Lovingmum

Do you know which are the junior boarding and boarding schools that take international students who need financial aid?

GMTplus7

With regards to int’l students, the BS’s in the U.S. generally fall into 2 types. There is the type that enrolls a large percentage of int’l students with the aim to get them proficient in English. These schools generally recruit full-pay students and are not picky about the country of origin.

Then there is the type whose mission is to educate primarily American students, that admit a limited number of int’l students to add cultural diversity to their student body. As the aim is diversity, the schools do not want over-representation from any particular country. So if you are an applicant from an under-represented country like Azerbaijan, Maldives, etc., then that may help your chances of admissions and FA. If you are from an over-represented country like China/Hong Kong, Canada ,etc., then that makes admissions and FA tougher because you will be competing against a large number of your own countrymen for limited spots and limited FA resources. The prestigious U.S. BS’s that are most commonly discussed on this board tend to be this second type—keep in mind that these BS are not int’l schools.

On the topic of NEED BLIND. There are very, very, very few BS’s with admissions criteria that are ENTIRELY independent of financial need (you can probably count them on the fingers of one hand). The school’s endowment would have to be very huge to support a need-blind admissions policy, and those schools are going to be the ones with the most applicants (both domestic & int'l), because that is where the money is. I suggest you visit each BS’s website section on FA to find out what their policy is for int’ls. The bottom line is that it is extremely tough (but not impossible) to be admitted with FA as an int’l applicant.


Another caution for int’l applicants, is that unlike in their home countries where test scores are the sole criterion for admissions into elite schools, in the U.S. test scores are only one of several equally weighed characteristics: interview, extracurricular activities/leadership/community service, athletics, grades, test scores, teacher recommendations. Do not count on high SSAT scores to guarantee admission & FA.

Lovingmum

Thanks GMTplus7 for the helpful information.
Could you list the few boarding schools that are known to have need-blind admissions? I will try to write to those schools to make further enquiries.
If an international student is found to be suitable, will the schools consider partial financial help or assist in obtaining bank loans? Or do you think the schools would simply put the application into the 'reject' list.

mhmm

The only two schools that I know that say they are need-blind for domestic or international are Andover and St. Andrews Dellaware. They are very difficult to get into for domestic students, so you can imagine its exponentially more difficult as an international.
In terms of your question of partial help - if the school chooses to accept the student, they will rely on your financial aid forms that you fill out and verifiable documents that you provide to see what they think is the level of scholarship you may need. They may then offer that number, or they may offer more or less depending how much they want you. In terms of loans - schools do not assist with those, and you will be hard pressed to find US banks lending to an international family for secondary school ( or for college either, although that is possibly with some counter-signed guarantors).
And here's my nosy question - if you have to take on debt of boarding school, how will you finance college?

GMTplus7

This website is a good resource for an initial search:
Sort Boarding Schools by Key Criteria - Boarding School Review

Try clicking on:
- % international
- Endowment
- Acceptance rate

When a table appears, you can click on the individual columns to rank that criterion.

After identifying a list of possibilities, research each of the schools individually (start by visiting their websites). Do NOT assume that the schools all have the same policies.

I would not fixate on "NEED BLIND". If a school wants your child badly enough, the FA money may follow...

GMTplus7

I just thought of another important financial consideration for int'ls-- travel cost. Generally, BS's in the U.S. will have 3 extended breaks during the academic year when it will be compulsory for students to leave campus:

Thanksgiving (end Nov)
Christmas to New Year
Spring Break (around Easter time)

In addition, there is the 3-month long Summer Break. The travel costs during these breaks can add up considerably.


Addition to my post above regarding the web link: also click on "Percent students on aid"

Lovingmum

Thanks mhmm and GMTplus7 for the replies.

Looks like it's indeed an uphill task. Will bear in mind all the other expenditures involved and also take note of future costs in college.

This may sound idealistic - if my son gets rejected by a school, will the school re-consider the application if the Financial Aid request is subsequently removed ( ie I tell the school I'll sort out my money issues on my own eg take a loan elsewhere and appeal to them again as full paying candidate )

GMTplus7

By the time you receive the hypothetical rejection it's too late: the admission offers are already given out, and no more offers will be made unless too many admitted students decline. Then the school will pull candidates from its wait list.

As the BS admissions people have been estimating the yield rate for many years, they are fairly accurate about predicting the number of admitted students who will actually enroll; therefore, not many students get pulled from the WL. From what I've read on this board, at the lowest admit-rate schools (Andover 14%, Deerfield 13%) the AO haven't gone to their WL in years-- they've had the opposite problem: scrambling to find beds for the extra number of students they over-accepted.

Lovingmum

Many thanks for the very prompt reply GMTplus7.

It's like playing a probability game. I'm trying to paint all the possible scenarios.

After the first rejection - If my son apply again the following year, if at that time I do not apply for financial aid, will that put me in bad light? eg 'previous reject', 'potential financial problem case'.

or will the school appreciate the effort and the many sacrifices the family has done to try the application again.

GMTplus7

I don't think there is any stigma to reapply the following year. In fact, there are a number of posters this year who were successful reapplying this year: Mountainhiker has 2 kids who were accepted this year after a frustrating previous year application.

I don't know your nationality/country of residence. If it is an "over-represented" country, it does not mean your quest for admissions w FA is impossible. You will need to focus on high-grading other parts of your child's application (e.g., a compelling essay, extraordinary extracurricular talent, interview)

ChoatieMom

Please understand that applying as full-pay is a four-year committment, not a one-time strategy to improve admission odds with the intent of asking for FA the next year. See this thread xferring between GLADCHEMS & Financial Aid for more insight.

Lovingmum

Thanks

I will try applying with FA and if that doesn't work, then apply without FA the next year with a comittment to pay for all the years ( will have to sort out somehow ).

If my son tries the following year, does he use the same SSAT score if it is still grade-appropriate , or do most kids re-take the SSAT to try to achieve a higher score since it's 1 year later.

GMTplus7

Lovingmum,
Interesting recent article with insight about international applicants:
How China's New Love Affair with U.S. Private Schools Is Changing Them Both - Helen Gao - International - The Atlantic

classicalmama

I agree in general with the advice, particularly when it comes to schools that guarantee aid to all admitted students. However, what about schools that do not guarantee aid--the ones that will accept a student but without financial aid? I suspect that there may not be as much disadvantage in that case--but I don't know, as we aren't sailing that boat.

rainycity

United World Colleges - UWC | UWC
Most students are on a full/majority scholarship