International Students

The financial aid application process and required documentation are different for domestic and international students. 

Swarthmore considers you a domestic student if at least one of the following is true:

• You are a U.S. citizen, U.S. dual citizen, or a U.S. Permanent Resident in possession of a valid Green Card*
• You are eligible to complete and submit a valid FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
• You are undocumented or in the Asylee/Refugee status application process, and you reside in the U.S., and are graduating from a U.S. high school.

* Individuals currently applying for permanent residency but who do not possess a Green Card at the time of application are not considered a domestic student.

If you don’t fall in any of the above categories, you are considered an international student. 

Only admitted international students — who indicate an intent to apply for financial aid on their admission application — will need to complete a financial aid application. All admitted international students will receive a CSS Profile fee waiver.

These are the steps to apply for financial aid for international students:

1. Indicate your intent to apply for financial aid on your application for admission if you think you will need financial aid at any point in your four years at Swarthmore College.
2. Complete your admission application.
3. Once admitted, complete your financial aid application and submit all required documents within seven days of receiving your notice of admission.
   1. All admitted international students will receive a CSS Profile fee waiver. Your CSS Profile fee waiver will be available in your applicant portal in the financial aid checklist after you are admitted.

Review common financial aid topics for international students. 

Learn more about:

• The decision to apply for financial aid
• Required materials
• Financial aid documentation
• Deadlines
• CSS Profile Fee Waivers

The decision to apply for financial aid

Please note, if you could potentially need financial aid at any point during the course of your enrollment, you must indicate your intent to apply for financial aid on your admission application. If you are admitted to the College without indicating your wish to be considered for financial aid you will be ineligible to be considered for financial aid at any point in your enrollment at the College. This means that you would not be able to request consideration for financial aid at any other point during your enrollment, regardless of a change in your family's circumstances within or beyond your family's control. This includes a change in your citizenship status.  You are encouraged to consider what not applying for financial aid may mean for you before submitting your admission application.

Be aware that only Swarthmore College disburses Swarthmore financial aid grants and scholarships. If you choose to apply for external grants or scholarships, please be mindful of organizations that claim to have a formalized connection with the disbursement of funds from Swarthmore College. If you receive any solicitations from agencies that look to be suspicious please email us at finaid@swarthmore.edu, and do not give out any of your personal or financial information.

Required materials

Only admitted international students (who have indicated on their admission application that they will be applying for financial aid) need to complete a financial aid application. All admitted international students will receive a CSS Profile fee waiver.

Once admitted, international students will submit the CSS Profile online via the CollegeBoard’s website. However, all other documents, forms, and the ISAFA will be uploaded to the Financial Aid checklist in the Admissions applicant portal. Do not upload documents via the CollegeBoard’s IDOC service, as the College will not receive them.

All financial aid applications and materials must be submitted or uploaded electronically. Emailed financial aid documents or forms will not be accepted.  Any application information that is emailed to the College will be deleted.

Current international students use MySwarthmore and access their Financial Aid Checklist via this path:  MySwarthmore - Student Information - Financial Aid Information.  Look for the tab above the checklist to upload documents.

• CSS Profile *
  • Swarthmore's College Board code: 2821
  • All admitted international students will receive a CSS Profile fee waiver
  • The fee waiver code will be available on your financial aid checklist after admission
  • Fee waiver codes will not be provided to international students before admissions decisions are released
• Parents’ income documentation from countries that have an income reporting system.
  • Income must be reported and uploaded using the correct calendar year.
  • Income must be reported in the currency that it is earned.
  • If you live in or have citizenship in a country that is different from where your parents earn their income you must submit tax and income information from all applicable countries.
  • Please see our webpage on Common Financial Aid Topics for International Students for additional information on the correct income documentation to reference and submit.
• If official income documentation from your parents' countries in which they earn is not available, a letter from each parent’s employer with certified parent income documentation on employer letterhead.
  • The income information must match the income information provided on the CSS Profile and must be authentic.
  • Your parents may also submit this information in addition to their country's official income reporting documentation.
• A completed and signed International Student Application for Financial Aid (ISAFA) [PDF] — This is needed for prospective applicants (after admission has been decided), but not by returning students.

