Shaking the money tree - making the most of financial resources for international students. Presented at NAFSA Region III

1. SHAKING THE MONEY
TREE: MAKING THE
MOST OF FINANCIAL
RESOURCES FOR
INTERNATIONAL
STUDENTS
NAFSA Region III
Rogers, Arkansas

2. Presenters

Annemarie Estrada
Director of Client Services
Envisage International

Natalie Rigby
Director of International Services
Louisiana State University

3. Agenda




Case study - evaluate costs
Choosing a school - budgets
Pre and post arrival - the LSU story
Sources of aid - resources

4. Tuition On The Rise
According to MSN, “college tuition has jumped by 500% since 1985”

5. Case Study Instructions

We will analyze two case studies of financial
hardship.

As a group, discuss the issues and how you
would address the problem.

6. Case Study #1
Morrison Kwong from China is a recipient of an athletic
scholarship. He will be arriving early on July 15th before the
semester begins. He will also be participating in athletic practice
during this time.
What issues do you need to consider for this students budget?
Taxes
Campus food
Campus accommodation
Transportation
Health insurance

7. Case Study #2
Amy Asheton an international student from Saudi Arabia comes
to your office saying that she doesn’t have enough money to
cover her books and other classroom supplies. You remember
speaking to her three days prior and she had purchased the new
Galaxy Note 3 cell phone, which is the latest phone on the
market (and most expensive).
How do you guide this student and get her back on the road to
financial success?
Buyer’s remorse, free look back period
Get priorities in order and build a budget
Other sources of funding – work in the office?

8. Primary Sources of Funding
2011-2012
Personal and Family Funds
(63%)
U.S. College or University (23%)
Home Government/University
(6%)
Current Employment (5%)
U.S. Government (1%)
U.S. Private Sponsor (1%)
Foreign Private Sponsor (1%)
Other Sources (1%)
International Organization (0%)
Open Doors Report 2012

9. Choosing a School
What is a student’s budget and what is your
value proposition?
Rural v. Urban
 Private v. Public
 Community College v. Four-Year Institution
 Financial Assistance v. Personal Funds


10. Be Budget Savvy:


How do you evaluate the costs on-campus for
the I-20?
Is a complete summary of costs outlined to
prospective students?
Transparency on costs is key.

11. Other Expenses To Convey




Application, visa/SEVIS fees
Airfare
Lodging and living expenses
Athletes arrival before semester begins
 Cafeteria
 Dormitories


Health insurance and medical
Transportation with the US

12. Budget Risk Factors




Exchange rate fluctuations
Interruption of funds (life changing event)
Inability to stick to a budget
Withdrawal of funds from sponsor

13. Post Arrival Assistance







Clothing
Furniture
Food
Bicycles
Local Thrift Stores
Garage Sales
Shuttle Service

14. Louisiana State University
Located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, offering
Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctoral and Certificate degree
programs.
Cost of attendance per year:
Tuition and fees
$26,800
Living expenses
$12,000
Books, supplies and insurance $3,000
TOTAL
$41,800

15. LSU Sources of Aid

Application for admission is the application for
scholarships/available aid except for some President Office
scholarships which are not designated for international students.
Awards are academically competitive and not based on financial
need. Full consideration means applying early – well before the
listed application deadline (6 months – 1 year in advance).

Financial aid: Helpful in money management and planning. A
reminder that with a US citizen co-signer, they are eligible for US
financial aid. Some outside source scholarship searches but most
disqualify non-immigrants.

There is a clear conversation with newly admitted students that if
they do not arrive with university aid, they should not count on
receiving it in their future. They financial aid search outside the
university is their own but we have a sort list of sites and warn them
of fraud that exists on in the WWW.

16. Once upon a time………
There were undergraduate tuition awards
specifically for new international students
determined by academic competitiveness. Most
were non-resident waivers but there were a few full
waivers each year (30-100 offers). There were 15
revolving undergraduate non-resident waivers for
current international undergraduate students. Both
were decided by a campus international committee.
Graduate departments had assistantships (full and
partial) and fellowships, and the Graduate Dean’s
Office had tuition waivers (full and partial) - some
were for under-represented groups.

17. 2010
Large university budget cuts were across the board
and hit the financial aid office and scholarships very
hard.
Undergraduate international scholarships were
basically eliminated (so were a lot domestic and all
alumni). We were hoping they would be restored. It
now looks like it will take a resurrection.
Graduate tuition awards were reduced. Graduate
departments were hurt by budget cuts as well so
assistantship availability was greatly reduced.

18. Currently……
Graduate tuition awards and departmental
assistantships have bounced back well.
Undergraduate scholarships for new and current
international students (regardless of academic
competitiveness) are basically non-existent.
Although our undergraduate application and
admission rates are increasing, enrollment has
stayed the same or declined.

19. Employment
Outside of full assistantships that waive and
cover full expenses for students, employment
is available with the notion to students that
should not expect it to support their full
expenses as a student – just not possible.
 On-campus employment and with vendors
 Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
 Optional Practical Training (OPT)
 Economic Hardship

20. New Ideas



Possibility to guarantee student worker job
(like work study) for high academic achievers
reducing the I-20 expenses
Service learning and campus
participation/services for tuition “credits”
New conversations would probably occur is
international population was dropping but it is
not – holding steady (1600 over the last 3
years)

21. Encouraging External Searches






Study abroad scholarships from home country
Home country loan programs and/or private and
corporate sponsors
Back to true work-study programs (alternating work
then enrollment semesters in a year – careful of CPT
12 month limit)
Examples sites on our web site and warnings of sites
that have “fees” to get scholarships
Check with departments and colleges of specific
areas of study for some scholarships were nonimmigrants may qualify
Rich uncle??? 

22. Who Can You Turn To: Institutional Support

Alumni Association(s)


International Clubs




Involvement on campus can include mobilizing clubs to
raise funds for scholarships.
Student Organizations


Can your alumni associations help you develop a
scholarship fund?
Many schools have international organizations (like a
Chinese student association) – can they help?
Non-Profit Organizations
Religious Groups
Immigration Community

23. External Free Money




Scholarships
Grants
Fellowships
Assistantships
Home
government
or embassy
Religious
organizations
and
associations
Colleges and
universities
Private
organizations
(U.S. and
international)
Foundations
and
Philanthropies
International
agencies

24. External Resources for International
Students
IEFA.org
FundingUSStudy.org

25. External Resources for International
Students
InternationalScholarship.com
AbroadPlanet.com

26. External Resources for International
Students
edu.fastweb.com
bigfuture.collegeboard.org

27. Bridge the Gap:
International Student Loans
• Stafford Loan
• Perkins Loan
• PLUS Loan
Which of these are available to an
international student?

28. Compare Lenders for International
Students

29. How it Works


Apply online
Borrow total cost of education
 Minus

any other financial aid!
Need a US cosigner
 US
citizen or US permanent resident
 Good credit history
 Lived in the US past 2 years


Initial approval within 2-6 weeks
Conditional loan offer

30. Interactive Forum

What award programs do you offer
international students at your school and how
do they work?

31. Interactive Forum

Do you partner with stakeholders and how did
you develop that relationship?

32. Interactive Forum

What are some challenges that your
international face when it comes to financial
aid?

33. Thank you!
Annemarie Estrada
Natalie Rigby
aestrada@envisageinternational.com
nrigby@lsu.edu
Envisage International
224 First Street
Neptune Beach, FL 32266
(904) 247-1387 Ext 105
Louisiana State University
101 Hatcher Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Direct +1 (225) 578-3191
Fax +1 (225) 578-1413