Financial Aid for International Students
Financial Aid Resources in Your Home Country
There may be a number of financial aid resources available from your home country. The Ministry of Education in your home country or your embassy in Washington DC should be able to provide you with information on available scholarship programs
Important Financial Aid Resources for International Students
NAFSA: Association of International Educators - www.nafsa.org.
NAFSA is an association of educators that promotes international education. The website provides resources and information for international students planning to study in the United States, including funding information.
The SmartStudent Guide to Studying in the USA (eduPASS) - www.edupass.org.
The site is a comprehensive guide to studying in the United States and contains information on financing a college education.
State Department Educational Advising Centers - http://exchanges.state.gov/education
This site provides information on scholarships and fellowships available for U.S. study.
United States Department of Education; U.S. National Library of Education - www.ed.gov/NLE/USNEI
This site includes a wealth of information for international students, including links to financial aid sites and U.S. government assistance programs.
SCHOLARSHIP SEARCH ENGINES
Amherst College - http://www.amherst.edu/~careers/fellow/natfellow.html
This site through Amherst's Career Center provides a guide to private and corporate foundations
CollegeNET - www.collegenet.com
This site was designed to help locate higher education information on the web.
Fastweb - www.fastweb.com
This site has a search engine that matched your personal/academic information with available scholarships.
The Foundation Center - www.foundationcenter.org
In addition to the information on the website, the Foundation Center offers free access to publications on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects at five professionally staffed Center-run libraries in the United States. The Washington, D.C. library is located at 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, 9th Floor (Corner of Connecticut Avenue and K Street), 202-331-1400.
International Education Financial Aid (IEFA) - www.iefa.org
This site is an online financial aid database.
Internationalstudent.com - http://www.internationalstudent.com
This site includes a search engine for scholarships and information on other subjects such as travel and insurance.
Scholarships.com - www.scholarships.com
This site matches your information with applicable scholarships.
The SMART Student Guide to Financial Aid - http://www.finaid.org
This site not only matched your profile with available scholarships, but also provides financial calculators and ample information on loans, savings, and aid.
LOANS
Educational loans are available to international students, but all require a U.S. citizen co-signer. For more information on educational loans, check the following websites:
Citibank - http://www.studentloan.com and Citifinancial - http://www.citifinancial.com
Citibank's website on applying for, paying for and managing student loans includes a guide to financing tuition and online applications for student loans.
The Education Resource Institute - http://www.teri.org
Education Resource Institute is non-profit, private organization that offers low-interest loans based on credit worthiness.
International Education Finance Corporation - www.iefc.com
The International Education Finance Corporation provides educational loans. This page includes information on the International Student Loan Programs (ISLP) and CanHELP, a program to help Canadians afford to study in the United Stats. This site includes online applications and details about loan terms.
InternationalStudentLoan.com - http://www.internationalstudentloan.com
FOUNDATIONS/SPONSORING AGENCIES
The American Association of University Women Educational Foundation - http://www.aauw.org/fga/index.cfm
This foundation assists women in pursuing their personal and professional goals through fellowships and grants.
Amideast - www.amideast.org
Amideast seeks to improve understanding between America and the Middle East/North Africa by providing scholarship programs and exchange opportunities.
The Institute for International Education (IIE) - www.iie.org
IIE administers several programs to assist students from all over the world to study abroad. IIE also maintains an online search engine at www.FundingUSstudy.org
LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas - www.laspau.harvard.edu
LASPAU is affiliated with Harvard University and is a resource for Latin American and Caribbean student whose countries are members of the OAS. The Rowe Fund grants interest-free student loans to help finance higher education studies in the United States. Loans are limited to juniors, seniors, and graduate student and are granted on the understanding that recipients return to their home country following completion of study. Guarantor is required.
Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund (MMMF) - http://www.gwu.edu/fellows/mmmf.html
MMMF supports the education of women from developing countries through the award of multiple, non renewable grants.
PEO International - http://www.peointernational.org
The PEO International Peace Scholarship Fund provides grants to female graduate students who are citizens of any country other then the United States or Canada.
Rotary International - www.rotary.org
This organization of professionals supports world understanding and peace and provides scholarships for students in any nation where Rotary clubs exist to study in other nations with Rotary clubs.
The Soros Network - www.soros.org
This network offers scholarship programs that focus on Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union, but also include Guatemala, Haiti, Mongolia, Southern Africa, and the United States.
The World Bank - www.worldbank.org/wbi
Through its management of the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate scholarship and the Robert S. Mc Namara Fellowship Program, the World Bank Institute provides opportunities for graduate study and research to promising professionals from developing member countries.
U.S. GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS
Fullbright - http://www.foreign.fulbrightonline.org/
The Fullbright program, administered by the United States Department of State, provides scholarships to study in the United States. This program is available to students, scholars, and teachers.
