<p>“Financial situation: Pretty. Darn. Bad.”</p>
<p>There are no safeties for you in the US. There aren’t even any matches. If you are an international with serious need, every single place here is a reach for you.</p>
<p>It is oddly freeing to know that though. Once you have your home-country “safety” tied up, you can apply wherever you feel like here, with roughly the same chance of being admitted no matter whether the place would be considered reach, match, or safe if you were a US applicant.</p>
<p>The experts on financial aid for international applicants are in the International Student Forum. Go to the main page where all the forums are listed, and scroll down to find it. Look for anything by b@r!um. She has good ideas about approaching this issue.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>