Financial Affidavit and Other Monetary Unpleasantries

[1Q84]

Urgh... so as an international applicant to US schools, I have to worry about nonsense like this. I tried searching but I didn't come up with many old posts.

If anyone has been through this, I'd appreciate some guidance as school websites are (as per usual) not really forthcoming about information and I've found grad secretaries this time of year are less likely to reply because they're so bogged down.

1. I have to provide proof of funds after securing a letter of admission, right? Some of the affidavits I have downloaded seem to imply that I need to submit it as part of my overall application package.

2. Is it right for a school to say that they will sponsor me for an international student tuition waiver after I have accepted the offer to attend? That seems kind of wrong to me as the waiver is not guaranteed... I'm just going to be sponsored by someone in the department and I have the possibility of receiving it.

3. Is it possible to split part of the affidavit between different sources of funds? For example, I'll put down my partner as a means of paying for the huge sum that they estimate for housing and food but all the rest I would say that I have myself. I didn't see any affidavit that allowed for source splitting.

Thanks in advance!

[1Q84]

Polite bump.

Any experienced international students want to share their worldly wisdom?

[Elli389]

Greetings 1Q84,

I have no experience with this and I'm not an international student, but since you're not getting any other bites here, I'll try to help:

It may be that you're looking in the wrong place for the information you need?

For example, I see that you're applying to USC.

On this page: http://www.usc.edu/admission/graduate/international/financialsupport.html

You can find the following information: The U.S. government requires that all international applicants provide proof of ability to pay tuition and living expenses for themselves and their dependents (if applicable) before a formal letter of admission and an I-20 or DS-2019 Certificate of Eligibility can be issued (my emphasis).

This certainly looks like a Catch-22 type situation, and I'm guessing you will have to find a human to ask questions.

I'm guessing that the place to go for answers may not be grad secretaries (as you say, they're busy), but International Student Servies (ie, for USC, http://sait.usc.edu/ois/)?

Good luck, and hopefully someone with actual experience will step in here!

[1Q84]

Greetings 1Q84,

I have no experience with this and I'm not an international student, but since you're not getting any other bites here, I'll try to help:

It may be that you're looking in the wrong place for the information you need?

For example, I see that you're applying to USC.

On this page: http://www.usc.edu/a...ialsupport.html

You can find the following information: The U.S. government requires that all international applicants provide proof of ability to pay tuition and living expenses for themselves and their dependents (if applicable) before a formal letter of admission and an I-20 or DS-2019 Certificate of Eligibility can be issued (my emphasis).

This certainly looks like a Catch-22 type situation, and I'm guessing you will have to find a human to ask questions.

I'm guessing that the place to go for answers may not be grad secretaries (as you say, they're busy), but International Student Servies (ie, for USC, http://sait.usc.edu/ois/)?

Good luck, and hopefully someone with actual experience will step in here!

Hey thanks for the reply!

That seems silly to me... why would I have to provide proof of funds before I'm even accepted? Could that possibly mean that they make acceptance offers based on applicant's financial status? Dun dun dun... hmmm...

But yes, good idea, I should definitely be aiming those questions at the International Studies department, good call. There's just so many different departments to call ugh...

[KindaHardWorker]

Are there any professors that you know, or really any staff from undergrad you're close to who could maybe help with this? I find insider advice is the best sometimes.

[TakeruK]

Hi there,

I went through the same experience last year (well, earlier this year technically!). In my experience, I did NOT have to provide proof of funds before I got the first acceptance letter. Remember that there is usually two stages to acceptance into a PhD program. First, in about Feb/Mar, you get a letter from the Department saying that you are accepted and you are asked to reply by April 15 with your decision. After you do so, they will request your final transcripts etc. and then send you a real "official" formal acceptance letter (usually in June or something). This is when you need to provide proof of funds etc. The second acceptance is just a formality -- unless you lied about your credentials! Sometimes the first acceptance comes from the Department while the second formal acceptance is from the Graduate School (but not always).

