<p>i honestly cant thank you all enough, you have given me so much more help then any other person could have at this point as im sure you all are very experienced when dealing with such issues, unlike my parents or any one i know around here who knows very little about American colleges. Again i will def. take all of your comments into account... you have put me at ease quite a bit and i don't feel so lost and confused any more
CHEERS!</p>
<p>one last q is colgate realistic for me?</p>
<p>Elodie--The SAT scores for accepted Colgate students last year for the middle 50% were 650-730V and 660-740M, so I think that you would want to improve your SAT scores by at least 100 points to feel more confident. The GPA was an average of 3.69. </p>
<p>Although, I think that you have the stats and ecs to be of great interest to Colgate, last year, they received 739 applications from international students and they only accepted 91--this is a much lower acceptance rate than for American students and so I agree with other posters that if you're interested, you should start a dialogue with the admissions office--ask about aid, about sports, about international students, etc. Also, remember that Colgate, while a great school, is very isolated--it might not be the right fit for you.</p>
<p>One additional warning about Colgate - they are NOT need blind for international students. That means they do consider need when looking at applicants. They also do not guarantee to meet the financial aid needs of accepted international students. They warn on their web site that only a few of the most qualified international students receive substantial aid. Based on the experiences of international students that have been members here at CC over the past few years, (granted not a scientific sample), I do not consider Colgate to be generous in terms of aid for international students, unless your stats are at or above their 75th percentile.
<a href="http://www.colgate.edu/desktopdefault1.aspx?tabid=1275%5B/url%5D">http://www.colgate.edu/desktopdefault1.aspx?tabid=1275</a></p>
<p>Swarthmore might be a good choice for you. It is a very selective LAC (same as Williams) in a suburb of Philadelphia. It is not big on sports, but you'll have a greater chance to get on the team there. They give some fin.aid to internationals, though they are not need-blind. Your background will definitely be a "hook" at Swarthmore. Their poli/sci dept is very strong.</p>
<p>Carolyn--you're right about Colgate not being need-blind for international students (in fact I'm not sure they're 100% need blind for US students either). However, on a website for international students, <a href="http://www.internationalstudent.com%5B/url%5D">www.internationalstudent.com</a>, they are listed as giving aid to 103 of 112 international students (don't know if that number is total international students who requested aid or what) with an average package of $30,656, which is quite generous.</p>
<p>Hmmm...Colgate's own released information says the average award for all students is only $23,000, including loans. I have written to the Colgate financial aid department to see if they can provide specific numbers for internationals. I don't often trust what is on the web unless I can find the same number in the school's own information. So, hopefully we will have the answer in a bit if they reply.</p>
<p>Finally heard back from Colgate - here is what they said about international financial aid:
We are able to fund about 25 international students each year. We meet full need of accepted students. However, we have nearly 900 international applicants for aid. Admission is highly competitive for international students.</p>
<p>If the ballet thing is strong enough to merit writing about as your college essay, frankly, I don't think any of the schools mentioned, other than the women's colleges, and, maybe, Yale, is likely to fit the bill of having 1) strong international relations/government programs (including strong language programs - some of the best LACs are rather weak in that department; 2) strong dance programs, including ballet; and 3) access to major cities, and/or towns that are not isolated. Wellesley, Smith, Mount Holyoke (though it is a little out of the ways from Northampton), and Bryn Mawr are likely to meet all three qualifications; Colgate, Williams, Lawrence, etc. will not. </p>
<p>The need-blind thing (which actually doesn't exist) will be irrelevant - if the school wants you, they'll find a way. If they don't, it won't make any difference.</p>
<p>I should have mentioned - perhaps good or better than the others might be Scripps! Fine dance department, center of the Institute for the European Union, access to L.A., terrific languages, and government that has access to the terrific offerings at Claremont-McKenna.</p>
<p>i have dance for a long time now, but its nothing i want to persue as a career...its merely a hobby really and surly ill fnd some academy close by where i can continue... Besides isnt dancing for such a long time like someone who plays piano or smthing... I would think colleges would look at it as something that shows dedication and persistance...The only reason id write about it in an essay is because of te many things i learned from ballet.. regardless of simply dancing i learned a lot more about my abilities as a person and the way one can express themselves so greatly without a single word ( hence the choreography)</p>