<p>I am an international student, applying to colleges this year.
My SAT score is 2150, and my unweighted GPA 3.8.</p>
<p>This is my initial premise about these colleges.</p>
<p>No Aid-
1. Carnegie Mellon
2. UCLA
Limited Aid-
1. Illinois
2. Michigan
Conditional Full Aid-
1. UPenn (#23)
2. Brown (#>50)
3. Georgia
4. Ohio</p>
<p>Could you guys tell me what is these colleges' finaid policy for intl' students?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Michigan and UCLA don’t give aid to internationals. Can’t say for the other public colleges, but I doubt they give much if any. Neither Penn nor Brown is need blind for internationals so needing money severly hurts chances of getting in, but I believe both will meet need for the few they accept. CMU is a school notoriois for bad aid.</p>
<p>Typically, publics are not a good source for aid for int’ls. </p>
<p>However, some might give merit (which is different)</p>
<p>Ohio - looks like only merit scholarships for stats
Mich (no)
UCLA (no)
UIUC (only some institutional aid)
Georgia ( you must be a citizen or green card resident) [Office</a> of Student Financial Aid at the University of Georgia](<a href=“http://www.uga.edu/osfa/eligibility.html]Office”>http://www.uga.edu/osfa/eligibility.html)</p>
<p>Typically public U’s are not good sources for int’ls because they rely heavily on state and fed aid which is not available to int’l students. Out of state residents often face a similar problem of getting FA for OOS publics…</p>
<p>If you want $ help for college, you’re better off looking at mid-tiers that will give you merit money.</p>
<p>your stats aren’t high enough for the top schools for them to give you scholarships (If they offer any).</p>
<p>@ mom2collegekids - Thanks. </p>
<p>What colleges would you recommend, which would offer aid, and have a decent rank?
I’m looking at Environmental, Computer Science, Aeronautical and Mechanical departments, for Engineering.</p>
<p>Correction: I was referring to ‘Georgia Tech’, when I said Georgia, in my first post.</p>
<p>Conventional wisdom for internationals is to stay away from colleges like NYU or UCLA because they don’t generally give great aid except to a tiny slivering of students. If you are looked for good aid for internationals, the Ivy Leagues are generally a good choice if you have the statistics to get in. I also found this link to schools [THAT</a> ARE need-blind](<a href=“http://www.internationalstudent.com/schools_awarding_aid/]THAT”>Schools Awarding International Financial Aid) for international students; apart from the Ivy League, they contain Amherst College, Middlebury, and Williams Universities, which are in and of themselves considered “near Ivies” as far as academic excellence and rigor by most reputable ranking agencies. (and I know that Middlebury at least of those three has an excellent mechanical engineering program; not necessarily MIT level but one of the best you can find anywhere in the United States and quite easily abroad as possible). </p>
<p>Schools that are not need-blind for internationals are harder to get into but if they offer aid at all it varies from a case by case basis. Your best bet is to come up with a list of schools and then you and some of us can look up their webpages and see if they offer aid to internationals and/or have merit aid opportunites /andor what extent to which your need can be meeted.</p>
<p>GT has similar rules. </p>
<p>The problem is that the state of Georgia has the HOPE Scholarship for its residents, so the GA state schools rely heavily on that for their students - which is why int’l and OOS students don’t get great aid. And, your stats aren’t high enough at GT for merit. </p>
<p>*What colleges would you recommend, which would offer aid, and have a decent rank?
I’m looking at Environmental, Computer Science, Aeronautical and Mechanical departments, for Engineering. *</p>
<p>With your stats (which are high, but not stellar), you need to look for MERIT scholarships, not Financial Aid (Learn the lingo… Merit isn’t aid. 
