indigo_xavier

since we don't have a US social security number, do we just leave the field blank in CSS or do we still enter our canadian social insurance number? even on the common app it says to "fill in social security number IF you required aid" but I don't even have that number. Right now i'm just clueless about what's happening. Any canadian/intl' students who have been through the process or who know what to do please enlighten!!!! Thank you so much!!!

college_ruled

Have you seen this: eduPASS | Financial Aid for International Students | The FAFSA?

mom2collegekids

Int'l Students aren't eligible for federal aid. What kind of aid were you looking for?

International Students and the FAFSA
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used by US citizens and permanent residents to apply for financial aid from the US federal and state governments. Colleges and universities also use the information submitted on the FAFSA for computing need-based awards. International students are not eligible for the US government aid programs (Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Stafford Loan, Perkins Loan, PLUS Loan, and Federal Work-Study). However, many schools will ask international students to submit a FAFSA so that they may use the data for assessing financial need.

Before filing a FAFSA, international students should ask the schools to which they are applying what procedure they should use to apply for institutional aid.

Some schools require students to file a FAFSA as part of their application for institutional aid. However, if a international student submits a FAFSA without supplying a Social Security Number (SSN) or Alien Registration Number (ARN), the FAFSA will be rejected and the data will not be processed. Even if the international student supplies a SSN, the FAFSA will be rejected when they check option 3 ("No, neither of the above.") in the answer to question 15-16 ("Are you a U.S. citizen?").

At first glance, it seems that there is no way to work around this problem. The FAFSA is not intended to be used by schools for processing institutional aid applications submitted by international students. Only US citizens and eligible noncitizens may receive federal student financial aid. US citizens have SSNs, eligible noncitizens have ARNs, and international students have neither. According to the 1992 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, every applicant must have a social security number in order to apply for federal student financial aid. Since the primary purpose of the FAFSA is to apply for federal student financial aid, a FAFSA submitted without a social security number will be rejected.

indigo_xavier

i meant how international students still receive financial aid packages from universities, probably not federal aid then. Many schools treat international students and domestic students the same way when it comes to financial aid packges

mom2collegekids

>>>> Many schools treat international students and domestic students the same way when it comes to financial aid packges <<<

Not "many" schools....some schools...

The reason that it can't be "many schools" is because most schools need the federal help. The only (few) schools that can treat internationals the same aid as domestic citizens are the few that have their own mega private endowments...