Some background information about myself:
I’m an international student from Hong Kong. I’m applying transfer mostly due to financial reasons. (Didn’t apply for aid freshman year but my family had fallen on hard times… ) That said I’m applying to some public schools and private schools that are either need aware or need blind.
The main question I have is, how do colleges calculate aid eligibility for international student? There are no net price calculator for international students. My parents’ annual income is $150k, which is pretty high from the U.S. perspective but cost of living in my country is extremely high (much higher than that in the US). There are also 6 people in my household with only one parent earning income and my brother will be going to college in a few years. Will colleges see that my family have a $150k income and not give aid to me at all? How do they evaluate economic attributes in my country to determine how much money I can get?
Now filling out the CSS profile gives me so much anxiety. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!
How much can your parents pay each year for the remaining 3 years?
As an international transfer student, if you definitely need need-based aid, the first step is to make sure that any schools you are applying to offer need-based aid to international transfer students. After that, you can ask how your aid eligibility will be determined. The easy answer is, it depends on the school.
Which schools are you applying to?
You are a transfer student…international…with a family income of $150,000 a year?
The schools really don’t care if it’s one parent working or two. They look at the income.
Your aid for 2017-2018 will be calculated using 2015 tax year information.
For 2018-2019 the 2016 info will be used.
So…what was your parent income in 2015?
How much aid were you hoping to get?
It looks like you are trying to transfer to Georgetown.
Georgetown specifically states
It is highly unlikely that you will receive need based financial aid as a transfer student
Cornell States:
On face, it looks as if Cornell does not offer need based aid to International Transfer students
@sybbie719 I emailed both school, they all said there are need based aid for international transfer but it would be very competitive to get. It’s very discouraging and that’s why I’ll be applying to a ton of colleges (at least all private colleges I know that gives aid to international transfer and public schools).
Did you apply to U Alabama and U Minnesota? Those give financial aid to international transfers.
Most other colleges only give scholarships to 1-2 transfers, at most, and much smaller than for freshmen. Your odds are better staying at our current college and applying for a Master 's degree.
Need based aid is a financial aid term.
Need blind is an admissions term.
Both schools are need aware for international students. This means that your ability to pay will be a factor in admissions. Because international aid is limited and international students must apply for aid with their freshman application or they are not eligible for aid, schools already know what their budget is for international students, most which have already been exhausted on the incoming class.
Your chances for admittance and aid, will be in the very low single digits.
You currently attend a comparably priced school and you say that you are transferring because your family cannot afford it.
- You will get a similar financial aid package from those schools should you be admitted. Why do you think that these schools will be affordable? They are going to look at the fact that your family makes $150k and just like a US Citizen/Permanent resident, you will receive very little if any need based aid.
- As @MYOS1634 stated, there will only be about 1-2 seats available for international transfer students (theoretically, a current international student would have to leave which is unlikely).
How much can your family afford to pay for you to attend school in the US? You should target schools with the mindset that you are not going to get need based aid and will be affordable based on what your family is willing to pay.
@mom2collegekids
Does University of Alabama give need based or merit aid to international TRANSFER students?
Yes they do. Just not the same as for freshmen (but that’s the rule overall - transfers never get as much aid as transfers).
OP: if your family suffered from unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstances it may be worth it to see what your financial aid office can do.