A Poor Guy's Chances

<p>Hello all that are willing to help me :P</p>

<p>I'm and international student (Indian citizen living in Venezuela) that is considering applying, but I need to know whether I stand a good chance or not. Here are some quick numbers:
SAT: 1410 (690 Math & 720 Verbal)
SAT IIs (Retaking): Math IIC - 700, Writing - 640, and Physics - 640
GPA: 3.34 on a 4.0 scale
Rank: Approx. top 20%</p>

<p>Oh, and here is just some side info:
- Doing full IB with 4 Higher Level courses.
- Go to an American International School in Caracas, Venezuela.
- Can only pay about $6000 per year.
- Need A LOT of financial-aid.</p>

<p>If I can't get into this college, could you suggest places where I could get in? And also, if it's not too much trouble, a few places that would quite possibly offer me a merit award and need-based aid? Thank you very much to those who help me out! It's very much appreciated, and if anyone needs help, please free to ask me. </p>

<p>~Abhishek Kumar</p>

<p>PS: If you want me to present my ECs and awards, tell me, and I'll do so.</p>

<p>hey
im in a similar boat but can afford a little more than you, im looking at smaller liberal arts places like the college of wooster in ohio, check out Wash U in st louis ive heard they offer substantial aid also dennison which is known to give upto 100% aid to international students. dont give up on vassar either they have a pretty hefty budget for International students too</p>

<p>good luck</p>

<p>Sweet! True, true. I'm not giving up on Vassar or anything, as it is a freaking-sweet school! Haha, but, true, other schools do offer a lot more financial aid. I'll look into the ones you've told me thanks. </p>

<p>Any other input?</p>

<p>Both you and amargrosa have amazing grades so I doubt Vassar will turn you down, especially as international students. So I dont think you need to worry about that...</p>

<p>As for the financial aid, a lot of lesser known schools perhaps not as highly ranked as the Vassars or Harvards of the world like say Lehigh University in Pennsylvania would probably offer you full scholarships or what not just to get you to go.</p>

<p>Im going to go eat now but yea, good luck with things.</p>

<p>Gracias, amigo! LeHigh, eh? My Physics teacher did his post-grad there. Hm... all right, I'll check it out. So, you don't think my chances of getting scholarships/aid at Vassar are that high? If so, how much do you think I can get out of them?</p>

<p>good grades? theyre good but not as great as some of the others whove applied (check the ED discussion)....those guys really got me worried a little....oh well who knows?
vassar actually is one of the leading providers of financial aid to international students. i cant believe how many great schools i had to un-consider since i couldnt afford them</p>

<p>as for ur chances at vassar: id say if they accept you they should give you a decent ammount of aid - i dont know if itll be enough for you. Someone who worked in the admisions office of a smaller college once told me that if the person reading ur application really likes you then theyll fight to make sure that they give you the aid you want</p>

<p>best of luck dude</p>

<p>Yea, theyve gotten me worried but Im hoping for the best and even if they pick as one of the students to form the bottom of the class, I wouldnt mind. I read schools often do that, picking students who may not compare to some of those who post here who have unusually high grades and scores and yet still remain unconfident about their chances. </p>

<p>And Supernal, like amargrosa said, Vassar will give you money, just maybe as much as you need but Im sure there are ways for international students to take out loans to cover educational expenses like most people do. </p>

<p>Now that I think about it though, Vassar only gives money on the basis of financial need, not merit or sports or anything like that....which I think is a good thing, but for you, it may be a problem. As long as you show a need though, your in good shape.</p>

<p>I was looking on the Vassar website and saw what they said about giving financial aid to international students:</p>

<p>Vassar does offer need-based financial aid to international students applying as freshmen and is one of the leading providers of financial assistance to international students among American universities. Of course, due to the large volume of international candidates seeking financial aid, competition for scholarships is significant. Vassar is not need-blind in the evaluation of international students. </p>

