This post was originally written for College Essay Guy by
So, you’re an international student excited about studying in the US, but the cost of college is a determining factor.
How can you develop a cost-conscious school list? How can you predict how much aid you might receive from a given school, instead of just counting on receiving that one full scholarship (spoiler alert: they’re extremely competitive)?
Financial aid at US institutions can be tricky to understand. So much lingo—need-blind, merit-based aid, estimated family contribution, CSS profile, demonstrated need. Luckily, A Step-by-Step Financial Aid Guide for International Students can walk you through the nuances of both calculating the costs of college and applying for financial aid.
One of the first steps to developing a cost-conscious college list is to figure out exactly how much your family can afford. Sit down with your parents or guardians and talk frankly about how much they can pay. Is that for college tuition or does it include living expenses as well? What about costs like visas and flights to and from your home country? These indirect costs, plus healthcare, SEVIS fees and travel to campus, can fall anywhere between $3-$7k. These indirect costs, plus healthcare, SEVIS fees and travel to campus, can fall anywhere between $3-$7k.
Unfortunately, there are also a number of costs just to apply to college. Don’t forget to consider application feesfees, financial application costs, and, if you intend to take them, standardized testing fees. Too often we see international students not considering all the costs of college beyond tuition itself.
Fast forward: you have a clear sense of your family’s budget and have identified what you’re looking for in a college. (If you’re having trouble with developing a college list, take a look atHow to Choose a College: A Step-By-Step Guide for great tips). You have a list of colleges you’re excited about, but you know that the costs of attendance are beyond what your family can afford. Maybe your list is even full of schools that are need-blind or need-aware for international students. That’s great, but it’s only part of the story!
How can you really figure out how much financial aid these colleges are likely to offer you? And how can you find additional colleges that might be better financial fits?
Fortunately, you don’t have to do it blindly. You don’t have to cross your fingers that you’ll receive enough aid to be able to afford a particular school. There are tons of data out there to help you understand how much financial aid a given college offers.
This guide will walk you through:
Financial aid terminology
Four critical resources when building your college list
What about non-US options?Four critical resources when building your college list
What about non-US options?
Financial Aid Terminology
One of the hardest parts of understanding financial aid is all the unfamiliar terms you may run into. Here are a few of the terms you’ll see throughout this article and more generally while researching financial aid.
Cost of Attendance (COA): This is an estimate of your educational expenses, usually for a year. It includes direct costs (tuition and fees) and indirect costs (room & board and books & supplies).
College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile: This is an online service provided by College Board, which allows international students to apply for financial aid. It requires you to submit a detailed account of your family’s assets, income sources and financial circumstances. Note that not all schools require this form, so check your college list against the list of participating institutions.
Student Aid Index (SAI): This is a number that financial aid staff have determined your family could pay, based off of your CSS profile. It is used to decide how much financial aid you would receive if you were to attend their school. Note that since this is calculated by assessing your family’s financial documents, it may differ from what your family is “willing to pay.”
Demonstrated Need: This is the remainder when you subtract your SAISAI from the COA. It’s essentially how much aid a given school would need to give you for you to be able to attend. Need-Aware: This means that a student’s ability to pay is factored into the admissions process. If you are applying to a need-aware school that guarantees to meet full need, your chance of admission increases based on your ability to pay. So, in short, the more you can afford to pay, the better your chances of getting in. And the opposite is true as well - the more financial aid you need, the lower your chance of admission. If you are applying to a need-aware school that guarantees to meet full need, your chance of admission increases based on your ability to pay. So, in short, the more you can afford to pay, the better your chances of getting in. And the opposite is true as well: the more financial aid you need, the lower your chance of admission.
Need-Blind: This means that a student’s ability to pay is NOT factored into the admissions process. Your ability to pay and your financial aid need will not affect your admission decision. Your ability to pay and your financial aid need will neither positively or negatively affect your chances of admission.
Merit-based scholarships: These scholarships are based on factors like academic achievement, leadership, community engagement or other merit factors. Applying for merit scholarships typically does not require submission of financial aid documentation. The real difference between merit scholarships and financial aid is the requirement of financial aid documentation. ese scholarships are based on factors like academic achievement, leadership, community engagement or other merit factors. Applying for merit scholarships typically does not require submission of financial aid documentation. The real difference between merit scholarships and financial aid is the requirement of financial aid documentation.
Need-based financial aid: This is a type of college funding available to low-income students and based on their family’s income and other financial factors.
Student Aid Index (SAI): This is a number that financial aid staff have determined your family could pay, based off of your CSS profile. It is used to decide how much financial aid you would receive if you were to attend their school. Note that since this is calculated by assessing your family’s financial documents, it may differ from what your family is “willing to pay.”
So, how do you build your college list?
