Scholarships
State Residency, Financial Aid
Here are a couple of helpful resources for both State Residency and Financial Aid. State residency can be a very tricky issue when one is applying from overseas. Some states, like California are very strict regarding the issue of in-state tuition others are very lenient. It is always important to check the state requirements. Financial Aid is also a troublesome area for overseas families. Look at the information below to get a handle on either one of these issues.
Guide to State Residency
U.S. citizens living abroad who seek admission to a public university in a state where their family has existing ties may be eligible for in-state tuition. If you own real property in that state, are registered to vote there, file a resident income tax return, hold a state driver's license or motor vehicle registration, and can demonstrate prior residence of at least 12 months, you may qualify for state residency for tuition purposes. Each state legislature has their own rules and regulations for determining residency and universities make the final determination.
For further information about residency, check the requirements for your state. Be aware that in some states there is inconsistency from one state institution to another. It's possible to get one answer from one university and another from a different university in the same state.
Private Scholarship Searches
Use the following search engines to help you sort through the various scholarships available. Beware of scholarship scams. If anyone asks you for money to apply for a scholarship, it's probably a scam.
- FastWeb – a free scholarship search engine.
- FreSch – must be a US or Canadian citizen. Short stories (only seven awarded) and poetry (four awarded) competition. Definitely a long shot since there are few awards.
- GoCollege – information on financial aid and more.
- College specific scholarships – colleges sometimes offer scholarships to all admitted students meeting narrowly defined objective criteria (e.g., 3.0 GPA and 1100 SAT)
Need Based Financial Aid
Federal financial aid is only 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 based upon the information submitted on the "Free Application for Federal Student Aid"--the FAFSA. By entering information on the FAFSA about assets, income, and other data from a parent's (and student's) US income tax form, the government is able to make a determination about your expected family contribution (EFC), or the amount your family can reasonably be expected to contribute toward a student's education.
The data you submit on the FAFSA goes to a place called CPS (Central Processing System) where it is compiled and then a formula is applied. The formula the Department of Education uses to compute your EFC is called Federal Methodology.
The EFC is basically what the government is telling us how much you should be able to contribute toward education based on your state of residence, household size, number in college and student and parent income and asset information. Next, the school you attend establishes a Cost of Attendance (COA). The COA is composed of tuition, room and board, fees and estimated expenses (books, supplies, personal).
Together, the EFC and COA are used to determine your financial need. Financial need is calculated by subtracting the EFC from the COA and is a guideline in determining how much need based financial aid you may receive. The equation looks like this:
COA – EFC = Financial Aid
The college's financial aid office then uses the "need based" resources they have available to try to "meet" your financial need.
Financial Aid Example
Sally files her FAFSA and a few weeks later receives her Student Aid Report (SAR). She notes that the EFC on the SAR is "01200" (or $1,200). Her school has a COA of $18,000. So, using the formula above we find that Sally's need is $16,800.
The financial aid office then uses this information to construct a financial aid package. For example, the college offers the following:
- $5,000 Institutional Grant
- $1,550 Federal Pell Grant$1,000 Federal SEOG
- $3,500 Federal Subsidized Stafford Loan
- $1,000 Federal Perkins Loan
- $1,600 Federal Work Study
Total aid: $13,650
What this tells us is that if Sally's need for financial aid is $16,800, the financial aid office was only able to meet $13,650 of that. The difference between the two is called unmet need. In this case, Sally's unmet financial need is $3,250. What that means to Sally is that she will have to contribute more than her EFC in order to meet her educational costs. Unmet need is a common occurrence in financial aid packages. The school is under no obligation to meet your need for financial aid and, in many cases, is simply unable to do so given the types and amounts of funding at their disposal.
What the financial aid office does, to the best of its ability, is to meet as much of your need with the resources it has available. Those resources may include scholarships, grants, loans, and work.
General Financial Aid Resources
Will I be eligible for Need Based Aid?
Since eligibility for aid is based upon your US income tax form, the reality is that very few ISB families qualify for need-based financial aid. For most ex-pat families, housing, travel, and ISB fees are considered to be "compensation" and are included as income on your US tax forms. If you think you have an "unusual circumstance" which should be considered, you should discuss it directly with the college's financial aid office.
Before you go through the arduous task of completing financial aid forms, take a look at these two financial aid estimators. You can enter your financial information and these estimators will provide a rough evidence of whether you might qualify for aid. Both ACT and Peterson's provide this free service.
After reading all of this you have decided to "go for it", complete the FAFSA form.
You should, of course, realize that some colleges and universities are less expensive than others. Cost doesn't always equate to quality, but may be based upon the schools endowment and location. If cost is an issue for your family, please be upfront about that as you're meeting with your ISB counselor. You might also want to look at universities in Canada since they are much more reasonable in cost.
Merit Based Scholarships
By Ivy League agreement, the most selective schools provide only need, as opposed to merit-based, financial aid. Less selective colleges do, however, sometimes provide merit awards. These awards are used to encourage talented students to consider attending these schools.
Colleges realize that talented students will have a number of acceptance offers and use merit awards as an incentive 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.
Students can attract merit aid by applying to schools where their class rank and test scores will place them in the top 25% of the applicant pool. The most generous colleges tend to be private liberal-arts colleges that boast large endowments but face stiff competition from more-affordable and academically comparable state schools.
International Scholarships - http://www.internationalscholarships.com
Loans
If your financial aid award package includes an education loan, you are responsible for applying for the loan. Instructions are generally provided with the award letter. Even if an education loan is not a part of your financial aid award, you may get a loan if you cannot meet the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from your savings or current income.
Loans have made higher education possible for millions of students, but you should consider your options carefully before borrowing and limit borrowing to only the amount necessary. The following sites have more information about student and parent loans:
More Information
Still confused about financial aid? The Financial Aid Information page provides more detailed information about financial aid.