Studying abroad can indeed be a big financial commitment, and it’s completely natural to wonder about how to manage the costs. Fortunately, there are several financial aid options and scholarships available to help reduce the financial burden for international students pursuing education abroad, thus becoming an integral part of every dream and also the application process. 

To know if you can afford a particular university, you need to first understand the full cost that you will need to pay at the end of four years. 

Understanding the Cost Of Attendance (COA)

COA is the estimated cost of attending an institution for one academic year. It can include:

• Tuition – Charges assessed for classes
• Fees – Charges assessed for other college services, such as health insurance or lab fees.
• Room and board for students living on campus
• Estimated living expenses – allowance for rent, utilities, and food for off-campus living 
• Estimated transportation costs
• Estimated books and supplies

In addition to the above, international students face additional costs when studying at colleges in the U.S. like standardized testing fee, college application fee, visa application fees, enrollment deposits, and international airfare.

While earning an education in the U.S. can be expensive – especially with fluctuating exchange rates – there are ways for international students to reduce their total cost of attendance.

Merit-Based Scholarships

A merit scholarship is an award given to a student who excels in academics, athletics, arts, leadership, or other areas. 

• Academic scholarship: A merit scholarship is awarded based on a student’s level of success and does not take financial status into consideration.
• Athletic scholarship: An athletic scholarship is a kind of merit award for students who excel at their sport.
• School-nominated scholarship: Counsellors can nominate students who have demonstrated exceptional academic achievement and creativity along with leadership qualities
• Department-based scholarship: Most scholarships will be available once you have an offer and/or have made the university your firm/top choice.

This year UC students have received close to 1.5 million dollars in scholarships. They have made it to top universities across the world including Hong Kong University, Tufts University, Carnegie Melon University, St. George’s University of Medicine, Purdue University, University of Washington, University of Sydney, University of St Andrew’s, and many more. 

What is Financial Aid? 

College financial aid helps students and their families to cover higher education expenses, such as tuition and fees, room and board, books supplies, and transportation.

To understand how the financial aid allocation works, you need to understand the two types of admission policies in the US: need-blind and need-aware.

• Need-blind admission simply means that applicants’ ability to pay for their education will not be a determining factor in the admission decision. Keep in mind not all need-blind schools pay 100% of a student’s tuition. Only a few schools in the US are need-blind for international students. These include Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Dartmouth, Brown and MIT.
• Need-aware admission means that universities will examine a student’s financial need at the time of admission. Many colleges do not like to advertise they are need-aware because it implies they may not admit a student because of their financial needs. The biggest challenge students with financial needs face when applying to these colleges is not getting into the college based on their needs. But, if these students gain admission to these colleges, many offer generous financial aid packages.

This means if you and your family can afford a university with a need-aware admission process, it may be wise to not apply for financial aid to give yourself the best chance of being accepted.

How can international students apply for financial aid?

In order to assess your ability to pay, you will need to provide your potential US universities with information about your family’s income and assets. International students fill the CSS Profile application that collects such information. 

CSS Profile is an online application that collects information used by hundreds of colleges, universities, professional schools, and scholarship programs to award financial aid from sources outside of the federal government.

• Who should complete: Not all colleges and scholarship programs require the CSS Profile. Check with the ones you’re interested in to see if they require it.
• When to complete: Start your CSS Profile by visiting cssprofile.org at least two weeks before the earliest college or scholarship priority application date you need to meet.
• How to complete: 

• Visit cssprofile.org.
• Have tax records and financial documents handy.
• Enter the required information about you and your family.

Please note that given the competitiveness and complexity of securing financial aid as an international student, you may want to start the process earlier.

How to pick the right school?

In the end, the choice of which universities to apply to where you will succeed and flourish ultimately rests with you. Both need-blind and need-aware schools have their own advantages and disadvantages. However, there’s no harm in applying to need-aware schools, especially if your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars are strong. This year one of our students applied to Clark University, a need aware school, and received a merit scholarship of $120,000 for the entire duration of her undergrad degree. She was the kind of accomplished student and generous community member that fills Clark’s classrooms, residence halls, and their city sidewalks. They loved her leadership as the captain of the Debate Society and saw her as eager, aware, and authentic. 

So do your research, ask admissions offices about their policies, talk to your parents and consider this as just one more factor to potentially consider while finding your match! If you need any further guidance with your undergraduate applications, please contact us.