All eight Ivy League universities give international students need-based aid, but they treat need differently in admission. Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth read international applicants need-blind: asking for aid does not affect the decision. Brown states that all first-year applicants are read need-blind. Columbia, Penn and Cornell are need-aware for international applicants; at Penn this does not apply to citizens and permanent residents of Canada and Mexico. The main form is the CSS Profile ($25 for the first university and $16 for each additional one), but Princeton uses its own Princeton Financial Aid Application, and Dartmouth accepts the ISFAA where the CSS fee is a hardship. Financial deadlines are separate, running from 1 November to 15 February.
- The FAFSA is filed by US citizens, permanent residents and other noncitizens eligible for federal aid; for a student on an F-1 visa, aid comes only from the university itself.
- Need-blind for international applicants: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth. Brown: need-blind for all first-year applicants. Need-aware: Columbia, Penn (except citizens and permanent residents of Canada and Mexico), Cornell.
- The CSS Profile costs $25 for the first university and $16 for each additional one. The fee can be waived only if the parents live in the US.
- The CSS Profile is completed in the home currency; the system converts to dollars after submission.
- At Columbia and Penn aid must be requested with the application: an international student admitted without it cannot request it later.
- Cornell meets need with grants, work-study and reasonable loans; Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth and Penn describe aid without loans.
Eight universities, three models
| University | How need is treated | Form | Deadline: early / regular round |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard | Need-blind for all | CSS Profile and documents through IDOC | 1 November / 1 February |
| Yale | Need-blind regardless of citizenship | CSS Profile | 1 December for international citizens / 15 February |
| Princeton | Need-blind, same policy for international students | Princeton Financial Aid Application | 9 November / 1 February |
| Dartmouth | Need-blind regardless of citizenship | CSS Profile or ISFAA | 1 November / 1 February |
| Brown | Need-blind for all first-year applicants | CSS Profile | 2 November / 1 February |
| Columbia | Need-aware for international applicants | CSS Profile | 15 November / 15 February |
| Penn | Need-aware for international applicants, except citizens and permanent residents of Canada and Mexico | CSS Profile and tax return | 6 November / 1 February |
| Cornell | Need-aware for international applicants | CSS Profile | 1 November / 2 January |
Need-blind means that asking for aid does not affect the admission decision. Need-aware means that it does: the university takes into account how much aid will be needed when deciding whom to admit. In both cases the size of the award follows the family’s finances rather than achievement: these universities award no academic merit scholarships.
Testing, early rounds and application deadlines for each university are set out in the Ivy League admissions matrix.
Why the FAFSA does not apply
The FAFSA is the application for US federal aid. Harvard states that only US citizens, permanent residents and other eligible noncitizens file it. Federal aid is not available to a student on an F-1 visa, so the only source is the university’s own funds. The distinction is explained in our analysis of the FAFSA and institutional aid.
The CSS Profile: what an international family needs to know
- Cost: $25 for the first university and $16 for each additional one.
- The fee can be waived only if the custodial parents live in the United States or a US territory. It is not waived for a family abroad. In that case Dartmouth accepts its own ISFAA form and treats it as equivalent.
- The form is completed in the home currency; the system converts the amounts to dollars after submission. Income and assets held in different currencies are reported in one.
- Tax and other family documents are uploaded through IDOC. Documents not in English must be translated, or processing is delayed. Dartmouth states that families may translate documents themselves and should keep amounts in the home currency.
- Where parents are divorced or separated, Cornell requires a separate CSS Profile from each.
What need-aware changes
At Columbia, Penn and Cornell the need for aid becomes one of the factors in the decision. Two details sharpen this. Columbia and Penn require aid to be requested with the application: an international student admitted without it cannot request it later, even if the family’s circumstances change. Penn adds that the aid decision holds for all four years and that, because international aid funds are limited, some otherwise qualified candidates may not be admitted.
That does not mean these universities should be avoided by applicants who need aid. It means the list should include need-blind universities too, and the decision to request aid should be made deliberately, before the application goes in.
Frequently asked questions
Can an international student receive a full scholarship at an Ivy League university?
Yes, where the family’s demonstrated need equals the full cost of attendance: all eight meet the full demonstrated need of admitted students. But aid rests entirely on the family’s finances, these universities award no merit scholarships, and at Columbia, Penn and Cornell an aid request is taken into account when international applicants are admitted.
Does Princeton require the CSS Profile?
Princeton names its own form, the Princeton Financial Aid Application, due 9 November for the early round and 1 February for the regular round. Supporting documents should be checked on Princeton’s financial aid pages for the applicant’s own year.
Can the CSS Profile fee be waived?
Only if the applicant’s parents live in the United States. For a family abroad the fee is $25 for the first university and $16 for each additional one. Dartmouth accepts its free ISFAA form instead of the CSS Profile where the fee is a serious hardship.
Which Ivy League universities are need-blind for international applicants?
Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth state that they are need-blind regardless of citizenship. Brown states that all first-year applicants are read need-blind. Columbia, Penn and Cornell are need-aware for international applicants; Penn does not count citizens and permanent residents of Canada and Mexico among them.