Hello! I´m brazilian and want to know more about financial aidAnswered
Hi, I´m from Brazil. It's possible for me to get financial-aid? If so, where and how can I apply for it?
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3 answers
Hi,
First, you have to apply to the colleges since very few American colleges have merit scholarships for international students. So when you apply, you state on the application that you wish to be considered for financial aid. Some colleges will not consider your ability to pay when evaluating your application and those schools are called "NEED BLIND COLLEGES", write that down. Most schools will consider your ability to pay and those schools are called "NEED AWARE COLLEGES". Some need-aware colleges still give great financial aid packages like 50%-80% but you need to do your research first. So a school like Syracuse University is need-aware but they are 93% need-aware so most of their admits were accepted without looking at the family's finances.
Once you are accepted on your qualifications, you are concurrently given a financial aid package by the college. Sometimes it's great sometimes not so good. Therefore it's very important as an international student to apply to more than 2 or 3 colleges. 10 or 15 would give you better odds of getting a very good financial aid package. Also since you are at the mercy of the colleges, try not to think about getting accepted only into the very best colleges like the Ivy League or Elite Universities because they reject like 75% of applicants with perfect grades and test scores even if they are Americans.
I would suggest that you do a lot of research and google topics like "best financial aid colleges in the US", or "most affordable colleges for Int'l students". Something like that. I came up with this link which has a very long list of different kinds of colleges across the country. They are all good schools. (By the way, NYU is a great school but even for Americans is not great with Financial Aid so keep that in mind. I'd grade them a B-)
https://www.greatvaluecolleges.net/affordable/international-students/
Remember where you go to college is not who you will be. Tell that to yourself. College is only a stepping stone. A very large stepping stone. If you succeed at college you may want to go to Graduate school to be a lawyer, doctor, scientist, or teacher so keep that in mind. If you get accepted into an elite school but are struggling and the bottom of your class in terms of grades and research, you will be overlooked when you apply to graduate schools. Only the very best of your class will move on easier. Therefore, it's sometimes better to be the BEST student at a lesser college or university and get the best recommendations from your teachers because then you will stand out when the time comes.
Watch this video by Malcolm Gladwell and it will better communicate what I'm trying to tell you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7J-wCHDJYmo
Best of luck to you.
You apply through the College Scholarship Service(CSS) profile. The application for 2021/2022 year is officially opened and I'll suggest you start early. You cannot apply for federal aid such as FASFA.
Keep in mind to that there are colleges who promise to meet 100% of demonstrated need if accepted and those who don't. So, if you require large amount of funding, you should research extensively on each school's financial aid.
Also, there are schools that don't offer need-based( not based on merit) aid to international students. So ensure you reach out to each school you're applying to for clarity. Furthermore, 90+% of schools are need-aware for international students and this can affect your acceptance prospects.
Hope you understand this!
EDIT: Schools that don't use the CSS, make use of International Student Financial Aid Application(ISFAA). From my research on schools, those that don't use either of these don't offer international students "need-based" aid. But they may offer "merit-based" aid(scholarships)
So as a non American you aren’t eligible for pell grants and other US gov aid. You MAY have to do fafsa just so schools calculate your aid Im not sure. A lot of schools offer intl aid but it doesn’t offer full need. There are like 10 elite school that offers full need to intl students but they are Harvard Caliber. For example School X has a cost of attendance if 30k/year. You can pay 10k they may offer 5k in aid but you still have to pay 15k. Some can be made up by applying for selective scholarships some can be made up by working but you still have to pay some that can’t feasibly be met.
TLDR it’s entirely possible and likely to get aid but it will likely not be enough. Most intl aid is from your enrolled school.
Hope this helps and please comment if you need clarification as I’d be happy to help clarify!
Edit: Clarification
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CSS is a great tool but only some 150 odd schools use it. And they are predominately either private research schools like Rice TCU or are liberal arts schools and elite schools. But most institutions don’t accept CSS.