Financial aid in US colleges, how it works?

Thanks a lot , Amor & Jiang Wei! Best wishes!

Very welcome, my friend, very welcome.
If you have any question, feel free to send me an ad***ional pm

Hi, firstly I would like to say thank you for your valuable info. Just a small question: Is there any chance for me to win a scholarship of a US university given that my TOEFL and SAT scores are high(say 670pts for TOEFL and 1900pts for SAT)?

Wao, your scores make me impressed
Well, it depends on your chosen school
Like I mention above, some school are need-blind for international student. For instance, Williams is one of them. When you apply for Williams, all you have to do is send the International Financial Aid Application Form and the Certificate of Financial Statement for them. Once you''re admitted, they''ll help you solve your problem. You can''t pay even a penny? No problem, they''ll offer you a package (grant, loan, part-time job) to pay all. So money isn''t a problem when you apply for Williams or Harvard
Other schools offer merit aid. Most of them are PUBLIC institution Do you believe me? It''s up to you. But merit usually very CHEAP, just thousands dollars a years. And this is EXACTLY the kind of scholarship that study abroad agency always advertise. HOWEVER, everything has its exceptional. Like I mention above, some merit scholarship can be VERY VALUABLE, the Freeman Scholarship, offer by Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut is one of them
One last word for you all: Like admission process, there is NO FIX FORMULA for you to earn a financial aid package. Just try as much as you can, and you at least won''t regret it
You''re welcome to send me any question you don''t know.

Thanks a lot JiangWei. You are so fast.
To be honest, I am not a genius and I don''t come from a rich family, which means the only thing I can rely on is the need-based financial aids. You have a lot of experiences on searching for info regarding undergraduate study in US. Could you pls recommend me some sources where I can find all the info needed for studying in US, such as which schools I should apply for, which schools have need-based financial aids,etc...(I intend to major in Computer/Electronics Engineering).

First of all, I suggest you never limit your major in one or two major you think you can follow. As I mention in another topic, changing major in US colleges is MUCH MORE EASIER than you all imagine. I know there''s a vietnamese student change 5 major in 3 years You know where she study? Princeton, one of the best institutions in the world. So it''d be an exciting adventure for you to discover your true major.
Second, like I always mention, there will be NO fix formula for you to get into Harvard, Princeton or Yale. You better know even students in the poorest regions in North Africa can enter Harvard, so why not you? I see no reason for you to turn back while you''ve not try everything you can. Remember, top school DOESN''T mean top scores. You earn a higher score than me? congratulation. But, do you think it''s all you need to against me in the run to Princeton? I don''t think so. You can''t show that you are a student who know not only learning but also living, and you''re the one who WILL BE REJECT. Very simple, my friend. Unlike our school system (with a bunch of boring lesson. I''ve to learn some subject that I don''t know how to apply them), in US, a campus is the place where you come to work and live together with people from around the world. So they can''t accepted an idiot who always keep his book day by day, night by night. Smart is an important factor, my friend, but friendly is also very important. Among Vietnamese student I know who live and work in top schools, there are so many guy and miss who are excellent in both academic and extracurricular.
Be personal, be unique, my friend. And the next successfully applicant maybe you