For many Indian students thinking about going to American colleges, one of the biggest questions is “Can I afford it?” We asked Katryna A. Swartwout Ryan, associate dean of admissions at Colgate University, who oversees the recruitment and selection process for international students, and travels around the world to recruit, several questions about financing your college education.

Currently 7 percent of Colgate’s student body are international, meaning they don’t hold American passports, a percentage which has been increasing steadily during the past few years. Colgate has students from 42 countries, and 14 students from India, making India the fifth-most represented nation on campus (after China, Canada, South Korea and Vietnam). The University actively travels and recruits in India, and recently 10 percent of Colgate’s faculty spent two weeks in India. You can read about their travels here.



Q.

Can you first walk us through basic steps of financial aid application for an international student: do we apply when we apply to the school, or after we have been accepted? Is acceptance in any way linked to whether you can pay for school?

Andrew Daddio

A.

At Colgate University, and many highly selective institutions, applicants must apply for aid at the same time they apply for admission. We have a generous, but not unlimited, financial aid budget for international students, and it is important that we understand a student’s financial situation at the time of application.

Colgate is need-sensitive for international students, and we use aid information in conjunction with the information in the admission application as we are making decisions. We use the financial aid resources we have to admit and aid the strongest students from around the world, but since there is not an infinite amount of aid available we reach a point in the admission process where we are unable to admit any more students who require financial aid. Students who don’t require aid are not vying for the same limited resources.

There are very few schools in the United States who are need-blind for international students, so at most institutions an international student’s aid status can be a factor in admission decisions.

Q.

What are the main differences between the way financial aid is determined for an international student and an American student?

A.

Colgate uses the CSS PROFILE (an online questionnaire administered by the College Board, a not-for-profit group that promotes higher education. You can access it here) as our financial aid application, so fundamentally there is no difference in the way we determine the estimated family contribution for an international student versus a U.S. citizen. The same factors, such as family income and cost of living, are analyzed in our financial aid review for all aid applicants. The only difference is that international students fill out the CSS PROFILE in local currency and that will be converted to U.S. dollars before the application reaches our Office of Financial Aid.

The major difference for international versus U.S. aid applicants will be in the structure of a student’s financial aid package. International students are not eligible for federal financial aid, so that will not be a part of the financial aid award. At Colgate, international students receiving aid will not receive any loans.

Another difference is that an international student at Colgate would receive the same financial aid package all four years (with an increase in institutional grant to cover any increases in cost of attendance). International students who do not apply for aid in the first year are not eligible to apply for aid at any point during their time at Colgate (this policy can vary from institution to institution). U.S. citizens have to reapply for aid annually, and can apply for aid in subsequent years even if they did not apply for aid in the first year.

Q.

What sort of documentation do international students need to provide about their family’s income?

A.

Each school will ask for different financial aid documentation as part of the application process. At Colgate, we don’t require any additional information beyond the questions that are asked in the CSS PROFILE. The PROFILE and the paper-based International Student Financial Aid Application both include a certification that the information provided in the application is true and correct. We trust that students and their families will fill out the forms to the best of their abilities with accurate information to provide us the best assessment of their financial needs, allowing us to award the most appropriate financial aid packages to admitted students.

Schools that don’t ask for financial documentation at the time of application will likely follow up with admitted students for additional information to facilitate the visa acquisition process. At Colgate, we require bank statements or bank official certification to show that students have the funds necessary to cover the costs beyond the amount awarded in the financial aid package. Students who did not apply for aid will also need to show documentation that they have sufficient funds to cover the cost of attendance.

Q.

Are there any special guidelines you would suggest Indian students follow to ensure maximum aid but also ensure that the income-based student visa isn’t denied?

A.

My best advice for the financial aid paperwork is to be honest in the resources that you have available. Since many schools will look at the amount you can contribute as part of their assessment, an applicant who can contribute more money to their college education may be more attractive than an equivalent candidate with fewer financial resources. Conversely, if you overestimate the amount you can contribute and are admitted to a particular institution, there may be no way to appeal for additional aid if you find you really can’t afford what you said you could afford in your financial aid application. There are also some schools, like Colgate, that don’t look at the estimated family contribution as we are making admission decisions on aid applicants. Some schools are more sensitive than others as to the level of a student’s financial contribution, so it’s important to do research and ask questions if you don’t understand how your financial aid application will be used as a factor in admission decisions.

The other factor that comes into play is the type of aid an institution has available. Some schools will offer merit aid to international students, while others will just offer need-based financial aid. (Colgate falls into the latter category.) Some schools will use a combination of both types of aid. Some schools will guarantee to meet the full demonstrated financial need of admitted students (Colgate does this for both U.S. and international students), and some schools may “gap,” or give students an award which covers just part of their demonstrated financial need. Since each school has different types of aid available, and may package students differently, it is important to be as honest and forthright as possible on the forms to set yourself up for the best possible outcome in terms of a financial aid award.

Q.

Is there a benchmark you can share for families that do qualify for financial aid?

A.

All applicants for financial aid are reviewed regardless of a family’s income or assets. Generally speaking, a student is more likely to qualify for aid the lower a family’s income, but there are many other factors in a financial aid assessment beyond just income. Colgate publishes a table of the number of students receiving aid at various income levels, and there are indeed students across the socioeconomic spectrum who qualify for aid. The range of financial aid packages awarded to international students at Colgate for the 2011-2012 academic year is $10,250 to $52,685.

Q.

How much did Colgate grant last year in financial aid overall? To international students?

A.

For the 2010-2011 academic year, Colgate awarded institutional grant money that totaled over $37 million. International students received over $5.8 million in institutional aid from Colgate.

Q.

Are there any special grants or scholarships available for international students and for students from South Asia in particular?

A.

Colgate does not award academic merit scholarships, and we have funneled our financial aid resources into need-based aid for all students. We don’t have any funds specifically earmarked for students from South Asia or scholarships for international students, but we do have a general financial aid budget for international students. This money can go to students from any number of countries depending on where we find our most compelling candidates. As we anticipate an increase in the number of applications to U.S. institutions from students in South Asia, we are eager to evaluate additional applications from this region and work to increase our enrollment of Indian and South Asian students at Colgate.

Q.

Do you review financial aid packages for international students each year, as tuition increases?

A.

Every school will manage international students receiving aid differently, but at Colgate international students do not reapply for aid annually. A family’s financial contribution will remain the same for the four years an international student is enrolled at Colgate. Since we guarantee to meet a student’s demonstrated financial need in full we will increase the institutional grant to cover any increases in tuition or cost of attendance.