myUface Blog

Over the past two days we’ve discussed the first two “steps” in getting the financial aid you need in order to study at a U.S. university.  Step One was to identify the cost of the education you’re pursuing; Step Two was to identify the assets you yourself possess (or that your family is willing to give you).

Once you complete these two steps, you should have a good idea of the amount of financial aid you’ll need to identify from outside sources:

Cost of your education – Assets of you / your family = needed aid.

So, for example, if you have researched a program that will cost $150,000 over four years, and you and your family can contribute only $60,000 over those years, you’ll need to identify $90,000.

Step Three is identifying the sources of those funds.

Over the next couple of days we’re going to delve deeply into the different potential sources of aid, but for today’s post I just want to breifly note the traditional sources of financial aid:

• Aid from your country’s government. Many countries have programs designed to subsidize the costs of education abroad.
• Aid from private institutions in your country. Domestic companies or foundations will sometimes sponsor students, particularly as part of a training program for employees.
• Aid from individuals in your country. Often, wealthy individuals will offer support to students as a way of “giving back” to their society.
• Aid from international organizations. Certain international organizations offer scholarships or support to international students.
• Aid from the U.S. government. The U.S. government administers several scholarship and fellowship programs for international students.
• Aid from private sources in the U.S. A very few foundations or other private sources in the U.S. offer scholarships to international students.
• Aid from universities. Some universities offer financial aid to international students.
• Loans. International students often take out loans to finance the cost of their education.  Banks or other lending institutions in your country may offer student loans. U.S. lending institutions will offer international students loans; usually, however, a credit-worthy U.S. citizen must co-sign the loan.
• Work-study. Some institutions will offer students the chance to work part-time as a way of financing part of their education.

Over the next few days we’ll cover each of these sources in greater detail.

For now, I want to ask you all the following question (and please leave your answer as a comment):  have you looked into these sources of aid?  All of them?  What have you found so far?

Posts in this Series

1. Your Education is an Investment - 08 Jul
2. Researching Scholarship Opportunities - 07 Jul
3. How to Ask Questions About Financial Aid - 28 Jun
4. Ninth Option for Financial Aid: Loans - 27 Jun
5. The Difference Between Scholarships and Fellowships - 26 Jun
6. Eigth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Universities - 25 Jun
7. Seventh Option for Financial Aid: Ethnic Communities in the United States - 24 Jun
8. Sixth Option for Financial Aid: Private Organizations in the U.S. - 23 Jun
9. Fifth Option for Financial Aid: U.S. Government Programs - 22 Jun
10. Fourth Option for Financial Aid: Scholarships from International Organizations - 20 Jun
11. How to Ask for Support - 18 Jun
12. Looking for Support in Your Country: Why it Makes Sense - 17 Jun
13. Third Option for Financial Aid: Individuals in Your Country - 16 Jun
14. Second Option for Financial Aid: Private Businesses or Foundations in Your Country - 15 Jun
15. First Option for Financial Aid: Government Programs in Your Country - 14 Jun
16. The Third Step in Financial Aid: Find What's Available (This post)
17. The Second Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Assets - 10 Jun
18. The First Step In Financial Aid: Identify Your Needs - 09 Jun
19. Finding Financial Aid for your U.S. Education - 08 Jun