The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

621: Financial Aid Tips for International Students (and Their Counselors)—2025 Edition

Nov 25, 2025

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Welcome back to the College Essay Guy Podcast. This is a very special session with a dear friend of mine and an honored guest in my world, Joan Liu. Joan is the founder of Second Chance, an organization that helps high achieving students from around the world secure full scholarships to universities after their original offers fall through. This conversation is adapted from a live webinar that we hosted where Joan shares some of the most practical, candid advice I've heard for international students who are looking for full financial aid and for the counselors who support them.

In our conversation, we talk about:

What a competitive, full-need international applicant really looks like
Some common mistakes that students make when applying to colleges and universities in the United States
Why creating a global list and not just a US-centric list can open up new opportunities
Joan's advice for counselors who are guiding students through this sometimes really complex process.
And more.

Joan Liu has been a college counselor for the past 25 years, across top secondary schools in the US, UK, Turkey, and Singapore. She is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University. Joan is known in the admissions field for her financial aid expertise, and her ability to place students at universities with a full ride. In 2018, Joan mobilized a team of colleagues to support 60 Nepali students who had lost their scholarships from a university in Texas, USA. Joan did not stand by and watch this higher ed crisis. She assembled a team, and these teams stepped forward and re-seated all of the students at universities in the US, Canada, Middle East, and East Asia, with 10+ million in financial aid and scholarships - after the admissions cycle was OVER for that year. That experience led to Joan founding the non profit, Second Chance at Higher Ed, which supports talented students needing financial support, in accessing higher education at the last minute, after the US cycle is over. Folks, that's full rides after April 1 - no other organization has ever done this - and Second Chance is first in its category. Just a few months ago, SC went into its 7th cycle, helping 53 students from 23 countries earn a full ride in less than eight weeks. These students included refugees from Syria, Jordan, and Palestine.

Whether you're a student dreaming of studying abroad or a counselor helping students try to reach that dream, we're hoping that you'll find something useful in this episode.

Play-by-Play:

2:36 – What is Second Chance and how did it get started?
3:34 – What is the typical profile that colleges look for in an international student who is competitive for full financial aid in the United States?
8:00 – How do admissions officers evaluate international applicants compared to U.S. students?
11:59 – What are the most common mistakes that full-need international students make when applying to colleges and universities in the US?
21:53 – What does it mean when a college says they are need-blind for international students?
23:02 – How important is early action for international students?
23:53 – How should international students think about SAT/ACT? What if testing is difficult to access?
31:34 – How important is English proficiency?
32:51 – How should full-need international students think about developing their college list?
41:22 – How does the financial aid process differ for full-need international students?
46:03 – How can students learn more about Second Chance?
51:35 – If a student is rejected from Early Decision, can they still be considered for Regular Decision?
53:09 – If a student does not have a school counselor, how do they submit a school report or other documentation required for applications?
55:11 – How is the application process different this year than in the past?
56:35 – How can students compensate for an average or low GPA?
58:13 – How can counselors best advocate for their full-need international students?
1:02:17 – Closing advice

Financial Aid Resources:

College Essay Guy Resources:

Podcasts:

CEG Podcast Episode 205: That One Time a University Revoked More Than 60 Full Scholarships (And What You Can Do About It)
CEG Podcast Episode 211: Financial Aid Tips for International Students (and Their Counselors)—2019 Version
CEG Podcast Episode 122: Which Schools Are the Most Generous With Financial Aid? (International Version)