Pushing North American Universities

I know at least three UK students who got scholarships to top US unis - two academic scholarships (one of them was 100% to Harvard) and one 100% sports scholarship

Obviously some students will find studying in the USA challenging: you can’t get home for the weekend if you are a bit low. You need to be resilient. Also the courses are wider ranging and this doesn’t suit everyone either.

Yes,@TizerorFizz Harvard say they exclude the primary residence from consideration. The implication is that other assets, including property, would be regarded similarly to savings

It depends what sort of property. Primary home isn't considered, I know for sure. Other properties may be.

I see there’s a quote above saying they don’t. Ignore me!

@poetryandwine
Do they not take owned property into consideration at Harvard? I thought they did? I thought wealth counted against you, not just income.

They mention it to try to scale back parental expectations of Oxbridge as now Oxbridge has (rightly) started to recruit more actively from state schools, intakes from independents are dropping steeply.
US unis are eye-wateringly expensive at undergrad level. And very very good value/free at post grad.

First, having taught at a couple of excellent American universities I cannot recall a special fee category for International students. At public unis the dichotomy is between in-state and out-of-state. Private unis make no distinction that I know of in terms of fees. However some unis concentrate financial aid on American students.

The Ivy League and a number of other highly selective schools do not give merit scholarships. Out of interest I just created a fictional profile for the Harvard financial aid calculator. I am European - Harvard does not discriminate, they say - with 2 siblings not at uni. My parents’ total income is USD 175000. They have modest non-retirement assets, excluding the family home. I have only about USD 2500 to my name.

Harvard says my total annual expenses including travel are about 81000. They will give me campus job paying 3500 and very hefty needs based scholarship, leaving my family with an annual bill of just over 29000.

And look again at my parents’ income! Harvard does say that, rightly IMO, non-retirement savings lower the grant and siblings at uni increase it. All families with an annual income below 100000 simply never write a check.. This is fairly typical of the current situation in Ivy League and at comparable universities

We are on of the families living in London and sending ours to private schools on family income of around 100k. Having done the Harvard financial aid calculator it would be cheaper for ours to attend Harvard than a UK university. The financial aid is very generous.

Far from it being the preserve of the super rich, for UK kids it’s the other way around. I know someone who is on pretty much a free ride at Harvard. Nice, clever but not exceptional kid. Divorced parents, fairly low income. Due to the means testing it’s practically free.

my friends DD on the other hand would have to pay full fees due to her parents income. It therefore isn’t feasible.

@futomaki - the two issues are linked though.

There are families realising that studying in the US could be financially feasible and isn't just the preserve of the super rich. Our experience is only of the Ivies but we absolutely had not considered it for DS until someone told us to look into it.

When DS sat his SAT he recognised lots of children from our local super selective grammar. I suspect those families had also recognised the possibility of a fully-funded or highly subsidised higher education for their DC - potentially cheaper than the UK.

Didn't this thread start as why UK schools were pushing NA universities? Maybe we need a US financial thread?

Thank you @HoneyMobster .

From the Harvard Financial Aid website @TizerorFizz

Families who have significant assets will be asked to pay more, but home equity and retirement assets are not considered in our assessment of financial need.

@Willitsoobesummer - a lot of information!. They expect a lot of detail about all income, investments and expenditure. They will look at the value of your home but don't expect you to release equity from it. Pensions savings are protected as well. Our financial aid offers from H, Y and P were all pretty similar. P was slightly more generous but not hugely.

I agree @Coucous , if he doesn't apply he'll always wonder what if ?

That you all for your responses. We don't have a high value home or much private pensions. Our income has been good for a few years but is likely to be lower in the year to come. We have paid for some private school although DS2 in now in a state school, the US universities will be able to see that is where our income has gone.

Congratulations @HoneyMobster that is a fantastic achievement!. Do you mind me asking what you needed to provide to the University for application?

That’s not what it says on the Harvard website where you can calculate your contribution. Owning property alters fee contributions for example. It’s not free for all
undergrads.

@TizerorFizz - for HYP it's needs blind if you get an offer - that includes internationals.

@Willitsoobesummer
Yes. Needs blind if the university really wants you. Of course the whole world applies! It’s very competitive. If they gave this level of generous funding to every family earning under this amount, they could fill it up from non fee payers. So they are choosy! Obviously some DC get them but I would apply in the uk as well.

@Willitsoobesummer - DS has an offer from Princeton for this year. I can confirm the financial aid is very generous. It's quite complicated but it's not assessed purely on income and the value of your property and pension savings aren't included. If you have other children in higher education that's taken into account. The assessment looks at cost to the family - so any finance siblings receive in the UK is taken into account.

Those U of I figures are per semester not per year. UIUC is known to be relatively expensive for public.

Financial aid is quoted inclusive of living costs (though the estimates are a bit low).

The average student loan in the US, for undergrad, is now less than England. However it's paid back under much less favourable terms. The thing is that the government loans for undergraduate are capped. If you want to borrow more than about $30K as a dependent student, you're looking at parent PLUS loans or private loans. There are some universities that are known for being dodgy and giving generous aid for the first year or two, then pulling back, forcing students to take out private loans to complete.

It is really impossible to give solid figures for private universities as it all depends on your income level. Of course if you're wealthy, you'll be paying full cost anywhere.

West Point is a whole other kettle of fish. You're committing to serve in the Army, you must secure a nomination, and it's incredibly competitive. There's some programme for international cadets but they might have to serve in their home armed forces. I don't know where you;'re getting your information as Notre Dame is $60K for tuition. The top Catholic colleges are not any cheaper!

We are not at this stage yet for DS2 who is interested in studying in the US. I was under the impression from him that Harvard, Yale and Princeton give very generous needs blind offers to international students even to parents who earn circa £120,000.

Does anyone know more about this ?