Ik heb... financialaidie?

September 10, 2009 7:43 AM

NetherlandsFilter: As a Dutch citizen, am I eligible for financial aid for school in the United States?

I'm a US-Dutch dual citizen, and I'm starting grad school in the US soon. I was applying for FAFSA when I realized there's probably an equivalent program in Holland.

But I can barely read Dutch, let alone Google effectively in it. Has anyone successfully done this?

posted by zvs to education (2 comments total)

The information about doing a complete program overseas is here (in Dutch). It is possible for Dutch citizens to get some funding to study in the US, but one of the requirements is that you have lived 3 of the last 6 years in the Netherlands. The only exception is if you (or your parents) were working overseas for a Dutch government organisation, or you want to study in the 'grensstreek'. You're also not allowed to be receiving financial support from another country's government.
posted by eendje at 7:54 AM on September 10

Keep in mind that in the US, depending upon the institution and circumstance, 'financial aid' more often than not just means 'big loans.' Things get even more polarized in graduate school; if you are applying for a master's program, you will (in my experience) generally just be offered Stafford loans; these are some of the best loans you can get, and they're very easy on you about paying them back, but they're still just loans, not grants, and you will have to pay back every penny. Whereas, if you're talking about applying to a Doctoral program, many schools will not admit students whom they can't afford to fund with grants, and if you're offered financial aid you almost certainly will be offered grants if you've been accepted.

So, with that in mind, and remembering what eendje says about Dutch funding only being available if you're not getting it elsewhere: it seems like if you're most likely to simply be getting student loans, it might be good to be looking at financial aid through the Netherlands instead; but if that would mean throwing away grant money, there's no point.
posted by koeselitz at 8:41 AM on September 10