Low-income international students at Princeton have a very different experience than domestic students. Although many international students have voiced financial concerns, none were spotlighted by Undergraduate Student Government (USG) candidates in our most recent election. As we reflect on winning candidates’ platforms, we have to bring the international student experience into the conversation.
In the 2022-2023 academic year, international students like me made up 23 percent of total enrollment at Princeton, and 12 percent of the undergraduate population (amounting to almost 700 undergraduate students). We face uniquely severe problems like having to take out loans to cover taxes on our financial aid, strictly limited working hours, expensive flights, and a high relative cost of living in the United States. We deserve better from the University, and better representation in USG.
Being an international student is expensive, and low-income internationals bear the brunt of it. Although some international students are wealthy, many are not — Princeton educates many low-income international students. As a Brazilian-British student admitted on a full financial aid package, I’m more than familiar with this experience. I, and a considerable number of other students, were admitted to Princeton through a college application program for low-income U.K.-based students hoping to study in the United States.
Low-income students admitted with financial aid packages across higher education institutions in the United States pay scholarship tax on any grant aid above tuition, most of which is at a rate of 14 percent. Many low-income international students at Princeton, as discussed by Gil Joseph ’25 and Mutemwa Masheke ’23 in their February op-ed, cannot pay this tax outright and instead have to take out subsidized loans from the University. As such, some low-income international students on full financial aid graduate with thousands of dollars of institutional loans because of this tax. These loans may be layered on top of other loans that many low-income students (international or otherwise) oftentimes have to take on, like educational technology loans.
Even the newly added $2,000-per-semester personal allowance, designed to help low-income students, is not enough to fully cover international scholarship tax. Because it’s money granted above tuition, international students are now taxed on it, as well. Consequently, the Class of 2027 and beyond will incur significantly more debt compared to their predecessors. International students in the Class of 2027 who will benefit from Princeton’s expanded financial aid program and the new personal allowance will pay the 14 percent tax on over $24,000 per year (a full financial aid package not including tuition) across eight semesters. International students on full financial aid in the Class of 2027 who take out institutional loans to pay off this tax will graduate with over $13,000 in debt to Princeton.
In addition, most low-income international students are prevented from working as much as they would need to in order to pay off these loans by their visa conditions. 95 percent of Princeton’s international students are on an F-1 visa, which limits them to working up to 20 hours a week while school is in session (and 40 hours during school breaks), at on-campus employment only, limiting employment options and the ability to make money.
I will be graduating from Princeton with nearly $20,000 of debt from educational technology and tax payment loans. This is cripplingly high. I think about it constantly. Even if I worked the maximum 20 hours every week across the four jobs I currently hold, I would not make enough money before graduating to pay off my student loans. The interest burden is also steep — although Princeton’s subsidized loans for students only begin incurring interest nine months after graduation, students are expected to pay these loans off within 10 years of leaving full-time education and beginning employment. These subsidized loans have a 5 percent fixed interest rate. In my case, if I were to pay off my loans monthly, at a rate of $225 per month, it would take me just less than 10 years to repay, and I would pay just over $5,000 in interest, amounting to about $25,000 total in loan payments.
Students hoping to graduate debt-free encounter the added burden of saving money from employment to pay off their tax bill. Much like normal tuition bills, international students’ scholarship tax is charged directly to their student account, and must be paid off before a student is able to enroll in classes. Students who would rather pay for tax out of pocket than take out institutional loans must then save money from employment to pay off tax charges before the beginning of class enrollment for the next semester.
Considering other necessary expenses, this becomes an almost impossible feat. How are students who regularly pay over $1,500 to fly home, who hold multiple jobs, and who may be unable to rely on familial financial support due to currency exchange rates or economic hardship be expected to perform well academically, never mind socially, without any institutional support? Many students find that they must pay out-of-pocket to support their travel home, even with Princeton’s travel allowance. Some low-income students, like Masheke, may never travel home in their entire time at Princeton. For these students specifically, USG should advocate for an increased travel allowance, on top of a relieved burden of scholarship tax payments, to increase the likelihood that they may travel home more regularly.
Although USG cannot change the legal requirements of F-1 status international students, there is a lot of advocacy that USG can spearhead to improve low-income students’ Princeton experience. If Princeton is unable to commit to covering scholarship tax payments under financial aid, we should petition for reducing the stress of having to make tax bill payments immediately. For example, USG could advocate for an exception to scholarship tax payments for international students, such that an outstanding tax balance for students on full financial aid would not place a hold on their student account, allowing these students to enroll in classes as normal. This would give students a longer time frame to budget and pay off their balance.
USG should also advocate for Joseph and Masheke’s suggestion for Princeton to cover the international scholarship tax, like Yale does. By working alongside our low-income international community, USG can devise a proposal to present to the Board of Trustees detailing expectations for scholarship tax payments to be covered, the feasibility of this scenario considering Princeton’s endowment, and the incredibly positive impact that this would have on low-income international students.
International students make up a considerable proportion of the student body; it’s time for USG to work with international students, especially low-income internationals, to improve our Princeton experience. As expressed in their constitution, the USG represents the interests of the undergraduate student body to the Board of Trustees — the ultimate governing body at Princeton — and leads discussions about issues affecting undergraduates.
They must represent us and our concerns before the Financial Aid Office, and they must advocate for the University to pay for international students’ scholarship tax as part of the offered financial aid package. Our newly elected USG Senate must work with the international student community to build and present a platform for the institution that upholds international students’ needs and demands change and specifically addresses the needs of low-income international students.
Emilly Santos is a senior columnist from London, England, studying Medical Anthropology, minoring in Global Health & Health Policy, Gender & Sexuality Studies, and Korean Language & Cultures.
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