I am an international student from Ethiopia who has applied to a couple of colleges. My sat score is 1400 and my sat subject test results on Math 1, Biology M and Chemistry are 750,780,720 respectively. My school average is about 90. I had applied to many liberal art colleges like, Colgate, Reed, Whitman, St olaf, Rhodes,Dickinson and DEnison. But not even one of them accepted me. Only Whitman waitlisted me. All the other reach colleges I have applied to also rejected me like, Union Bucknell, and wesleyan. I think this all happened because I have applied for financial aid that is about the whole cost of attendance.What should be my next move? I am planning to have a gap year and retake the SAT and apply again.(I think if I retake the SAT I can score about 1560).
You have two potential strategies to pursue:
(1) Take a gap year and re-apply to a wider range of schools. Research the colleges you are considering applying to to make sure that they are willing to offer the amount of assistance you need. (If you need help to pay for your airfare, health insurance and textbooks, ask ahead of time if that’s something they offer to international students at all. Many colleges don’t.) Also check if any universities offer scholarships based on SAT scores that would meet your need. Automatic merit scholarships are much more reliable than need-based aid.
(2) Make plans in a different country. Sadly, admission rates for needy international applicants are very very low. Like 1% low, even at otherwise not-very-selective colleges. International financial aid applicants are playing a lottery. Think about how long you want to put your life on hold to chase a degree in the US, and at what time you’d rather move on.
Those are good scores. I think you need a different list of colleges and then try again after a gap year. What is your GPA? But take the SAT again. How are you prepping for the SAT?. @MYOS1634
My school does not report GPA. It reports your score out if 100. My score is about 90 out of 100. I scored 1400 with only one month of studying. If I can prepare for the sat for about 3 month I think I am capable to score about 1570.
What are other countries I can have a good shot of getting full funding for my study?
Use Google. Many nations offer inexpensive education options for international students. Depending on your academic background, interests, language skills and budget, you could consider Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, India, Argentina… there are many options.
There are no full rides but you can get free tuition in France, Germany…