jbkkl

"You can consider yourself denied!" said many of my friends after knowing that I eventually applied for financial aid.

Are Ivy League Schools indeed inaccessible to a middle-class students like me in China?

Here my Profile:
SAT1 720 800 740 (CR/M/W)
SAT2 800 800 800 (Math2/Chemistry/Physics)
GPA:3.9(senior year) 3.98(mid-year)
Rank:2/36
ECs:Two foreign exchange programs (France and Germany)/Student of Leadership and Organization Training/ Varsity table tennis and basketball/finalist of International Piano Competition in Romania
Volunteer Work:To kindergartens, middle schools and welfare centers.
Two amazing teachers' recs.
Great interview.

Please chance me and help me.

I am very happy and thrilled to see you!

Jules Winfield

It is possible that Yale might admit you while not giving you as much financial aid as you'd want. I believe those decisions are made pseudo-separately, even for international students. In this case, you might have to hound the financial aid department for more money.

heyyou

i'm fairly positive that yale is need-blind for internationals now.

QuixoticRick

All schools say that they will meet your need. The thing is, they all calculate and define your need as something different. They might tack on loans and work study that you have to take out while others will simply ask you to pay your FAFSA federally calculated EFC and nothing more. Others might calculate your home equity, etc., etc.

ah2ris

Hey there,
I have been accepted to Yale through early action for the class of 2012 and I have received my financial package already. I am a typical middle class living in U.S; I'm also an international as I am neither a permanent resident nor a citizen. My financial aid package was totally unexpected; it was so generous that I love this school even more now. Well, enough of my own story.

Here is what I know for sure....

First of all, the fact that you applied for financial aid will not pose as an obstacle in anyway. Yale has a need-blind policy that extends to international students.

Second of all, I don't think that ivy schools are inaccessible at all. They provide plenty of financial aid to middle class families, especially as ivies have been working to make education more affordable to middle class families (i.e., harvard, yale, dartmouth all of which have adopted new financial aid programs.)

Yale to be specific, will not ask your parents to contribute any amount of money if they make less than 60,000 U.S. dollars. If your parents make less than 180,000 a year (i'm not sure about the exact number but it is somewhere in this range), then you are expected to contribute less than ONE percent of your total income.

So there you go. I think it was very wise for you to apply to Yale, and even wiser for you to apply for the financial aid package.
Rest assured and now, just wait to see what happens...

rd31

it's not less than ONE percent, it's less than TEN percent. (and it goes up to 200,000, not 180,000).

jbkkl

I am afraid that it is not necessarily the case for international applicant. After all I am not a federal student.

svalbardlutefisk

Yale meets international students' financial aid needs just as comprehensively as it does for Americans and it practices need blind admissions while admitting internationals. You have nothing to worry about in that regard.

ah2ris

Didn't I emphasize that I was an international?
Hey, I'm not a "fedearl student" either.

Since there is a confusion over the numbers, here is an information right out of Yale's news release back in January this year.

"Families earning less than $60,000 annually will not make any contribution toward the cost of a child’s education, and families earning $60,000 to $120,000 will typically contribute from 1% to 10% of total family income."

And this is what the president of the school said:
“Yale should be a college of choice for the very best and brightest students from across America and around the world, regardless of financial circumstances."

I think that pretty much says it.

pulled from: Yale Cuts Costs for Families and Students

gagilord

The admissions people do not see whether you need financial aid or not when they make their decision regarding your acceptance. SO the fact that you need money will not affect your admission in no way. Yale has abolished loans but your financial aid package will most probably include some student employment (i.e. you will have to work part-time on campus in the library or whatever). Yale will cover 100% of your need, especially because they recently announced an increase in aid