<p>my name is Aviv and i'm from Israel. i'm 20 and i just got released from the IDF. i'm looking at some school options in the states for 2011 and i wanted to ask you for your opinion.</p>
<p>the thing is that i can study in Israel for free, and we have very good universities here.. but i figured that i want to go have fun rather than be stuck in my own country. now is the time to have fun before the serious life begins..</p>
<p>luckily for me i have a very good occupation in which i have 5 years of experience (information security) so i'm not really looking to bump up my career with my undergrad degree. therefore, i want to study something that will be interesting for me (like life sciences or business).</p>
<p>that said, i'm looking for a few things in a school. firstly, a good, fun party school. that means somewhere not extremely competitive and somewhere really fun with fun people. secondly, somewhere that will provide me with at least decent education. and thirdly, somewhere that ill get financial aid. there is no point of me paying 40 grand a year just to have fun when i can study for free at some very good universities here in Israel..</p>
<p>these are the schools that i've been looking at - id love your comments or any other recommendations / suggestions for other schools..
1) Pomona
2) UC Boulder
3) Sewanee
4) Depauw
5) U of Wisconsin
6) U of Texas
7) U of Miami
8) U of Georgia
9) U of Iowa
10) Indiana U
11) U of Alabama
12) Michigan State U
13) U of Missouri
14) Florida State University</p>
<p>well it depends. i’m very strong in the sciences (97, 100, 97, 98 in the highest level of math, highest level of chemistry, highest level of english and highest level of computer science respectively) but my humanities are not as good - they range from 72 in literature which is the lowest to 82 in history and to 89 in other humanities. my GPA is 3.7 (92 on a 0-100 scale).
I’ve also taken 2 courses at a university here when i was 16 and got a 90 and an 89 (technical english and computer science). other than that, my work experience is very rich - i served in a very very prestigious unit in the IDF’s intelligence corps and i’ve been employed several times at some very interesting jobs. i took the TOEFL yesterday and i’m expecting at least a 105-110+. with regards to the SAT I, im taking it in december and hoping for the best. the math is really easy for me so there is no reason that ill get less than 750 on that. about the english, we’ll see… i do not have time to take the SAT II unfortunately because the one and only available test date that meats the deadline is december…</p>
<p>Do you need aid or a scholarship? For aid, check out smaller private universities, such as Dartmouth, Rice and several LACs, such as Grinnell, Middlebury, Oberlin, Pomona (which is already on your list) or Williams. For scholarships, some of the schools on your list are fine. I think Emory, Tulane, Vanderbilt and WUSTL also give out scholarships. But your SAT results are going to have to be good (over 2200) if you want merit scholarships.</p>
<p>So of the LAC you mentioned, only Pomona, Grinnell and Oberlin do not require the SAT II so they’re my only options. are they fun?
in terms of scholarships - how does it work? you apply to school and then what?</p>
<p>Bowdoin, Carleton and Middlebury do not require SAT IIs. </p>
<p>Most universities ask you to tick a box if you wish to be considered for a scholarship. They take care of the rest. Tyically, a university will extend a scholarship to most students who exceed a particular standard.</p>
<p>Take all state universities off your list. The chance that they would offer you aid is minimal.
The LACs that Alexandre lists are wonderful schools that do offer some aid to internationals, but they are challenging academically and will expect you to work hard. From your post, it does not sound as though you want to hit the books. If that’s the case, you should definitely stay in Israel and get a free education. Why should Americans subsidize your education if your top priority is partying?</p>
<p>hey greennblue, that’s not the case. its not that all i want to do is party - i don’t mind working hard at all. but i also don’t want that to be the only thing that i’ll be doing for 4 years - places that require you to study so much that you don’t have a social life… i also don’t want to feel like everything is so competitive. i want to be in an interesting environment with interesting and fun people and achieve a smart and healthy balance between partying, social life and academics. if all i cared about was partying, i would go travelling instead of studying…</p>
<p>The other thing to understand is at the LACs suggested here, for the most part, to get aid you will have to prove you need it. Most only offer need based aid. They will take a close look at your and your family’s income and assets and determine what they think you can pay.</p>
<p>Some LACs offer a bit of merit aid, but if you don’t have significant need, they will leave you paying most.</p>
<p>1) Pomona (Private)
2) UC Boulder (Public)
3) Sewanee (Private)
4) Depauw (Private)
5) U of Wisconsin (Public)
6) U of Texas (Public)
7) U of Miami (Private)
8) U of Georgia (Public)
9) U of Iowa (Public)
10) Indiana U (Public)
11) U of Alabama (Public)
12) Michigan State U (Public)
13) U of Missouri (Public)
14) Florida State University (Public)</p>
<p>Although most publics do not give financial aid to international students, many do give merit scholarships.</p>
<p>What are your stats? Some of the publics might give you merit.</p>
<p>1) Pomona
2) UC Boulder - Public
3) Sewanee
4) Depauw
5) U of Wisconsin - Public
6) U of Texas - Public
7) U of Miami
8) U of Georgia - Public
9) U of Iowa - Public
10) Indiana U - Public
11) U of Alabama - Public
12) Michigan State U - Public
13) U of Missouri - Public
14) Florida State University - Public</p>
<p>None of those publics will give you need-based financial aid. However, a small number might give you scholarships for stats.</p>
<p>I don’t think DePauw will give you need-based aid, either. </p>
<p>If you want need-based aid, then you need to apply to the few top schools that give need-based aid.</p>
<p>However, remember, need-based aid is based on family income and assets. Since you’re a veteran from another country, I don’t know if you have independent status or not. I’m not sure what CSS Profile rules are for that.</p>
<p>You need to stop by the office of EducationUSA in Tel Aviv [EducationUSA</a> - Center Profile - U.S. - Israel Educational Foundation](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/Fulbright-TelAviv]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/Fulbright-TelAviv) If you can’t visit in person, get in touch with their counselors on the phone or by email. They are the experts at helping Israelis find good places to study in the US, and they will be able to help you sort out your options.</p>
<p>How important is being near a metro area, at a school with a big time sports program (NCAA Division I football, basketball), warm climate?, near mountains or ocean? Do you tend towards liberal/conservative politics/values, and/or like being around one or the other or both? Do you value a diverse student body? These will help nail it down.</p>
<p>about my SAT score - i haven’t taken it yet. taking it in a month. probably 770+ on math and hopefully more than 650 on the CR (but its hard to say when i haven’t taken it yet).
i tend towards the liberal side rather than conservative, all the other parameters don’t matter - ill give an example. a school in a rural are with no big time sports team, cold climates and near mountains will get the same score from me as a big time party school (FSU for example) if lets say it has cool and fun people and because its isolated everybody lives on campus and there is nothing else to do but socialize and have fun.
so what overall matters to me is the level of education (it has to be at least decent) and the social life - people who like to have fun and not just hit the books nonstop for 4 years…</p>