<p>So there you go, hope that helps.</p>

<p>Excellent! Some facts for the gentleman.</p>

<p>yeah i knew that already......thanks though</p>

<p>im actually counting the days till dec 15th, the worst thing that could happen is if they defer me because then ill have to wait even longer and apply to more places too</p>

<p>Man, you guys have been the most helpful as of yet. Grazie all! Yeah, Vassar is quite good with aid, but not need-blind, which sucks. Hey, but you guys are applying, but what are your stats? Just wondering. Oh, and have any idea what the general stats of a student that has been accepted by Vassar are?</p>

<p>~Abe</p>

<p>hey it not being need blind can be a good thing provided you can show need</p>

<p>me:</p>

<p>SAT I - 1330 (math-650, verbal-680)
SAT II- (these suck!) math-580, writing-620, lit-620</p>

<p>we dont calculate GPAs or ranks in the Indian System of education but my avg is 85% plus which is really good for the competitivness of our system (its roughly a 3.5 gpa and my rank is in the top 5%)</p>

<p>tons and tons of extra curriculars
great essays
great reccomendations</p>

<p>thats me</p>

<p>Ah, you're Indian? Same here, dude. The name's Abhishek :D But, I don't live in India; I live in Caracas, Venezuela and study in a private American International School. My dad is in one of those foreign service diplomat thingies. So, we basically travel around the world. And yeah, man, I was in the Indian system like two years ago -- hated it. The grading is too damned weird. The only thing they take into consideration is your exams. But, if you ask me, you're doing pretty damned well for a student in the CBSE system. I think my average in 9th and 10th was like 65% or something -- can't remember. </p>

<p>And as to your stats, they're pretty good, man. Although, the SATIIs could be a bit higher. And also, you went early decision at Vassar, right? When do you hear from them?? Jesus, I'd be freaking nervous as all hell!!! It must be a thrill waiting for the decision, huh? Haha. I hope you get in, man. We need more Indian power!!! </p>

<p>~Abe (S_B) :D</p>

<p>hey
yeah i kinda figured u were indian
my math just sucks period i havent done math since 10th grade and the only reason i did the sat IIs was because of vassar and they know that
i got 78% in my ICSE which is pretty good too
waiting for their response is certainly not a thrill its so annoying im literally counting the days (19 to go)
but yeah if i get in itll save me the hassle of applying to other places</p>

<p>Yo,</p>

<p>Hehe, math is sweet. I love it. That's what I'd like to major in if I get the chance. But hey, everyone has their likes and dislikes; they're strengths and weaknesses. Honestly, I was taken aback when I saw that my SAT scores were higher in the Verbal than in the Math because I've had a lot of trouble with the verbal, and am quite good with math. Here, check out my SAT history:
PSAT: 970 (47V 50M)
1st SAT: 1110 (530V 580M)
2nd SAT: 1220 (570V 650M)
3rd SAT: 1410 (720V 690M)</p>

<p>Sorry for posting that, but I just thought you may find it amusing. As for your ICSE -- it's pretty damn nice, dude. It's hard to pull off those kinds of numbers in the Indian system. Just curious -- where do you live exactly? And how much can you pay for college? And how do you plan to make up the rest?</p>

<p>~ El Kumar</p>

<p>hey
wow well done on the great improvments!!!</p>

<p>im from northern india (half punjabi and half haryanvi) but i lived in calcutta for 13 years and now i live in madras</p>

<p>well we can afford about $13000 per year and im hoping to get financial aid/scholarships to make up the rest</p>

<p>im not exactly an ABCD, because i visit every other year or so, and speak gujarati fluently...my parents are from ahmedabad...anyway, although wash u/st louis isnt the BEST town to spend college in, its pretty cool...st louis has a lot of indians, a great hindu and jain temple (and a masjid)...a lot of support for international students, and a good support system for indians...mostly gujjus, though theres a lot of north indians too...wash u has a lot of indians as well...</p>