Applying to no more than 10 colleges

International Students
1

<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I have about $500 for application fees. With admissions being so competitive, and my application being far from the strongest, I had initially planned on applying to 15-20 colleges. At the time, I had planned to send fee waivers with my application.</p>

<p>Since then, I've read some conflicting view on those waivers. I suppose there's no way to get a definitive answer on this (colleges will probably say that it won't affect the outcome of admissions decisions), but I would still like to know what the CC community's current stance on this subject is, as far as international students go. </p>

<p>Another thing is that writing quality essays for 20 schools could get tiring, and odds are one wouldn't be able to write as well in all 20+ essays. In every application cycle, there are lots of international students who apply to 20ish colleges, and as with other international students requiring aid, the results can appear random. </p>

<p>I could be wrong, but I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that some international students were rejected from some colleges, largely because they didn't write excellent "why X college?" essays, and it was blatant, that they probably applied because of financial aid, and/or considered the school a safety school. Of course, every college (?) has a different approach to admissions; every part of the application is not necessarily viewed the same way (i.e, variation in weighting). </p>

<p>$500-1000 is a LOT of money, and it can be hard to put together that amount, but compared to the COA of any US college, it's a rather insignificant sum.</p>

<p>What do you think about this? When you applied/will apply, how many colleges did/will you apply to?</p>

2

<p>I’ll apply to as many colleges as possible in order to increase chances.</p>

<p>If paying fees is a hardship for you, you could apply to those colleges which automatically waive application fees for internationals :)</p>

3

<p>If you need a fee waiver, apply for a fee waiver. Colleges will know from your financial aid application that you can’t pay much money - there’s no point in trying to hide that.</p>

4

<p>Prostozina - can you share names of such colleges (mainly LACs)? I found only Bates and Colby that waive fee for internationals. I have the same problem as Sombre.</p>

5

<p>The ones which I know are: Bryn Mawr, Carleton, Gettysburg, Jacobs University Bremen, Mount Holyoke, Trinity College, Trinity University, Wellesley College, Oberlin.</p>

<p>I’m certain there are more, but I do not remember, sorry. Try searching CC :)</p>

6

<p>Thanks
10char</p>