All Things Money

[CloudedPage]

Hi guys,

Ok, so I can see that there's some drips of information dotted in the forum, but I'm really trying to get my head around this, and being an international student, I've found it hard to get solid information.

Personally, I'm hoping to apply to USC and UCLA.

I've been a uni student for the last... 4 or so years, with minimal options of external work during that time. So effectively, I've got zero savings.

I'm trying to figure out what the deal is with scholarships to apply for and any other kinds of financial support I can use to get through.

Help me Obi-Wan-Film-School-Dot-Org, you're my only hope!

 

[Nic L. Kelly]

Hi guys,

Ok, so I can see that there's some drips of information dotted in the forum, but I'm really trying to get my head around this, and being an international student, I've found it hard to get solid information.

Personally, I'm hoping to apply to USC and UCLA.

I've been a uni student for the last... 4 or so years, with minimal options of external work during that time. So effectively, I've got zero savings.

I'm trying to figure out what the deal is with scholarships to apply for and any other kinds of financial support I can use to get through.

Help me Obi-Wan-Film-School-Dot-Org, you're my only hope!

Man I wish I could help but I honestly don't know how different it is for an international student vs. a state side student. I will say just about all of the programs I know USC does, have information about scholarships.

 

[Joshua Aka]

As an international student, you only qualify for institutional aid. That is, no FAFSA, no loans, no work-study. The problem being an international student is that you usually have to be accepted to the program to be considered for scholarships. But they will only accept you if you prove you can pay for your first year of study before hand. Catch-22.

So make sure to contact each school individually and see what they can offer. But plenty of schools offer financial aid to foreigners. Some are really generous. Make sure to focus on the private schools. State schools rarely offer aid, if any, to international students (for obvious reasons).

 

[screenqueen]

I'm not sure what your current situation is, but I'm currently a 1st year in the MFA program at Ohio University, and the program has a number of international students. I can't speak to the financials specifically, but I do know that they are truly welcomed and supported here.

It would be worth it to you (or any future international students reading this) to give Ohio University a serious look.

 

[BadouBoy]

Thanks for taking the time to come back and share your experience. I'm going it to give it serious consideration - I'm an international applicant btw.

 

[WriterGirl]

Does anyone know if UCLA offers any help at all for internationals? (being a state school and all)

This is what I know:

• USC has limited, but generous scholarships anyone can apply for (but no full rides, as far as I know).
• NYU is notoriously stingy, but they may offer a full ride if they want you enough.
• Columbia offers partial help to some people.
• Chapman offers something like $2-4K per semester in fellowships, to some.
• AFI offers partial help if they want you enough, but since they're one of the pricier schools, it might not be enough (it wasn't in my case, and they were more generous than usual from what I hear).

 

[BadouBoy]

Thanks for your input, @WriterGirl. It took me dozens of emails to several departments to realize how limited the options (for generous) scholarship are, even more so for us international students. And I'm really sorry to hear about AFI.

I spoke with UCLA's student affairs rep at TFT about funding for int'ls and this was her response:

"Funding is limited for all students in the program because we are a state university. We typically do not give out full scholarships; however, there is departmental funding available during the second and third year of the program. The first year depends of the situation of the student, there may be a small stipend available, but it is not guaranteed."

That aside, I know that they have two full-ride scholarships for Indian and Arab women.
Hope this helps!

 

[nandanunes]

Hey guys!
I am an international student too I am planning to apply for USC and NYU. Like you guys, I have no ways to pay for anything so I really need a scholarship or something like it.
For USC I saw that they ask for a letter for financial support with the admission process. I wonder what you guys think: Should I apply anyway even though I don't have enough savings for 1 year of expenses there or should I apply and wait for USC scholarship results? Because I will only attend if I get a good USC scholarship too of course... Are they going to not consider my application because of that? I don't want to wast 110 bucks for nothing ...

Thank you so much!

 

[BadouBoy]

Hey guys!
I am an international student too I am planning to apply for USC and NYU. Like you guys, I have no ways to pay for anything so I really need a scholarship or something like it.
For USC I saw that they ask for a letter for financial support with the admission process. I wonder what you guys think: Should I apply anyway even though I don't have enough savings for 1 year of expenses there or should I apply and wait for USC scholarship results? Because I will only attend if I get a good USC scholarship too of course... Are they going to not consider my application because of that? I don't want to wast 110 bucks for nothing ...

Thank you so much!

Hey @nandanunes,

I may be wrong, but I believe the letter of financial support comes after you're accepted. They'll need it to issue you an I-20 for your student visa. A scholarship application is part of their admissions process so you'll have to apply for that and if they do want you, you might get some amount of funding. I'm pretty sure you can include your scholarship letter as proof of financial support.

How much money do you need to be able to attend? I believe someone on this site was offered about 30k in scholarship money from USC (total tuition and living expenses estimate comes up to somewhere around 60k though). But as @WriterGirl mentioned, the school is not known to offer full rides. If you need extra funding, I'd suggest looking for scholarships elsewhere (in your home country for instance).

Hope this helps!

 

[nandanunes]

Hey @nandanunes,

I may be wrong, but I believe the letter of financial support comes after you're accepted. They'll need it to issue you an I-20 for your student visa. A scholarship application is part of their admissions process so you'll have to apply for that and if they do want you, you might get some amount of funding. I'm pretty sure you can include your scholarship letter as proof of financial support.

How much money do you need to be able to attend? I believe someone on this site was offered about 30k in scholarship money from USC (total tuition and living expenses estimate comes up to somewhere around 60k though). But as @WriterGirl mentioned, the school is not known to offer full rides. If you need extra funding, I'd suggest looking for scholarships elsewhere (in your home country for instance).

Hope this helps!

Thank you so much!
I tried to talk to their admissions office but they answered me in a so confuse way...
Anyways, I am going to apply and let you guys know here how it goes =]

 

[BadouBoy]

Thank you so much!
I tried to talk to their admissions office but they answered me in a so confuse way...
Anyways, I am going to apply and let you guys know here how it goes =]

Glad to help. All the best!