Category: College/University >> Application Process
Created: Apr 21, 2008 at 01:17 am
Read by: 5 users
When I was applying to college, financial aid for international students was the main criteria I used in selecting institutions. I picked the ones known to offer aid to international students. Be aware that because international students seeking education in the US has increased dramatically over the years, there are a lot of institutions that receive funding for many organizations and thus are required to fulfill a certain quota of aid for international students. Do not be afraid to apply to expensive or reputable institutions for fear they will reject you since you need financial aid. I know that applying to a school and needing aid is known to lessen your chances at being accepted but this is not always true.
Schools like Clark University and Bucknell give a lot of financial aid to international students. Also if you are attending an international school be smart when college fairs hit your school or neighboring schools. The representatives of college fairs tend to be important recruiters for the universities they represent and it is crucial that you try to meet them and sell your-self. Interviews for college acceptance are rare and what best way to show an institution who you are than by introducing yourself to someone who, if you make an impression on, will most likely recommend you back at the institution.
If upon acceptance you receive tempting offers form institutions, know this- institutions talk amongst each other and know where you are applying to since you write that up in your application. Therefore, if you are a student they really want, they will fight to get you in their school. Using this you can in a very polite and smart way try to get them to raise their offers for you, the worse that could happen is that they may say no. I find that if you express interest in the institution and ask for more aid it is likely that you receive a positive response. Email a contact person in admissions or international admissions and tell them that you are interested in their institution but that you may need a little more aid in order to be able to attend. See what their response is and choose the best option. Just try to be very serious and clever about this; the last thing you need is to give the impression of a gold digging or greedy student trying to take advantage of an institutions interest.
