<p>It is difficult for Americans to pay for American colleges and universities, let alone international students to pay for American colleges. Your best bet may be college in your home country and travel/ study abroad in the US for a summer/ semester/ year. (10k isn’t going to go very far). </p>
<p>Colleges are usually cheaper in Canada and the UK, but I don’t think they offer financial aid to internationals. Schools in the UK are often 3 years, so they are potentially 3/4 the total cost of attending a 4 year school.</p>
<p>US News lists Brigham Young University, Louisiana Tech, South Dakota State University, and University of Louisiana- Lafayette, as colleges that cost less than 15k. (By the way, BYU is a University subsidized by the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, so it has an atmosphere that isn’t suitable for everyone). </p>
<p>You should search this forum and the international student forum to see what other students have done in your situation.</p>
<p>trunks…beware about Bedouin’s posts…he often “shoots from the hip” and is wrong. Typically whenever he posts, others have to follow to correct his words. </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 *</p>
<p>Amherst is the #1 Liberal Arts College in the country!!!..so hardly a “lower tier”.</p>
<p>And if Ivy leagues are “prohibitive” because of “cost reasons”, then certainly Amherst would be as well. </p>
<p>Ok…back to the OP…</p>
<p>So, your parents can pay about $10k per year. That means you need to find BIG scholarship money…something like full tuition plus. </p>
<p>Once you get your actual scores, we can come up with some schools that do give int’ls big merit. </p>
<p>Don’t do what some int’ls do…and that is to stubbornly only apply to ivies/elites and end up empty handed. Wisely apply to some elites that give aid to int’ls, but also some mid-tier/lower tier schools that will give int’ls merit scholarships. At least then you’ll have a choice whether to accept or not. </p>
<p>Keep in mind that just because your family can only pay $10k per year, that doesn’t mean that a school that gives FA to int’ls won’t think that your family can pay more. The family doesn’t get to decide how much it needs, the school does. And if the school doesn’t feel it can truly determine your family’s assets or income, you won’t get much or any aid at all.</p>
<p>college_ruled
Is the Fullbright scholarship program for undergraduates? I went through the link and it concentrates on students who are going for masters/doctoral degrees. Please check this.
Thanks.</p>
<p>mom2college kids
Yes, I’m working on a varied list. I’ll post the scores as soon as they are here :)</p>
<p>Merit scholarships are aid, though. They’re a form of financial aid, just merit-based financial aid. “Financial aid” are any monies that students get aside from their parents’ pockets - that includes scholarships, loans, and grants. IF you look at any college’s website, their scholarships are located under financial aid because it’s AID in FINANCING your college degree.</p>
<p>I’m not discounting what you’re saying about merit scholarships for internationals - it will be quite difficult to get need-based financial aid as an international student, and I agree that you should look for merit scholarships. Just the semantics of it, in that merit scholarships ARE financial aid, it’s just not the kind of aid you need. And it’s kind of confusing to say “you won’t get aid but you may get scholarships” because scholarships are aid.</p>
<p>You may think there isn’t a distinction between Financial Aid and Merit Scholarships, but there is…especially for int’ls. And, here’s why.</p>
<p>Financial aid is often funded with tax-payer dollars, so not often available to int’ls and for state schools, often not available to non-residents of the particular state. Financial Aid requires the student to provide financial info about the family and many schools don’t have the resources to “fact check” int’l incomes and assets. So, those schools just have a “no” policy when it comes to FA for int’ls.</p>
<p>however, merit scholarships are often endowed by donors who don’t mind which high stats kid get the scholarships. That said, some donors will specify that they only want their endowed scholarships to go to in-state kids or citizens. </p>
<p>and, many merit scholarships don’t consider need at all. If you have the stats, you are considered. </p>
<p>the reason I made the distinction in this thread is because for an international, the difference is very meaningful. There are many schools that won’t even consider giving financial aid to an int’l, but they will give int’ls merit scholarships. </p>
<p>You can argue that it is all aid because it helps pay the costs, but that’s not going to be helpful for the OP to understand where he’s likely to get the best help.</p>
<p>I didn’t say there wasn’t a distinction between need-based aid and merit-based financial aid, but semantically, merit scholarships are a TYPE of financial aid.</p>
<p>Federal financial aid, or institutional grants at public universities and colleges, is often funded with tax-payer dollars, and are not often available to internationals. But at private universities and colleges, the institutional grants are often provided by the school’s endowment and yet still not often available to international students.</p>
<p>Financial aid requires the student to provide financial info about the family - but that often includes merit-based scholarships. For example, at my private college I had to submit the FAFSA every year to maintain my merit-based scholarship. It had absolutely nothing to do with my income (my parents are solidly middle-class earners) but I still had to submit my financial info.</p>
<p>Now you can make the distinction between need-based financial aid like loans and grants that are only open to U.S. citizens, and merit-based scholarships that may be open to international students, without calling it “financial aid vs. merit-based scholarships.”</p>
<p>When dealing with international students, it’s simpler to keep the distinction between FA and merit…since intl’s are often only eligible for one type at one school and maybe the other type at another school.</p>
<p>By keeping FA and merit separate, it’s easier to discuss which schools will be more affordable to an int’l.</p>
<p>If you haven’t already done so, you should take the time to read through everything (and I do indeed mean everything) at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.state.gov/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.state.gov/) Then you should make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to you. If you can’t meet with them in person, talk with them on the phone or use email. These people are the experts on helping students from your country find good places to study in the US. They will be able to tell you how likely it is for a student with your profile to be admitted and receive the financial aid necessary to make a US degree possible.</p>