BOOKS
Most books on this list may be ordered in new or used condition from www.amazon.com or www.barnesandnoble.com
The A's and B's of Academic Scholarships Order from Octameron Associates at www.octameron.com
Annual Register of Grant Support: A Directory of Funding Sources Chicago: Marquis Professional Publications, 2005.
Chronicle Financial Aid Guide Order from www.chronicleguide.com
Directory of Research Grants 2006 Phoenix: Orynx Press, 2005
Edelson, Phyllis, ed. Foundation Grants to Individuals (39th ed). New York: Foundation Center, 2003. Subscribe online for a monthly fee at www.gtionline.fdncenter.org
Funding for U.S. Study: A Guide for International Students and Professionals New York: Institute of international Education, 2006 Use the search engine located at www.FundingUSstudy.org or order the print version at http://www.iiebooks.org/.
The Grants Register 2006 New York: St. Maarten's Press; London, MacMillan Press, 2005
International Student Handbook 2006 Order online and print versions from College Board Publications at http://store.collegeboard.com (keyword: International).
Schlachter, Gail and R. David Weber. Directory of Financial Aid for Women, 2005-2007. San Carlos: Reference Service Press, 2005
Financial Aid/Scholarships FAQs
As an international student, am I eligible for financial aid offered by colleges and universities in the U.S.?
Colleges and universities in the U.S. have access to a wide array of financial aid
programs to assist American families in funding the cost of a college education.
Unfortunately, many forms of financial aid - primarily aid that come from the federal government - are not available to international students on nonimmigrant visas. International students should read the application instructions carefully, to see if financial aid programs require U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence (green card).
What are the different kinds of financial aid?
Many colleges offer both need-based and merit-based financial aid. The difference between these two kinds of assistance is sometimes unclear. Need-based aid refers to the funds awarded to a student to make up the difference between what it costs to attend an institution and what the family can afford to pay. Need-based aid comes into play only when the family cannot afford to pay the full cost of attending. The existence of need-based programs is based on the principle that the primary obligation for funding a college education rests with the family. Need-based aid exists to promote access to college. In awarding these funds, the ability to pay is the primary, if not only, consideration.
Merit-based aid programs were created to assist colleges in reaching objectives in addition to access. The intent of these programs often involves bringing academically superior students into the student body at the college or enticing students with special abilities to enroll at the college. In awarding merit-based aid, the ability of the family to pay for the cost of attendance is of secondary consideration.
Colleges that offer merit-based and need-based financial aid programs will often use funds from both programs to assist a student. For example, a student with outstanding academic abilities may receive a merit-based scholarship but have financial need in excess of the value of the scholarship. In these cases most colleges address the remaining
need through need-based programs. Not every college offers both kinds of aid. Some colleges offer only need-based financial aid.
Where does financial aid come from?
There are four primary sources of financial aid: the federal government, state governments, private foundations and corporations and the colleges themselves. The amount of aid available for the 2003-2004 was approximately 122 billion dollars. Of that amount, about 70 percent comes from the federal government, 10 percent from state governments, and 20 percent from colleges, foundations and corporations. These funds are awarded to students in the form of grants or scholarships, loans, or in the form of work-study arrangements in which the student receives an hourly salary for work while attending the college or university.
What is the difference between grants or scholarships, loans and work-study?
Grants and scholarships are generally considered the most desirable form of financial aid. These are often referred to as gift aid. The recipient of gift aid is under no financial obligation to repay the provider for the use of these funds. Given the nature of these awards, the funds received through grant and scholarship programs represent a true discount on the cost of attendance -- a direct reduction in price.
Student loans provide the student with immediate access to funds to cover the cost of attendance, but the use of these funds carries with it the obligation of repayment, with interest, over a period of time. Loan funds reduce the immediate burden on the family but they do not reduce the true overall cost to the family as the total repayment obligation exceeds, by the amount of interest applied, the loan proceeds are used to cover college costs. In fact, loans have the effect of increasing overall college costs. The advantage of using a student loan, as opposed to other kinds of commercially available loans, is that the interest charged on student loans is often subsidized by the federal government (both in terms of the actual amount of interest charged and the deferral of interest accrual during the time when the student is in college) and the conditions of repayment (payments do not commence until after the student completes college.) These kinds of loans are referred to as subsidized loans. Unsubsidized loans are also available. For these loans, interest begins to accrue as soon as the funds are used, but repayment does not begin until after the student ceases to attend a college or university.
College work-study involves the student in a work relationship with the college or other approved agency. The federal government provides the college with funds to be used as salary payments to eligible students who perform services for the college. The hourly rates vary with the kind of job performed and the number of hours weekly that a student may work is limited. Payments are made directly to the student in the form of a paycheck.
Where do I get more information about these programs?
Virtually every college or university provides information about its financial aid programs on its Web site and in its publications.
For privately funded scholarships
http://appscollegeboard.com/main_index.html
Top of the page |
