<p>I have been reading and researching financial aid options and based on what many have said, several lacs give generous aid that meets 100% demonstrated need. However, what seems to be a big deal breaker is that while being able to “afford” it at present, many graduate with tens of thousands in debt? For eg. I read on the mhc’s site that the average student graduates with 19-25k in debt. it is reasonable for intls to graduate with that much loans to repay, considering we will not be able to count on getting a job in us, and returning to our home country lacs are probably not as recognized+ salary probably lower than in us. i know hyp, williams, amherst graduates students with no debt at all, but it is extremely hard to get admitted in the first place. i don’t know if i should still plan on going to the us since i will probably be able to graduate at singapore universities which are relatively ok for a fraction of the cost and no debt. so for those going to lacs and taking up loans, what are your reasons and what do you consider to be a reasonable amount?</p>
<p>Some colleges don’t give international students loans in their financial aid package at all, even when domestic students get loans. That’s because American students typically get their college loans from the American government, but international students qualify neither for government nor bank loans.</p>
<p>Some colleges give loans from their own institutional funds to international students. My financial aid package had a $3,000 institutional loan my first year, and the loan was supposed to increase with tuition each year.</p>
<p>I never had to ask the question you asked because I grew up in Western Europe, but it did go through my mind. I could imagine that “poor” students would either not get a loan at all, or that their loan might be forgiven if they move to a “poor” country after graduation. I remember that the financial aid package of a friend from Kenya differed from mine in several aspects (for example, she got her work-study award paid up-front instead of bi-weekly paychecks so that she could pay for books and such) but I never asked her about loans. </p>
<p>I doubt that you would qualify for extra arrangements based on being from Singapore though. According to Wikipedia, the average yearly household income in Singapore is $33,000, which is not far from the average income in some American states (e.g. $36,000 in Mississippi).</p>