In my experience, no one asked to see the funding info before the first acceptance. For one school, as soon as I got this first acceptance, they immediately asked for the funding info (but said that I didn't have to submit this info unless I was going to attend their school). For all other schools, they said that the International Student/Scholar Program office will get in touch with me regarding I-20/DS-2019 / funding etc. after I accept their offer. Indeed, I accepted the school's offer by the end of March and in April, they started the process of getting my paperwork in order for immigration papers.

By the way, if you get a PhD program, you're likely fully funded, so that counts as funding! Working as a TA counts too, of course. In addition, the form you fill out depends on your what student status you're trying to get. For F1 status, you need an I-20, which only means you have to provide proof of funding for the FIRST YEAR. For J1 status, you need a DS-2019, which requires proof of funding for the ENTIRE DURATION of your degree program!

[1Q84]

Are there any professors that you know, or really any staff from undergrad you're close to who could maybe help with this? I find insider advice is the best sometimes.

Unfortunately not... and if I do know any from the forum, they weren't international students. Professors are way too busy to help with that kinda thing, so I've gathered from calls that I've made.

Hi there,

I went through the same experience last year (well, earlier this year technically!). In my experience, I did NOT have to provide proof of funds before I got the first acceptance letter. Remember that there is usually two stages to acceptance into a PhD program. First, in about Feb/Mar, you get a letter from the Department saying that you are accepted and you are asked to reply by April 15 with your decision. After you do so, they will request your final transcripts etc. and then send you a real "official" formal acceptance letter (usually in June or something). This is when you need to provide proof of funds etc. The second acceptance is just a formality -- unless you lied about your credentials! Sometimes the first acceptance comes from the Department while the second formal acceptance is from the Graduate School (but not always).

In my experience, no one asked to see the funding info before the first acceptance. For one school, as soon as I got this first acceptance, they immediately asked for the funding info (but said that I didn't have to submit this info unless I was going to attend their school). For all other schools, they said that the International Student/Scholar Program office will get in touch with me regarding I-20/DS-2019 / funding etc. after I accept their offer. Indeed, I accepted the school's offer by the end of March and in April, they started the process of getting my paperwork in order for immigration papers.

By the way, if you get a PhD program, you're likely fully funded, so that counts as funding! Working as a TA counts too, of course. In addition, the form you fill out depends on your what student status you're trying to get. For F1 status, you need an I-20, which only means you have to provide proof of funding for the FIRST YEAR. For J1 status, you need a DS-2019, which requires proof of funding for the ENTIRE DURATION of your degree program!

YES! I was hoping I would eventually lure you into this thread haha (I knew you were international, this is ponponpon, we talked before about international Canadian stuff).

Thanks for the details! Good to know there's two "acceptances" and I won't have to prove my "worth" until the second one.

I'm only applying to one PhD program. The rest of them are MAs... which I'll probably be going with so I think I'll definitely need to affidavit for the I-20.

[TakeruK]

YES! I was hoping I would eventually lure you into this thread haha (I knew you were international, this is ponponpon, we talked before about international Canadian stuff).

Thanks for the details! Good to know there's two "acceptances" and I won't have to prove my "worth" until the second one.

I'm only applying to one PhD program. The rest of them are MAs... which I'll probably be going with so I think I'll definitely need to affidavit for the I-20.

No problem I saw that you changed your name awhile back actually! Glad to be helpful -- you can always send me a PM if you want to ask a direct question too, by the way (or if you want me to see a specific thread).

Most schools will help you out with the immigration paperwork -- the department might not know but the International Student/Scholar Program offices are very good. In my case, they ended up actually filling out the real paperwork for you -- they send me a simplified form asking some key questions and then they tell you what they need from you (e.g. if you are going to show funding through personal savings, you generally need a letter from your bank).