Four critical resources when building a college list:
Visit your local EducationUSA office. They have the most comprehensive information available in your home country and that's exactly why they exist: to share knowledge and advocate for students like you.
Use Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy’s data to help inform your process. Both the Financial Aid for Undergraduate International Noncitizens and Acceptance Rate and Yield charts provide critical data to help you assess your likelihood of admission and receiving financial aid. You can also learn about the size of the international population on campus and financial aid policies (need, merit, both or none).
Read everything you can on each school’s website. You’ll find comprehensive information about financial aid, academics, student life and more. Carefully review the admissions information specifically for international students as the requirements will likely be different than that for domestic applicants.
Google “name of school + Common Data Set” to review detailed information about acceptance rates, average aid amounts, test scores, application priorities and enrollment data. See A Step-by-Step Financial Aid Guide for International Students (specifically the section entitled “How to Use the Common Data Set for Understanding College Fit”) for more guidance.
If you thoroughly research colleges using these four steps, you will be well poised to create a strong college list. Keep in mind that you should apply broadly to maximize your chances of receiving an affordable admissions offer.
Maybe your dream school is a perfect financial fit. Or maybe, it’s not financially feasible after all. Don’t forget that there are thousands of wonderful colleges out there that could be a great fit for you.
Pro tip: Have a little more time on your hands? Ask Dr. Hoffman is a great resource on YouTube with videos like Selective College Admissions: International Student Edition that you might find helpful.
What about non-US options?
In addition to researching colleges in the United States, what about looking beyond the US? There are tons of international universities that can provide a phenomenal English-language education at a fraction of the cost of American colleges. Check out Schools That Are Actually Cheap: Affordable Options Under 10,000 USD/Year and How to Develop a Great University List When Applying Outside the U.S. for more info!
Here are some government scholarships - some for undergraduate and some for graduate study - that may be a good fit.
3. Fulbright Foreign Scholarship
4. Australian Government Research Training Program (RTPS)
6. Turkiye Burslari Scholarships
7. Thailand Government Scholarships
8. Gates Cambridge Scholarships
9. Hungary Government Scholarships
10. Italian Government Scholarships
11. Eiffel Scholarships in France
Four critical resources when building a college list
Visit your local EducationUSA office. They have the most comprehensive information available in your home country and that's exactly why they exist: to share knowledge and advocate for students like you.
Use Jennie Kent and Jeff Levy’s data to help inform your process. Both the Financial Aid for Undergraduate International Noncitizens and Acceptance Rate and Yield charts provide critical data to help you assess your likelihood of admission and receiving financial aid. You can also learn about the size of the international population on campus and financial aid policies (need, merit, both or none).
Read everything you can on each school’s website. You’ll find comprehensive information about financial aid, academics, student life and more. Carefully review the admissions information specifically for international students as the requirements will likely be different than that for domestic applicants.
Google “name of school + Common Data Set” to review detailed information about acceptance rates, average aid amounts, test scores, application priorities and enrollment data. See A Step-by-Step Financial Aid Guide for International Students (specifically the section entitled “How to Use the Common Data Set for Understanding College Fit”) for more guidance.
If you thoroughly research colleges using these four steps, you will be well poised to create a strong college list. Keep in mind that you should apply broadly to maximize your chances of receiving an affordable admissions offer.
Maybe your dream school is a perfect financial fit. Or maybe, it’s not financially feasible after all. Don’t forget that there are thousands of wonderful colleges out there that could be a great fit for you.
Pro tip: Have a little more time on your hands? Ask Dr. Hoffman is a great resource on YouTube with videos like Selective College Admissions: International Student Edition that you might find helpful.
What about non-US options?
In addition to researching colleges in the United States, what about looking beyond the US? There are tons of international universities that can provide a phenomenal English-language education at a fraction of the cost of American colleges. Check out Schools That Are Actually Cheap: Affordable Options Under 10,000 USD/Year and How to Develop a Great University List When Applying Outside the U.S. for more info!
Here are some government scholarships - some for undergraduate and some for graduate study - that may be a good fit:
1. DAAD Scholarship Germany
2. Chevening Scholarships
3. Fulbright Foreign Scholarship
4. Australian Government Research Training Program (RTPS)
5. MEXT Scholarship Japan
6. Turkiye Burslari Scholarships
7. Thailand Government Scholarships
8. Gates Cambridge Scholarships
9. Hungary Government Scholarships
10. Italian Government Scholarships
11. Eiffel Scholarships in France
And one more resource that might be helpful - NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) has a Guide to International University Admission designed for counselors supporting international students. The guide ($25) covers country profiles and admission tips for 18 top and emerging destination countries; as well as information on other international study alternatives and the applicability of US federal financial aid.
We recognize that this process may seem daunting, but do your research, think deeply about your options and ask many questions along the way. You’ve got this!
