Will I get into Brown with financial aid as an international student?

Answer by Tom Stagliano:

Brown claims it meets 100% of your financial need, that Brown perceives that you need (be prepared for you and all of your parents to fill out a daunting amount of paperwork and have it verified by an independent agency in your country that Brown trusts, each and every year): Home | Financial Aid 

Your resume looks like the type of Extracurricular Activities that will capture the attention of a Liberal Arts College. 

If your grades and standardized test scores are Excellent, you have a chance.

However, for international students, that is roughly a 5% chance.

Will I get into Brown with financial aid as an international student?

Benefits Of Early Financial Aid Application

When we talk about financial aid, we mean a financial help that can fulfill your college going requirements such as tuition fee, library costs, accommodation and other expenses. To get maximum benefits from financial aid, one must keep in mind certain facts and work on them accordingly.  Applying early has its own benefits but its not applicable in all cases. Most of the times it works specially with the college grants and scholarship schemes.

Initially colleges have funds and a good early application can help you attract maximum benefits ie maximum grant that can fulfill all your needs. If your application is late then you might loose on getting hardly anything as colleges run out of the funds. In that cases, you will have look for other options also like student loan, work study program or qualify for a scholarship.

Below are some links that will help you understand benefits of early application more easily —-

FAFSA Basics You’ll Need to Know

The Financial Aid Effect on Early Decision and Early Application

 

What are things you wish you had known before going to college?

Answer by Joshua Gross:

I wish I had realized that, at a school with 40,000 students, the odds that I would really become close friends with the people on my dorm floor were really low, and the odds that I would find people I liked (and who liked me) elsewhere were much, much better. I did end up with a good crowd in my dorm on the second year, but it's friends I made elsewhere that made the biggest difference for me. Admittedly, I had some not-so-great experiences with a couple of student activity groups, but in sophomore year I really found groups with people with whom I had shared interests, and who liked me (and I liked them).

I wish I could have handled my one "failure" (did poorly in calculus) better, since I knew intellectually that it was entirely my fault, but I didn't believe I could change and succeed. I could, and it was an important point of growth for me, but it took a while to happen.

However, both of these wishes are dependent on one central idea: maturity. Maturity is not something that comes automatically or without pain. Knowledge and the ability to act on that knowledge are not the same thing. I wish I could have shortcut the process, but in reality, it was the process, and not the knowledge, that matured me. That said, I wasn't properly primed for the social and academic challenges, and had I been, I think I would have progressed more quickly and with less pain.

If I had actual study skills and time management skills, I would have fared better academically. Socially, I needed some kind of support network; I lacked any grounding, as I knew absolutely no one. I'm not sure what form that would have taken, as I did make attempts at finding people, but those didn't go well.

NB: Some people will tell you "college is worth this" or "this is the only way". It's nonsense. College means different things for different people. Some receive training to do a specific job. Some establish good work habits and learn to overcome challenges. Some treat college as an all-expenses-paid time to drink and make sexual conquests. Some fail out (many fail out). Some choose the least challenging course and treat college as though they were a consumer, and get little value. Some think they know everything, while others think (know) that they know very little. Some get work experience, even professional work experience, either through part-time work or internships/co-ops or both. Some decide their life goal is to make as much money as possible, while others commit to a life of service.

Everyone will ultimately experience some combination of the above, good and bad.

College is an entry ticket to the professional world in the US, but it doesn't guarantee a seat. The belief that a major will or won't lead to a job is misguided (although leisure studies…). I know of a woman who quickly found professional work on the basis of writing about sex, including her sex life, in public venues. I know of computer science majors who can't get jobs because they have no social skills. I personally ended up in a career based almost exclusively on my part-time work, but my majors (history and English) prepared me well.

What are things you wish you had known before going to college?

What are things you wish you had known before going to college?

Answer by Richard Muller:

That there are some students who have been to prep school, and they know the score. They seem super smart, but in reality they are just pre-socialized to the college environment. They know how to talk to professors, they know how to study complex material, and they seem completely confident.

The trick is to not be intimidated by them, but to watch them and learn their tricks.

What are things you wish you had known before going to college?

Should I qualify for financial aid?

Answer by Mark Kantrowitz:

It depends on the number of children in college at the same time and the college's cost of attendance.

Demonstrate Financial Need is based on the difference between the college's cost of attendance (COA) and the expected family contribution (EFC). Financial aid is based on financial need. So there are two ways of increasing financial need (and therefore, financial aid).

• Attend a higher-cost college
• Reduce the EFC

The parent contribution portion of the EFC is divided by the number of children in college at the same time. Increasing this number from 1 to 2 is like dividing the parent income in half. It can have a big impact on eligibility for need-based aid.

Even though a wealthy student might not qualify for aid at an in-state public college, he or she might nevertheless qualify for aid at a higher-cost college.

Should I qualify for financial aid?

Which US colleges and universities offer need-based financial aid to international students?

Answer by Anonymous:

I'm assuming you're not Canadian or Mexican. Some US colleges have special provisions making it easier for Canadians and Mexicans to obtain aid than other international students. I'm also assuming that your family does not make more than the equivalent of ~$100k USD. It's an arbitrary number, but for many making that much, financial aid does not really help too much.

There are two routes that you can follow, depending on what colleges you qualify for. You can either attend a very prestigious college that provides need-based financial aid, or you can attend a college that gives out merit scholarships (some very prestigious colleges, like Rice, Carleton, and Swarthmore, have specific merit scholarships for international students, but it's very limited).

