Financial Aid And Scholarships

Financial Aid and Scholarships

One concern regarding college education is cost. For US citizens or permanent residents attending college in the US, federal financial aid is available if you demonstrate financial need as determined by a federal formula. Need-based financial aid in the form of grants, low-interest loans, and student work-study programs is available to qualified students on the basis of the information submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA. On the FAFSA, your parents list information about assets, income, and other data from their US income tax forms. This information will be subjected to a formula to determine the amount your family can reasonably be expected to contribute toward your education. The difference between your family’s contribution and the total college costs is your financial need. If the results from this form show financial need, the college will probably offer you a loan, grant, work-study program, or a combination of all three. To apply for need-based financial aid you and your parents must complete the FAFSA after January 1st of 12th grade since the data supplied on the form comes from your family’s US income tax return from the previous year. Shortly after January 1, your parents must calculate–but they do not need to send in–their US income taxes, and complete the FAFSA online. A link to FAFSA can be found on the financial aid section of the counseling website.

If you have an unusual circumstance, you will need to discuss it directly with the financial aid office of the college. Some colleges also require an additional form such as the CSS PROFILE (linked through the College Board). Details will be provided by the college. Very selective, well resourced colleges generally only provide need-based financial aid, as opposed to merit-based. Less selective colleges do, however, sometimes provide merit awards. These awards encourage talented students to consider attending their schools. Colleges realize talented students have a number of acceptance offers and use merit awards to attract them. Talent grants are given to students who demonstrate a particular talent in sports, the arts, leadership, social service, or academics. These grants are offered regardless of a student’s financial need and are sometimes open to non-US citizens. Oftentimes, offers of merit scholarships are made at the time of admission, and no additional forms need to be submitted you are encouraged to look at each college’s financial aid website for detailed information.

Financial Aid for non-US Citizens

Not all US colleges offer financial aid to students who are not US citizens. In fact, the majority of colleges expect international students to find their own sources of money to pay for a college education. To get a visa you must prove you have sufficient financial resources to pay for college, living expenses, and a return trip to your home country. If a college doesn’t offer aid to international students you must plan to pay all of the expenses yourself. Because of the limited amount of aid available to international students, even those colleges with international student aid only offer it to the strongest applicants. If you are a non-US citizen requiring financial aid, you will need to be among a college’s top applicants in order to receive an offer of aid.

“Need Blind” Admission While most schools consider US citizens’ admission separately from their need for financial aid (i.e., they are need-blind ), some are need-aware. The school’s need-blind or need-aware status should be clearly stated by each school. For non-US citizens, almost all schools are need-aware. Some directly state that, if the non-US citizen can’t pay their own way, they need not apply. A school that guarantees to meet students’ full-need agrees to provide sufficient financial aid to meet the need as determined by the FAFSA form. Other schools may admit students without regard of ability to pay, but may not provide sufficient financial aid to make it possible for the student to attend.