Will delayed SSN affect college financial aid for US citizen abroad?

Yes, your son can absolutely still apply for institutional aid without his SSN! Many colleges have processes in place for international students and US citizens abroad. For most institutional aid and merit scholarships, the colleges have their own forms and don't rely on the FAFSA. You should: 1. Contact each college's financial aid office directly and explain the situation 2. Ask if they have a CSS Profile requirement (many private colleges use this instead of FAFSA) 3. Complete all institutional financial aid forms by their deadlines 4. Include a note explaining the SSN is pending 5. Submit his SSN as soon as you receive it Don't delay his applications waiting for the SSN - most colleges will assign a temporary ID number until the SSN arrives.

my daughter went thru this last year!!! CSS profile will let u submit without SSN but u need to put all 0's i think? the website kept crashing when i tried putting "pending" so i just did 000-00-0000 and it went through fine. you should email all the schools afterward to explain tho

I work in college admissions, and I can confirm that institutional aid can absolutely be processed without an SSN initially. However, there are a few important distinctions to understand: 1. For CSS Profile schools: You can use all zeros as a temporary SSN placeholder, but do contact each school's financial aid office to alert them of the situation. 2. For FAFSA: While you mentioned you won't be applying for federal aid, it's worth noting that many institutions use FAFSA information even for their own institutional aid calculations. Without an SSN, you cannot complete the FAFSA, so this could impact some schools' ability to award certain types of institutional aid. 3. Documentation: Be prepared to provide alternative documentation of citizenship status (passport, birth certificate) to verify eligibility for certain types of institutional aid that may be reserved for citizens or permanent residents. 4. Timeline: Once you receive the SSN in December, immediately update all schools and complete any pending financial aid applications. The most important thing is open communication with each financial aid office about your specific situation.

lol why dont u just wait for the ssn and then apply for aid later? thats what i did. got my ssn in january and still got scholarships for fall semester

I've been trying to call Federal Student Aid for WEEKS about a similar situation with my nephew who's a citizen abroad with no SSN yet. IMPOSSIBLE to get through to anyone who knows anything about this special case!! Their phone system is RIDICULOUS - I've been disconnected 8 times and waited 2+ hours only to be told they can't help with my specific question. BEYOND FRUSTRATING!!! This system is NOT designed for anyone with unique circumstances. Why make it so complicated for US citizens who happen to live abroad? It's like they actively try to prevent people from getting aid!

btw if ur worried about getting the ssn in time u might wanna check with the embassy again... they told us 6-8 weeks but it took almost 3 months!!!! the whole process is sooo slow for citizens abroad

One more important thing - make sure you understand the distinction between various types of financial aid forms: 1. FAFSA: Required for any federal aid (which you said you're not eligible for) 2. CSS Profile: Used by many private colleges for institutional aid 3. International Student Financial Aid Application (ISFAA): Some schools use this for international students and it doesn't require an SSN 4. School-specific forms: Many colleges have their own financial aid applications Even without FAFSA, your son could still qualify for significant institutional aid through these other channels. Just be extremely proactive about communicating with each financial aid office about your situation. They deal with cases like this more often than you might think!

My family went through this exact situation last year with my brother. We're Americans living in Dubai, and his SSN came AFTER all the application deadlines. The key was transparency with each school. We contacted financial aid offices directly and explained the situation. Most were very accommodating! One important tip: collect documentation proving your son's citizenship and have it ready to email to financial aid offices. We used his US passport, birth certificate, and a letter explaining our situation. This helped smooth the process considerably. BTW, have you checked if any of his schools award aid to international students? That's actually how my brother got his first scholarship offer - through an international student scholarship before his SSN arrived, since the school initially processed him as an international applicant with US citizenship. Just an option to consider!

why dont you just apply to schools that meet 100% of need regardless? then you dont have to worry about federal aid at all. schools like harvard yale princeton etc give full aid packages without fafsa needed sometimes. my cousin got a full ride at dartmouth and they didnt even use his fafsa cuz of some special international program they have