Beingness Posted November 1, 2006 Report Share Posted November 1, 2006 Howdie, folks! Since some schools require that international applicants submit a financial statement with their application material (is it a coincidence that all of them are in California?), I need to ask if they ever waive on that rule. Or is there a way to avoid that financial statement, in situation when you cannot prove that you would have tens of thousands of dollars on your bank account ('cos you won't :-) )? If not, then how do Serbian students ever get into Berkeley, UCLA, USC... ? Thankis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elz Posted November 2, 2006 Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 Another good question and often a point of confusion - even for me sometimes! Okay, the school will examine your application and of course it is quite obvious that you need funding Then, the school will determine whether they will provide the funding. If not, then you might be accepted conditionally upon proof of funding, but no I-20 will be issued to you. On the other hand, if you are provided with an assistantship or some other source of university funding depending on whether you are a graduate or undergraduate student, then you will be issued an I-20, which in turn you take the embassy as a key document for issuing your visa. One word of caution...when it comes to the amount of contribution that you can make toward your education, please do not write zero. First, anyone who writes zero would technically be dead because that means you have no money for food, shelter, or clothing. In addition, it appears to the graduate committee that you are unwilling to make the slightest investment in your education and puts your application in what I refer to as the "Steerage Section" of the application piles. However, even a modest contribution transforms you into an investor. The good news is that international students from here...do get into universities in California...with FULL FUNDING..... It is important in advising you that we know whether you are graduate or undergraduate. That can greatly shape your chances and we can also advise you on schools that are financially friendly to undergraduate students on a case by case basis. As to your comment as to whether it is a coincidence that these are California schools, the answer is that it is no coincidence at all. In fact, the state of California has a very coordinated system of higher education. The rules and regulations tend to be somewhat more centralized from school to school than in other states - New York is also like this. In addition, California is a top choice for international students and most likely the institutions got tired of issuing I-20s to students that were simply refused visas because they had no funds from the univeristy or any other source...the ability to pay for your education, whether through a scholarship, external funds, or personal funds, is a fundamental requirement for the visa interview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beingness Posted November 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2006 I am sorry, I always forget to mention that I am pursuing graduate studies. Are there any of those Universities mentioned that fall into the "financially friendly" category, regarding graduate studies? (I hope I'm succeeding in trying to keep this as a more general/less personal discussion on this subject, so that it would benefit others as well, since I'm posting it on forum instead of doing it via PM's ) Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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