If you want to study in the US, and unable to pay the high tuition fees, you can avail of a special kind of financial aid which is particularly distinctive to the US, called the “need-blind” aid. Need blind means an institution has an official policy of not considering applicants’ financial resources when deciding whether to offer them a place. This policy may be extended to all students, including international students. Here is a detailed explanation of need blind financial aid.
A term that students often come across when exploring their various financial aid options is “need-blind”. This simply means that students are evaluated regardless of their ability to pay full-tuition costs or not. However, only five schools – Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, and MIT are need-blind regardless of the student’s country of origin. This means that if accepted, students obtain the necessary financial aid.
Most other schools don’t employ this need-blind policy. Instead they are “need-aware” or “need-sensitive” meaning if you indicate the need for financial aid, your application process will be looked at with that in mind.
So when asking for need-based aid at a University, remember most Universities will be taking this into account and your ability to pay may determine your admission.