state school vs LAC.

uzbekguy · 10-17-2009, 11:45 PM

Hi, I'd like to ask a question! I'm a foreign student and would like to transfer my studies to a college in the US. I graduated 8 semesters out of 9. But I'd really want to graduate from an american college. My equivalent GPA is about 3,5 (we don't have GPA system, that's why I'm saying equivalent). Does anyone know full tuition scholarships for international students who is outside the US? And does the taxpaying help students to get scholarship?
Thanx for the answers in advance!