Can Foreign Students use the FAFSA?

The short answer to this question is yes; international students can use the FAFSA. There is no special FAFSA for International Students. However, there are a number of exceptions and things to consider, and not every international student who applies will receive aid. Because the FAFSA is used to award federal educational aid, most programs available on the FAFSA are only awarded to US Citizens or permanent residents. In most cases, if you don’t have a social security number, you can’t use the FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

International students may not qualify for federal aid, but there are other forms of aid available and in most instances the FAFSA is the best way to apply for them. Colleges, trade schools, universities, and other schools sometimes have “in house” grants, scholarships, and work study programs that are not federally funded. In many cases, international students can qualify for these forms of financial aid. But in order to apply, a FAFSA should still be used. A foreign student can go about this one of two ways:

1.) Obtain a social security number. The federal FAFSA processing center will not process any submitted FAFSA’s that do not include a valid social security number. Foreign students that have SSN’s will probably still not be eligible for aid, but the school can use the information on the FAFSA to make in house determinations and awards

2.) Find a school that processes applications “in-house.” Some schools will have an international student fill out a FAFSA, but not send the completed FAFSA to the federal processing center. Instead, the form is processed by school officials whose specialty it is to award foreign students with various types of aid. Filling out the form does not automatically make you eligible for aid.

Because the reality is that most international students will have a difficult time finding educational aid, it’s important for foreign students to look at other, non-governmental resources. Many private financial institutions in the US will make loans to international students if the student has a co-signer who is a US citizen with good credit. Foreign students are also urged to contact businesses, associations, charitable organizations, and private individuals who award scholarships and grants for academic excellence, ethnic or religious affiliation, foreign language proficiency, and many other considerations.

Getting Financial Aid 2013 By College Board (COR) (Google Affiliate Ad)