Note:  If your financial documentation does not meet our requirements, please upload what you have along with a signed explanation addressed to the Financial Aid Office. You should also provide a brief, signed note of explanation addressed to the Financial Aid Office explaining your reasons for being unable to provide the required documentation, along with the reasons you are providing the documentation in place of the required documentation.  The CSS Profile that you submit must include information that was obtained from official, attested documentation in your family’s possession.  

Please note that when uploading documents to your portal, only use standard alphanumeric symbols in the file name. If you are unable to upload information, try to change the file name to more standard alphanumeric symbols. Please contact finaid@swarthmore.edu if you are having issues uploading your files.

If you are a U.S. citizen who lives abroad with non-U.S.-citizen parents, you must complete the FAFSA.

Financial aid documentation 

The Financial Aid Office requires non-U.S. citizens to use attested, third-party income and asset documentation to complete the CSS Profile, which is the annual application for consideration of need-based financial aid from Swarthmore College. Official income documentation varies from country to country. Use the income documentation that pertains to your home country to complete your CSS Profile. 

If your parents work in a country other than the one where they live, they need to convert the currency of the country in which they earn income to the currency of their home country before completing the CSS Profile. The CSS Profile can only be completed using one currency, and that should be your home country’s currency.  

If your home country requires your family to report their earnings annually to a national agency, similar to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States, you very likely have the required income documents in your possession already.  You can use these documents to complete the questions on the CSS Profile.

Swarthmore College’s Financial Aid Office uses the forms you upload to verify the information that you and your parents reported on your CSS Profile.

If your parents own a business, or they do not have official income documentation, they will need to request third-party income documentation from their employer(s) and/or present a signed letter on company letterhead that has been verified. The letter must include the name, signature, and company email address of the person verifying your parents’ individual and/or business income. The documentation must be legitimate and may not appear to have been  possibly fabricated. It is your and your family’s responsibility to provide genuine, verifiable documentation to Swarthmore College. Providing fabricated, inauthentic documentation at any time will result in ineligibility or revocation of financial aid indefinitely.

Please note that when uploading documents to your portal, please use only standard alphanumeric symbols in the file name.  If you are unable to upload information, you may want to try to change the file name to more standard alphanumeric symbols. Please contact finaid@swarthmore.edu if you are having issues uploading your files.

Deadlines

Financial Aid Application Deadlines for Prospective Students

Admitted international students must submit their completed financial aid application within seven (7) days of receiving their admissions decision. 

The Financial Aid Office will provide admitted international students with their aid decision within seven (7) days of receiving their completed financial aid application. 

Reminder: Only admitted international students, who have indicated an intent to apply for financial aid on their admission application, need to submit a financial aid application. The entire financial aid application must be submitted, completely, within seven (7) days of receiving the offer of admission. 

Financial Aid Application Deadlines for Current Students

Reminders:

• Please be sure that your application submission is entirely complete.
• Confirm that all relevant income information has been provided before and after you submit your financial aid application.
• Any information that you provide on the CSS Profile must come from real and legitimate documentation.
• Keep a readily accessible copy of your entire aid application submission for your reference.

CSS Profile Fee Waivers

All admitted first-year international students, who indicated an intent to apply for financial aid on their admission application will automatically receive a CSS Profile fee waiver upon admission.

The CSS Profile fee waiver will be available in your financial aid checklist in your applicant portal after admissions decisions have been released.

Please note: Fee waivers for the CSS Profile are granted only one time by the financial aid committee and only for first time, first year prospective international applicants. Fee waivers for qualified domestic applicants are granted automatically through the CollegeBoard's CSS Profile process.​​​​​​