<p>Hey so the title explains it relatively well but I'll give some more information. I go to an International Baccalaureate school in Australia- I make pretty great grades (currently all As and one C, something I'm working on hoping to get up by the end of this semester). I've been doing some research lately about full ride scholarships to colleges in the US and I'm aware there aren't very many and they're quite competitive. I was wondering if anyone here would point me to some colleges that do offer full ride (tuition, room and board) to international students. I'm hoping to get at least an IB score of 40 (aiming for a 43ish, the maximum score is 45) and then taking a gap year and working on my college applications- taking SATs and so on throughout that year (2016) and then applying for admission and scholarships for 2017. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Also, as part of the IB program we do 150 hours of community and school service activities, which I'm assuming would look great on a scholarship application. Let me know what you think my chances are and where you recommend applying.
P.S IB is kind of like AP but I've seen from a few people online that it's harder than AP.
-AustralianJunior</p>
<p>The only one I can think of is Hendrix College in Arkansas which offers the Hays Memorial Scholarship. It is a competitive scholarship and as far as I know is open to international students. Here’s a link so you can check it out:</p>
<p><a href=“Scholarships | Hendrix College”>Scholarships | Hendrix College;
<p><a href=“Hendrix College”>http://www.hendrix.edu/admission/scholarship/hays.aspx</a></p>
<p>IB is very difficult I know, but unfortunately, for US colleges it doesn’t count as much as SAT’s or your academic record in general. Plus it’s close to impossible for internationals to get financial aid even from the so-called “need-blind” colleges. I think the very few internationals who succeed in obtaining aid are from countries where it’s hard to get decent higher education (not the case for Australia). Colleges have such a small budget for aid to internationals, they opt for candidates who have no other options for college – and I guess that’s kind of fair.</p>
<p>Sorry, I don’t want to discourage you, but if financial aid is a determining factor to you: either make a search on the internet to find colleges that are trying to have internationals and therefore are generous with aid, or try getting out loans if you’re really bent on studying in the US. </p>
<p>By the way, I’m saying all this because as the parent of an international student. Best of luck to you. </p>
<p>Thank you perseverence. Yeah I’m just more interested in the culture over in the US, but obviously education standard is important too. I think the approach I’ll take is try and get some great SAT scores and apply for colleges that expect a lot less than that haha
I’ll hopefully arrange to take the SATs and then I’ll be able to have a better gauge of my standings.
Thank you AlbionGirl I think a scholarship for internationals only would be a bit easier than one that takes both US nationals and internationals (since I’m sure they’d prefer nationals)
I’ll look into that scholarship and I’ll try and find some colleges keen for internationals like you suggest perseverence.
Not sure if it would help but I was born in South Africa and can speak two languages, might give me a bit of a diversity factor but I don’t know if it’ll help much.</p>
<p>Start exploring all LACS ranked up to 125 (they would still be in the top 10% colleges nationally). Look at the financial aid forum on this website, click on “automatic scholarships” and “competitive scholarships”.
If you get your IB in 2016, your plan to prepare for a Fall 2017 start at college is pretty good.</p>
<p>You will probably have to compromise on the complete “full ride” i.e. tuition, room and board. That type of aid is pretty rare even for domestic students and is typically given either by private colleges with lots of cash (e.g. Harvard) or state colleges for their most needy in-state applicants.</p>
<p>Check out University of Richmond and Lafayette College.
Are you eligible for financial aid? If yes, then do apply to schools which promise to meet your full need.</p>
<p>Look on the fin aid board at those posts that list the large awards. then hone in on them and see which ones international students are also included. Do you have financial need, like what are your parents’ situations? That is what determines need here. If they are considered able to pay, you aren’t going to get need based aid. Run some numbers through the EFC estimator (you can’t actually fill out FAFSA but if you run your family assets and income through the estimators, you’ll get an idea as whether you even qualify for need).</p>
<p>Hey thanks guys. I’m not sure if I’d be eligible because the thing is my parents are fairly high income, however I doubt we could afford it due to lots of debt we have etc. and high taxes. I doubt they’d qualify me for financial aid though. </p>
<p>Financial aid is need based. Merit aid is purely based on what scores you get on your SAT/ACT and how accomplished you are, not how much your parents make. You could be a millionaire’s son and if you win a merit scholarship, it’s still yours (which is why it’s a little controversial, since a kid who was admitted and whose parents make 60k may not get enough money to attend the same school that the millionaire’s son got a scholarship for. On the other hand, scholarships serve as ways to entice excellent candidates that the school really want.)</p>
<p>If you have good grades, and a strong profile, try looking at a college that offers a lot of aid opportunities, and expect to pay some amount because full rides are very hard to find. I just went through the process and was offered financial aid and/or scholarships at 6 colleges as an International Student (only one college offered me admission with no scholarship or aid offer) However, be prepared to face a lot of competition, because need blind colleges for International students receive thousands of applications world wide. </p>
<p>I would suggest you to look at the University of Kentucky, I did not end up choosing to go there, but was awarded three different scholarships: merit, diversity & ambassador. When adding them up, I would have had to pay around $5000 a year for college (including tuition, room and board). That is an extremely affordable price even in my country. Do a lot of research, look into every type of college and set up a realistic goal: meaning, if you can manage to be offered admission at a very low cost, it is a huge success. Set up a budget of what you could afford to pay in your country, and aim to try to pay at least that amount in the USA. Full rides are very hard to find.</p>
<p>Also, look into the College of the Ozarks, I heard that they have a work for study program, meaning you have to work to earn your tuition. It might be something worth looking into.</p>
<p>There are a few threads here on CC that might help you out;
<a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1461983-competitive-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“Institutional Merit Based Scholarships (Full Tuition +) - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/211927-institutional-merit-based-scholarships-full-tuition.html</a></p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you Offf2college2014, I was just wondering where you got accepted and where you ended up going (if you did), also where are you from?
I’ll have a look at those threads! 
</p>
<p>College of the Ozarks only pays full-tuition and so doe s all work- colleges in the US except Berea College. You will have to take loans or come up with room and board and other living expenses, and on-campus job and summer jobs will not be enough to substitute for that cost.
As far as full-ride goes with on-campus job… Berea College will be my suggestion …THAT IS IF YOU ARE admitted. It is more like the IVLeages when it comes to international students admission polices… i.e usually one student per country… and maybe more…but rarely. So apply early…say in September/October or as soon as the application cycle opens. and definitely put in all your best on your application.
You might also benefit from the following link:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014</a></p>
<p><a href=“Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students”>Colleges with Need-Blind Admission for U.S. Students;
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Take a look at the Wien Scholarship at Brandeis.</p>
<p>But, as you can imagine it’s extremely competitive.</p>
<p><a href=“Scholarships and Fellowships | Affordability | Undergraduate Admissions | Brandeis University”>Scholarships and Fellowships | Affordability | Undergraduate Admissions | Brandeis University;
<p>You’re an 11 year old Junior from Australia? Forget college. Go on a walkabout for a while. 
</p>
<p>Year 11 = 11th grade (or 10th grade, depending on system).</p>
<p>OK, so why are you focused on college in the US? You can do exchanges from Aussie unis, right?</p>
<p>Also, some colleges in Europe are free (or near-free) and some of them even teach in English.</p>