<p>The Princeton Review has a list of Colleges which offer high financial aid.
Which of these are the best for international students, and why?
Consider repute vs cost vs value-for-money vs quality of education vs career services.</p>
<p>1-Swarthmore College
2-Princeton University
3-University of Virginia
4-Yale University
5-New College of Florida
6-University of Richmond
7-Columbia University
8-University of Mississippi
9-Harvard College
10-Thomas Aquinas College
11-Pomona College
12-Cornell College
13-Rice University
14-University of Puget Sound
15-Washington University in St. Louis
16-Claremont McKenna College
17-Wabash College
18-Lake Forest College
19-University of Redlands
20-City University of New York--Hunter College</p>
<p>The colleges with the most generous financial aid for domestic applicants may not be the best picks for internationals. UVA, for example, does not consider international students for need-based aid at all. Swarthmore has one of the most generous no loan policies for domestic applicants, but their budget for international financial aid is extremely limited. (Swarthmore’s closest competitors, Williams and Amherst, are much more generous to international students but not quite as generous to domestic applicants.)</p>
<p>When you bring financial aid into the equation I would say all the ivys on your list and Richmond has great merit and need-based aid. most of the others dont even offer aid to international students.</p>
<p>barium is correct. the list is entirely different for international students. many of those in the list you mentioned do not give aid or have limited aid for internationals.</p>
Williams and Amherst don’t have engineering programs; few liberal arts colleges do. </p>
<p>However, several liberal arts colleges have 3+2 or 4+1 engineering programs where students complete a science major in 3 or 4 years at the liberal arts college and then transfer to a bigger university to complete an engineering degree there in the remaining 1 or 2 years. (4+1 programs seem to be more common when the college is physically close to the university, so that students can start taking a few engineering courses in the first 4 years.)</p>
<p>Financial aid wise, the liberal arts college funds the liberal arts college of the degree; whether or not there’s financial aid for the engineering portion depends on the university. Caltech and Columbia have many 3+2 contracts with liberal arts colleges. Columbia does currently consider international students for financial aid, but Caltech does not. Haverford and Bryn Mawr recently signed a 4+1 deal with Penn. I do not know whether or not the final year at Penn is funded, but you could find that out if you were interested. Bryn Mawr also has a lot of aid for international students, in case you are female. (If you are female, you might also be interested in the engineering program at Smith.)</p>
<p>The main advantage is the availability of financial aid: there’s much more aid for international students at liberal arts colleges than at universities with an engineering program. Going through an established 3+2 program sometimes gives international students access to financial aid at prestigious universities (like Caltech or Columbia) even when they would have not qualified for admission/financial aid as first-year applicants. </p>
<p>For example, the 3+2 engineering program between Bryn Mawr and Caltech used to be very popular among international students back when Caltech still guaranteed financial aid to international 3+2 students. (Caltech recently cut funding for international 3+2 students though…) Domestic students who want to go into engineering usually go straight to an engineering school.</p>
<p>I dont know whether or not Richmond has a 3-2 engineering program and you can contact their admissions office for more information on it. I do however know that their computer science department is pretty good. For liberal arts colleges with a good engineering program I would recommend Swarthmore and Harvey mudd although they are not the most generous in as far as financial aid to international students is concerned. See for us internationals its all amounts to how much we can contribute to our education. The more financial aid you require the more constricted your options are.</p>
<p>:) I’m male; so looks like Bryn Mawr is out of the picture.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>But won’t engineering colleges have better programs and exposure, or would i get the same at a liberal arts college?
Also, are there any of those established programs left; that you can recommend?</p>
<p>Could you provide me with the link to that post - where you explain the was you went about choosing your college? Or, at least provide a small walk-through?</p>
<p>@huss182 -</p>
<p>Thanks! I’ll look into that!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>How much aid had you requested and what was the actual COA?</p>
<p>All the schools that accepted me gave me full financial aid. Actually I asked for full aid because my EFC is zero and my parents cannot even afford the air ticket. But I chose Williams over Richmond becauase it was one of my top choice schools. Being from India, I imagine its much more competitive to get into an Ivy or a top LAC so you should really work on your SATs, essays and overall application to give yourself a decent chance.
Good Luck:)</p>
<p>@huss182 -
Could you give me an overview of the ECs you had?</p>
<p>What type of ECs are expected at mid-level vs top tier colleges? Do really good LORs and essays help you get past a slightly-less-than-US-4.0GPA-ivy-students EC list and improve your chances of admissions? What else can I do to improve chances of getting better FA at better colleges? Like, for example, what exactly did you do?</p>
<p>@arvindch-
–What type of ECs are expected at mid-level vs top tier colleges?
I did not have any mind blowing ECs just chaired a few clubs and was the captain of our soccer team. However, I have a passion for community service and I made sure my essay and short answer questions showed this. What I wouuld advice you is to make sure your application has an identity. Remember its not how many ECs you have but the weight of said ECs on your application. A few solid Ecs invaribly have a greater impact on your application than a dozen or so superfluous ones.</p>
<p>–Do really good LORs and essays help you get past a slightly-less-than-US-4.0GPA-ivy-students EC list and improve your chances of admissions? I think Essays can only do so much in making up for a less than impressive gpa. You should really work on your test scores and other academic avenues to demonstrate that you can handle the rigor of the curriculum at the top schools.</p>
<p>–What else can I do to improve chances of getting better FA at better colleges? - Nothing. Need-based financial aid is awarded on the basis of need. The colleges calculate how much your parents can contribute through the financial aid forms you submit with your application.
Hope this helps:)</p>
<p>How much would ~10 years of Karate, resulting in a Black Belt, add to my EC, even though I haven’t won any prizes as such, since I was doing it only to learn self-defence?
Also, would the fact that I actively participate on Quora ( a knowledge forum) and a blog on Wordpress, help in any way? I also won in many debates and topical speaking competitions, though nothing national. I won over a 3month period for an international Spelling Bee.
[Though I understand you can only speculate. :)]</p>
<p>I meant I don’t have a perfect 4.0; rather I have 3.8+</p>
<p>What are scholarships like? Are they awarded to everyone who meets a certain requirement or are they selective, again?</p>
<p>The key is to sell yourself to the school. So look at the ECs that portray you in the best possible way. Those are really great ECs you listed so yes, they will definitely boost your chances.
I think your gpa is fine. I do not quite comprehend your last question. Do you mean merit scholarships? I think the person who can sufficiently answer most of your questions is your guidance counselor or admissions representative from your region who can tell which schools you should apply to. But remember that for internationals applying for financial aid there is no such thing as a safety school.</p>
<p>Yeah, I meant merit scholarships. Any idea?</p>
<p>Hmm. Understood. Though, since you managed to get into Williams with a 0 EFC ( though, mine is definitely not that low, so I’ll have to pay more ), what are some other colleges you would recommend for an engineering degree ( also, that is the degree you are going to pursue right?), at low costs?</p>