For talented, hard-working students from Romania, it's often the funding that is more problematic than admission to undergraduate programs in the U.S.. Competition for financial aid is very keen among international students. Full financial aid from the U.S. university covering all or almost all of the expenses for one academic year is available only to top students.

Most Romanian students in the U.S. are funded by their colleges and universities. The financial aid package commonly includes a scholarship, campus employment (maximum 20 hours per week of campus work) and, possibly, a loan (nothing to worry about, as study loans in the U.S. generally offer excellent terms).

Funding from private sponsors or foundations is most unusual.

All applicants interested in attracting financial aid from U.S. schools should consult the magic green folder available at the Fulbright Educational Advising Center. The folder summarizes financial information from major printed sources from the US - all available at our center - as well as financial data reported by Education USA centers worldwide.

The following table is a one-page sample from the green folder showing over 600 U.S. schools which offer various degrees of financial aid to international students. The table uses the following abbreviations:
MC: most competitive
HC: highly competitive
VC: very competitive
C: competitive
LC: less competitive
NC: noncompetitive
W: women’s college
#: number
Intl: international
Avg. Aid: average aid
[ISH]: The College Board's International Student Handbook 2006 and 2007
[ACUUS]: Peterson's Applying to Colleges and Universities in the United States, 16th edition
[CIS]: The Council of International Schools' table published on their website www.cois.org

Full Need indicates that the U.S. school is able to meet the full financial need of international students. 

The green folder is for reference only, cannot be photocopied or consulted off site. In order to have access to the full material, you need to visit us during public hours and have a valid ID form.

Tools for Financial Aid Search:

If you are far away from the Fulbright Educational Advising Center and you find it hard to visit and use its multiple resources, you can always rely on the Internet. Access College Board's website www.collegeboard.com and follow the steps below: 

• Type NAME OF THE SCHOOL in the section "College Quick Finder"; for example Amherst College (make sure you type the full name of the school correctly). 

• The page includes sections on admissions, deadlines, tests etc. Click on "International Students" and get relevant information on annual costs and financial aid for international students.

• This section describes what type of financial aid is available for international students.

• From this section you can also find out the average amount awarded to an international student admitted to the respective school in the previous year: please divide the total amount awarded $3,220,013 by the number of enrolled international students who received aid in the previous year - 76 - and you'll get $42,368. Which means that at Amherst College the average amount  awarded to international students will cover tuition ($36,232) and part of the living costs which range up to $11,000. As you can see this is one of the U.S. schools that offer massive financial aid to international students.
    

See also Financial aid - Undergraduate study.