) </p>
<p>The schools that give aid to Int’ls will expect higher stats - so it’s unlikely you’d get admitted to those (but feel free to apply to a few just to see. ) </p>
<p>For instance, at UPenn, the upper 25% of students have SATs above 2300. So, an int’l student with a SAT of 2150 would have a hard time getting admitted (especially since UPenn isn’t need blind for int’ls)</p>
<p>What is the breakdown of your SAT? That will help me lead you to where the merit money is for int’ls. (not all schools that give merit will give it to in’tls, but some do. )</p>
<p>Bedouin
I checked out Middlebury’s site. I couldn’t find the course on Mech. Engg. [Academics</a> | Middlebury](<a href=“Academics | Middlebury College”>Academics | Middlebury College)
And it says that the college is need-aware for international students. What does this mean?</p>
<p>mom2collegekids
I see. Right. So how much ‘merit’ scholarships on an average, do the aforementioned colleges (Like Harvard and MIT. ) offer to students with high but not stellar scores?</p>
<p>Need aware means they may take into consideration your ability to pay when making admissions decisions. Middlebury used to be need-blind to internationals but has changed that policy recently. Williams is also no longer need-blind to internationals.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Middlebury College and Williams College… not “University”.</p>
<p>About Middlebury – not all colleges use the same name for their courses. A course on “mechanical engineering” can have many names, and can even be folded into an overall wider course depending on the college’s perceptions.</p>
<p>As far as merit scholarships from Harvard and MIT – they do not exist. The Ivy Leagues have a commitment to only give need-based aid to anyone.</p>
<p>*mom2collegekids
I see. Right. So how much ‘merit’ scholarships on an average, do the aforementioned colleges (Like Harvard and MIT. ) offer to students with high but not stellar scores? *</p>
<p>I’m not making things clear, I can see. Top schools like MIT and Harvard don’t give ANY merit scholarship to ANYONE - they only give financial aid. Your problem is that your stats aren’t high enough to likely get admitted - especially because you’re an int’l.</p>
<p>There are a few top schools that give some merit, but again, your stats aren’t high enough for those schools. </p>
<p>To get merit money for your stats, you have to go down in rank.</p>
<p>You seem set on a top ranked school, but your stats aren’t high enough.</p>
<p>mom2collegekids
I have a varied list of colleges that I will be applying to. 2100 was just a predicted score. My result isn’t out until the 24th of this month. I will be aspiring for perfect scores in my Subject Tests.</p>
<p>What about Purdue? It’s acceptance rate is nearly 70%. Is it easier to get into, compared to the other colleges we talked about?
Do you have any recommendations for colleges I should apply to?
Thanks a lot. :)</p>
<p>You will get into Purdue… but you won’t get any financial aid **and **you won’t get any scholarships (they only give scholarships to domestic students.)</p>
<p>I have to leave now, but when I come back I’ll try to come up with some schools that will give good sized merit to int’l students with a predicted 2100 SAT. </p>
<p>Subject Tests don’t really matter for scholarships. And, they don’t “make up” for SAT tests that aren’t high for admissions. </p>
<p>Int’l students without tippy top SATS (like 2300+) who need money help to go to school need to totally adjust their thinking, because it’s unlikely to get accepted to the top schools.</p>
<p>Bedouin–I think you’re confusing Middlebury College with another college. Middlebury is a liberal arts college in Vermont that does not have an engineering program (although you can do a dual degree program in engineering).</p>
<p>[Engineering</a> Options | Middlebury](<a href=“Preprofessional Programs | Middlebury College”>Preprofessional Programs | Middlebury College)</p>
<p>From Wikipedia:
</p>
<p>Amherst is still an available option then if the Ivy Leagues are prohibitive (either for cost reasons or based on an admissions selectivity analysis standpoint). It is very competitive to get in but being a lower-tier it is more generous and more likely to admit someone with perhaps lower-than-Ivy level stats that are still brilliant. Does the OP know when he or she will determine his or his weighed gpA?</p>
<p>OP, how much can your family pay?</p>
<p>@Bedouin
I’m an international student so weighted GPA won’t be applicable. Could you explain the difference between weighted and unweighted GPA. My high school reports include percentages.</p>
<p>@college_ruled
About 10,000 USD for the freshman year.</p>
<p>And thanks everyone :)</p>
<p>
What?? Amherst is NOT a lower tier. It is a LAC in the same tier as the Ivies.</p>
<p>Amherst - 760CR/780M/770W - 16% Admitted
Dartmouth - 770CR/780M/780W - 12.5% Admitted
Cornell - 730CR/770M - 19% Admitted</p>
<p>Bedouin, do some research before you post.</p>
<p>OP, weighting is used by some schools (not all) to differentiate the weighting of more difficult classes.</p>