I'll concentrate more on the first route, as I'm more familiar with it and as it's more transparent. However, to go either route, you'll need some high test scores and GPA. Aim for 2000+ SAT or 29+ ACT (and no…an 800 in math and a 600 both in CR and W does not look very good), hopefully higher. American colleges, many of which are cash-strapped, are reluctant to give money to those without exceptional aptitude or skills.

The best of the best
These colleges are need-blind (how much your parents make won't impact admission decisions) and meet 100% of aid for international students. These colleges are considered among the best in the world and are immensely competitive, especially for international applicants.

1. Amherst College (MA)
2. Harvard (MA)
3. MIT (MA)
4. Dartmouth College (NH)
5. Princeton (NJ)
6. Yale (CT)

In the likely chance that you don't get into one of those…there's the still-very-competitive-but-not-as-much-as-the-6-above
Okay, Dartmouth and Amherst aren't as competitive as some other schools on this next list, at least in normal US-applicant-heavy rates. These colleges do look at how much money your parents make and have, and it can be factored into the admission decision. However, of those they accept, they promise to meet 100% of need. While it sounds like they use this as an escape hatch to avoid accepting poor international students, it's not…completely. Richer international students will have an easier time getting in, but they do all have a number of poor international students. These are all still very good colleges, despite that some of the liberal arts colleges don't have the highest name recognition.

1. Barnard College (NY)
2. Bates College (ME)
3. Bowdoin College (ME)
4. Brown University (RI)
5. California Institute of Technology (CA)
6. Colgate University (NY)
7. Columbia University (NY)
8. Hamilton College (NY)
9. Haverford College (PA)
10. Middlebury College (VT)
11. Oberlin College (OH)
12. Occidental College (CA)
13. Pomona College (CA)
14. Smith College (MA, GIRLS ONLY)
15. Swarthmore College (PA)
16. University of Chicago (IL)
17. University of Pennsylvania (PA)
18. University of Richmond (VA)
19. Vassar College (NY)
20. Wellesley College (MA, GIRLS ONLY)
21. Williams College (MA)

Basically most other top colleges are some combination of need-aware and don't necessarily meet 100% of aid.
International students admitted to Stanford, Colby, etc. are not guaranteed that all their need be met, even though finances were a part of the admission decision. But the colleges will oftentimes attempt to get aid to these students. Again, competition for this money is tough. But it comes through and works out for many students.

But some top colleges are reputed to be bad at delivering need-based international aid
Including Cornell. I could guesstimate some other colleges (probably top colleges with relatively smaller endowment:student ratios), but I don't want to give away false info.

Merit Scholarships are a viable option
The college (which receives state money) I'm going to doesn't offer merit aid to international students, and this goes for many American universities. The colleges that do offer merit aid may not necessarily be ranked higher than the university in your home country, and aren't too lucrative for international students because a. home country's cost is cheaper, even with merit, and b. little name recognition in home country. Now, there's no way I can list every American institution willing to give merit money to international students. I've read that the University of Alabama awards its out-of-state scholarships to international students (and they're guaranteed scholarships, with full tuition for 32+ACT or 1400+SAT (CR and Math)). Look up some colleges ranked outside of the top 30 and call them up or email them if their websites describing international aid are inadequate (they usually are). Guaranteed scholarships are your best chances because they're 100% likely. They're just not the best aid potentially available if your family's income is very low.

Which US colleges and universities offer need-based financial aid to international students?

I want to go back to school. Where can I apply for financial aid?

Answer by Patti Charron:

You must complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Everyone who applies for aid of any type must complete this form, which is FREE at FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid

There are other sites that claim they can get your results faster if you pay. No need. Results are timely at no charge.

When you fill out the FAFSA, you will indicate to which school(s) you want the information sent. FAFSA will determine an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and the amount of need for which you are eligible. The results will be forward to the Financial Aid office of the school(s). You will be notified as well.

A financial aid counselor will review your FAFSA and create an award package accordingly. You MUST be accepted by the school for this to happen. A lot of people think they will get offers for aid and will be able then to use that information to decide where to apply. Not true.

You must complete a FAFSA every year, preferably as close to Jan. 1 as possible. Some state funded programs are not entitlements and run out, so the earlier the application for aid, the better.

I want to go back to school. Where can I apply for financial aid?

How can I return to school after reaching the total aggregate limit for federal student financial aid?

Answer by Tom Stagliano:

Surely you jest……

So, you have easily been making your required $1,470 monthly student loan repayments……..

And you claim you are a  business and accounting instructor

Most colleges (where you teach) will allow an employee to take classes at a highly discounted rate. 

So, either get a teaching position at a college at which you want to take classes, Or work hard for five to ten years, pay off the entire student loan and then start a new loan program.

I know you are being serious, and I will quit calling you Shirley……

How can I return to school after reaching the total aggregate limit for federal student financial aid?

Is it a good idea to pay my loans while still in college in the US?

I am fortunate to have recently received a scholarship to pay for all my schooling until graduation+stipend as long as I do some undergraduate research work/assistance. It's a great deal. But this was not before getting a bunch of loans in my first two years.

My current train of thought is hey, I'm used to being broke so why not payboff my loans. As a consequence, I've been using a majority of my stipend to pay off loans and I've made a bit if dent so far.

At first glance, this seems smart. But is it really?

All the money owed at this point is to an institution that does not gain interest until after I graduate. I finished paying off the amount that gains interest now whil I'm in school.

Is it a good idea to pay my loans while still in college in the US?

If you submit your financial aid application earlier, will you get a better package?

Does it actually make a difference to submit earlier? If you submit late, will this hurt your chances?

If you submit your financial aid application earlier, will you get a better package?