visualprince

I really want to go to the U.S. and I believe there would be no problems with me getting accepted or fitting in etc. etc. but I have a problem in the finance area since I have to pay off the loans I have right now before going and then it'll be a little heavy.

So a few questions:
Minor thing - Financial aid for international students is hard to get, right? They don't cover a lot too, right?

Main question - There is the "International Student Loan" thing I found from research, one that allows students to loan as long as they have a co-signer who has american citizenship/green card. That isn't a problem, the problem is: is it a right choice to make?
I don't want to borrow from banks here because it'll get both me and my family into trouble since they're strict with the payments and the interest is super high. It generally causes problem (speaking out of family experience here). It's not like I won't pay up, the banks just don't give time and they give too much interests. So I'd rather consider other kinds of loans, but if this loan system is going to be loaning from the bank, then I rather not consider it.

Appreciate it if someone could help me out with this, I'm really worried right now. Thanks ^^

b@r!um

There exists financial aid for international students covering up to the full cost of attendance - including living expenses. Some of these awards are based on need, others on academic merit. Most of the need-based aid is awarded by the top national universities and a few dozen of the more selective liberal arts colleges; meaning it's easiest to get need-based aid for a liberal arts major. Significant merit scholarships are most common at lower-ranked private colleges and universities.

How hard are these to get? Well, it depends on what you are shooting for. You can get merit-based full-tuition scholarships with a 90th percentile SAT or ACT score, as long as you are not too picky about the college you are attending.

Yes, you'd probably be looking at loans from banks or credit unions.

Be aware that your co-signer needs to be credit-worthy too.

What a great question to ask! It's generally a bad idea to finance a college education primarily through loans because loans in that amount will be really hard to pay back. (Cheaper public universities have a cost of attendance around $30,000 per year for out-of-state students. For private universities, that figure can be as high as $60,000 per year.)

visualprince

Thank you for your reply! Actually, I just want to ask and confirm a few more things.
What is a credit-worthy co-signer?

I'm actually not really that worried about paying back, I really do believe I-or the very worse, my family-can eventually. I'm just more worried about the "problems" and "over-the-top interest" not to mention the "loan sharks" that would appear when paying back. (This is according to my family).

b@r!um

Someone with a positive credit history and a stable income high enough to be able to repay your loans if necessary.

You shouldn't have to deal with too many problems as long as you make all of your payments on time. The interest rate you should know before you take out the loan. Interest rates of 2%-10% above the LIBOR rate seem to be quite common for student loans. Your personal interest rate would depend on your credit-worthiness. (The 1-month LIBOR rate has varied between 0.2% and 6% over the last decade.)

I suggest you seek advice from a more reliable source than an online discussion forum populated mostly by teenage college applicants. The financial aid office of your first-choice university might be a good place to start.

Waverly

An important thing is to be sure the co signer has a good enough income/credit to help you for all four years. Many are halfway through college before they find out they can't get more credit.

Are you from a Country where the job market is good for your major? If you're from a country with high inflation, low wages or an unstable economy, amassing debt in US dollars can be a disaster. Few can stay in the US after graduating, so make certain you will be in a good position to repay these loans in your country.

brutallyhonest

I have a feeling the OP is making assumptions as to the willingness of this (supposed co-signer) to actually co-sign a hefty college loan, even if they are credit-worthy or otherwise qualified. Unless they are a VERY close relative like a parent or grandparent or a super-rich uncle/aunt type, I doubt if any US Citizen/LPR would be willing to take on such a burden.

casanova123

Hello,
Sorry for getting a litlle bit off the topic, but I believe that this will be useful for OP as well.
Can you tell us, and do you know which schools in the USA give up to full financial aid to international students?
Please dont tell me Harvard.. I know that Ivy league gives it, but i cannot get into it..

sixstringsrocker

Look into Liberal Arts Colleges. Williams, Amherst, Colgate, Carleton, Grinnell, Lafayette, College of Wooster, hamilton, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Swarthmore, Vassar, Harvey Mudd, etc etc..

They all offer generous financial aid to international students.

Geneseograd

Take a look at SUNY Geneseo...considered a public honors LAC in NY. Consistently ranked as a top value for instate and out of state students.

SUNY Geneseo | SUNY Geneseo

rkdus0818

I honestly think none of schools can guarantee you can get full ride. It is really depends on your SAT scores, GPA, resume; how much the college wants you. However, I heard private schools are more generous at financial aid than state schools. Some state schools actually mentioned on their websites that there is no financial aid available for international students. NYU is one of the examples. I highly recommend you to look for scholarships from other organization besides the school (you can google it). It will be little hard to find scholarships for international students but there are quite number of scholarships available.

ksanyee

Instead of thinking about loans (which are extremely hard to get for internationals, and even harder to repay) I would consider the schools that offer need based aid to internationals and guarantee to meet full need. There are quite a few, and as mentioned above, liberal arts schools are the best at it.
Here is one of my previous posts I posted in the topic:

I am an international student and applied to colleges in the USA this year. I would like to encourage everyone, who is interested and who has taken SATs and TOEFL, to apply to good colleges and ask for financial aid.

There are a couple of colleges that are actually need blind for international students, so when they decide whether to accept you, they will not be looking at your financial aid request. And in case you get in, they have a look at your aid request, and give you the amount of money you need (or what they think you need).
Such need-blind schools are: Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Amherst, and a couple of others.
But there are also many schools (and you can see them on the first page of this thread) which are need-aware but give lots of money for internationals.

Why am I writing this? I got accepted to a liberal arts school which is not need blind, but offers financial aid for international students. Their tuition fee (with board and room) is 51,000 dollars/ year. And I received 50,000 dollars/year in non-repayable grants from the college! I do not have 2100+ SAT scores, Im not an athlete, nor a legacy, and I'm not even so "poor"...

So, you should dare to apply for financial aid, and don't forget that while better schools costs much more, they also have much more money, and therefore they are able to offer more aid...but always check their websites

Don't forget; WE DO STAND A CHANCE IN THE USA!

leo118

Don't mean to pry here, but I honestly can't help but wonder exactly which school you're going to ksanyee?
I'm applying to HYPD and Amherst just cuz I believed those were the only places who can afford me (since my financial condition sucks)!

b@r!um

I don't know which college ksanyee went to but I wanted to add that my undergraduate college (Bryn Mawr) had a number of international students on full support too: tuition, room, board, health insurance, airfare, and a job offer to cover personal expenses.

Actually, I was under the impression that many need-sensitive colleges and universities are funding a limited number of international students at or near that level.

leo118

Same here. From all that I've heard and read, I was lead to believe scholarship opportunities for international students were the most limited in the US compared to other popular education destinations- like Canada and the UK.

Actually, I've looked up the websites for most of the unis sixstringrocker has mentioned, and in most it is clearly stated that financial aid for international students will not be able to cover the entire cost of attendance. So, any ideas how one can confirm and get more info about these scholarship opportunities? :S

Plus, most students like me can't even afford to apply to a lotta places and just see where they may hit the jackpot- application fees when converted to our domestic currencies can be more expensive than an iPod.

One last question, b@rium!- these students on free rides you're talking about- do they have exceptional stats or something? I'm trying to figure out the criteria based on which these unis, make such generous offers to intl students....and there HAVE to be strings attached, right?

b@r!um

Really? I was not aware that universities in the UK gave significant financial aid to foreign students. In contrast, when I was applying to college, it seemed that the US was the *only* foreign country where universities might be willing to give me enough financial aid to attend.