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Education Pays
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Vietnamese students usually can't pay for the expensive costs of education in US themselves. In Vietnam, earning $10,000 a year is considered to be at a very high level. But here in US, the tuition fee for an average school is about $15,000 a year. That doesn't cover accommodation fees, books and supplies, personal expenses, etc. That's why most of Vietnamese students nowadays tend to look for financial aids when they plan to study in US. Clicking on "Admission" and "Financial Aid" on the schools' websites are among the first actions the students do before applying today. First, let me clarify that: financial aids include: loans, scholarships, grants and on-campus labor programs (if applicable). One other thing, financial aids come after you send the financial form away with your application. Some school may only permit students to apply for financial aids after they have been admitted, but in most cases, the statement above is true. What's sweeter than chocolate: VIETNAMERICAN's Available Aids, where you can find financial aid sources already selected for international students. 1) Start by getting information about financial aids The information about financial aids of your designate schools usually is posted on the schools' websites or is enclosed in the information packs you request at first. Look for these specific details in the information sources: + Financial aids for international students: some schools offer, some don't. Some schools give different financial aid forms for international students. Also remember that international students are not eligible for Federal Grants, State Grants or Loans. What a big loss! + Need-based or merit-based: Need-based technically means the amount of money you'll receive depends on how you fill in the financial questionnaire and the financial documents you enclose with application. Merit-based means how much you'll receive depends on how good you are in academic. For small- medium schools or liberal arts colleges, they often offer need-based financial aids, which are very beneficial for Vietnamese students. For bigger schools, they tend to offer merit-based. It's good when you are completely exceptional. + Deadlines: Always watch out for deadlines in application process. Some schools have deadlines for financial aids forms the same as for application forms, some don't. Make sure you mail the forms in time.
2) Applying for aids. First things first, get answers to all your questions. If you have ANY inquiries or any unclear things, don't hesitate to contact the admission officers. They're there to help you in such situations. Just to make sure you know what to do, how to do, where to do, when to do and do it! Not understanding thoroughly the financial aid applying process can cause you many troubles later on if you're accepted. One thing very important: many of Vietnamese students, when they fill out the financial questionnaire, think it would hurt their chance of acceptance if they fill in low income because the admission officers would consider you not be able to afford the expenses in America. Believe me, only when your family income is more than $40,000 a year can you really afford the education expenses in a medium school in US. Therefore, no matter what you fill in the forms, it won't hurt your chance. Most schools now have "need-blind" admission policy. In contrast, admission officers will depend on what you fill in to determine how much money you will receive for financial aids. When I fill in the financial forms, I said my family income was $2200 totally and no extra income, no workers hired, no home business, no car, no due loans, and no owned house. FinAid.org is the place I recommend you go to first. They have an unique section on how to avoid scholarship scams. SuperCollege.com was set up by a few Harvard graduates. I did not have time to visit this site carefully, but they have quite a lot of non-traditional stuff. This site, I don't have a clue: http://www.heic.org/FINAID.HTM. These were not written by VIETNAMERICAN. 3) Tips.
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