Scholarship & Financial Aid

Scholarship for International Student

You will certainly encounter several scholarship matching services that, for a fee, will offer to search a database of scholarships for awards that match your profile. Unfortunately, the vast majority of awards in these databases are only for US citizens and permanent residents. Do not waste your money on such services.

A word of caution: If a scholarship has an application fee, do not apply. If you have to pay money to get money, it is probably a scam. For more information about scholarship scams, the unclaimed aid myth, and related topics, see the Scholarship Scams section of the FinAid site.

International Education Financial Aid

This site contains a free searchable database of 870 scholarships and awards for international students. Most are restricted to use at specific universities.

Financial Aid For International Student

US education is very expensive. Tuition, room and board at an undergraduate institution will cost from $15,000 to $40,000 a year, contingent on the school. A graduate education can be even more expensive.

There is very little financial aid for foreign nationals to study in the US, with the possible exception of citizens of Canada and Mexico. Most grants, scholarships, and loans from public and private sources are restricted to US citizens.

As a result, international students will find very little information about financial aid for international students. This site presents more information about financial aid for international students than any other publication. This information originally appeared as part of the FinAid site.

Below you will find a description of how to access what aid is available, and a discussion of some of the problems you may face as you pay for a US education.