Identity theft is one of the biggest and fastest growing crimes in the US. It involves stealing and misuse of your personal information like date of birth and social security number. That information in turn is used to open fake accounts so that the victim ends up owing money and with a bad credit report. If you are thinking that this is the time to complete university applications, and you will bother about this after starting your education in the US, you are mistaken. As soon as you start applying to US universities, you are a potential target for the identity thieves and your identity can be stolen even before you set your foot on the US soil.

International students are at a high risk due to two factors:
1. There are cultural differences they take time to adjust to – for example, date of birth is very private information in the US, and someone who knows your date of birth can steal your identity. But in some parts of the world it is so public information that students and job seekers write their date of birth on their resume! Bottom-line, stop mentioning your date of birth, except in the required field in the application. Don’t write your date of birth on your resume or other application documents.
2. Despite being very familiar with the internet, most international students have limited experience with shopping online and using a credit card over the internet.

No matter how much precautions are taken, anyone’s identity can be stolen. In the recent past, many mass identity thefts have taken place by hacking into servers of U.S. universities. Thieves have allegedly stolen record of millions of students, including of those who applied to that university, but did not even enroll. The only thing you can do is to monitor your credit file periodically (say once every six months) and take appropriate action if your identity is stolen. For example, your credit report may show a credit card you opened last month, which you are sure you did not open. You must contact that credit card provider and explain the facts to them. Universities or other large entities whose servers are compromised usually do a good job of informing all people whose data was stolen or is suspected to have been stolen, but beyond that it is the responsibility of the individual.

We highly recommend accessing your credit report and credit scores within the first six months of getting your social security number. In rare circumstances, you might be allocated a social security number which is already being used by a identity thief. If the contents of this post appear complicated and you have a question, you can ask in the “Travel, Money Matters and Insurance” section at the app2us.com forums. If you find our blog posts useful please be sure to spread the word to your friends.

Applicants to US universities like to explore and exhaust every potential source of funding. With drying up of fellowships and scholarships, students explore education loans offered in their home countries and in USA. Very few loans are available to international students.

Almost all personal loans in USA are tracked via credit reports. Each individual has a unique social security number and a credit file. These credit files are maintained by 3 agencies, transunion, experion and Equifax. Those with bad history of repayment or excessive debt may not get loans. Even in case of US citizens, those with no credit history have a tough time getting any loan. Obviously, international students have no credit file or history, so most banks do not consider them for loans. Some US based financial institutions do offer loans to international students IF they provide a co-signer who is a US citizen or resident. Some admission offers are accompanied with such letters which indicate that loans are available if you have a US co-signer. Students get all excited since they ‘know’ someone in USA they will ask them to co-sign a loan, even to casual acquaintances like college senior, someone from the same hometown, a distant cousin etc etc.

Now this brings us to the focus of our post – what it means to be a co-signer of a loan? Well, for all practical purposes, it is a loan taken by the co-signer. If you are asking your US based uncle ‘just to sign’ a loan, you are actually asking him to take a loan for you, where you will enjoy the benefits and he will suffer all the consequences. Now what can be a disadvantage to a US resident for simply co-signing a loan? A lot. First and foremost, that person is solely responsible to payback the loan, as you anyway do not have a credit history. When a person takes a loan, his or her credit score goes down and the amount taken shows up on the credit history – making is costlier and difficult to get any more loans in the future.

As you get some idea about the seriousness of co-signing a loan, we suggest you be very careful if you ever ask some close relative in USA to sign your loan. Also understand that they are very likely to say no, due to reasons explained in this blog post.

US Economy is headed towards a possible recession but that may bring you some good news and well. What can be better relief than a tax free 600 dollar check in the mail for a student? If you are a US taxpayer and are supposed to file your 2007 tax returns, you may be eligible for 600 dollar refund check or more! The stimulus package was signed into law by President Bush on February 13, 2008.The law provides for tax rebates to most taxpayers, and other tax incentives to stimulate business growth.

The package will provide individual taxpayers with $600 and $1,200 for married taxpayers filing joint returns if they are below income caps of $75,000 for individuals and $150,000 for couples. There is also a $300 per child tax credit.

Disclaimer: This information is for general information only. Contact IRS or a Tax advisor to find out whether or not you qualify. IRS has an online payment calculator.

While you are busy Applying to US Universities, you should get a driving license in your home country as soon as possible. And remember to pack it in your luggage to USA. Once you are settled in USA, you may not be able to buy a car during your student life, still try to get a US driving license sooner than later.

Eventually when you buy a car, you will need to buy vehicle insurance. If you have no driving history, you may be charged twice as much as experienced drivers with a good driving record. Some insurance companies will give no weight to your driving history outside USA and Canada, but some will take that into account. All companies will check how long you have held a US license.

It may be noted that driving history is based on the issuance date of your license. If you can show that you had a US license for a couple of years and had a license in another country before that, you can save as much as 50 dollars per month on your car insurance premium.

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