<p>I am a Canadian student (grade 11) and I am looking to apply to American universities before the end of this year, for the Fall 2010 entry. Thing is, there is no way I'll be able to afford an American education unless it's fully paid for. I heard that a lot of people (even internationals) have received full scholarships to certain colleges. How can I ensure that I will get a free ride if I decide to go to an American university?</p>
<p>My stats (if it matters):</p>
<p>-only took a practice SAT test and got 2030
-95% average
-a TON of ec's (President of four councils, captain of three sports teams, writing a book for charity, etc.)
-many awards and an amazing internship (grade 11)</p>
<p>You cannot ensure that you get a free ride. Free rides are very uncommon, even for US citizens. At top schools (for example US News 1-20) they are extremely rare and most schools in this range do not even offer merit aid. You can try this thread for some info</p>
<p>Also look at the top of the financial aid forum for information on merit aid. You will have to make sure that any scholarships/financial aid is available to non US citizens.</p>
<p>There is no way to ensure that you, or anyone else, even an American citizen with the same amazing stats, will be granted a “free ride” through any college. And why should anyone feel that they deserve one? Money is tight, more now than at any time in the years that today’s parents of college-age kids remember, and funds earmarked for tuition assistance have to go further than ever. That will mean smaller grants to fewer kids. Don’t depend upon “what you have heard”, go out and find out for yourself.
I am not meaning to be harsh, but rather to encourage self-initiated research—if the OP or any other kid of like age, is interested in available funding for college, don’t hope for the easy way, no one is going to hand anything to you.
Make use of search engines, libraries and guidance counselors; apply for every scholarship and grant that you are qualified for, no matter how small- they add up!
When you write your application essay, describing the time and effort you put into looking to fund your education may provide some evocative food for thought…
Oh, by the way, OP- what is making you look south of the border for college? Canada has some great schools (I have a friend with dual-citizenship who chose to attend The University of Toronto because the cost was so reasonable compared to schools in the US)!</p>
<p>Unless you are so excellent in a sport that you become a recruited athlete, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll get a free ride to an American college. Such scholarships are very rare, and one has to be absolutely outstanding to get them. Even very poor students have to be outstanding academically because only places like Harvard can give students who are dirt poor the aid that they need. When it comes to merit scholarships that cover everything, those go to students who either are recruited athletes or are such outstanding students in terms of grades, scores and extracurriculars that colleges are throwing money at them to keep them from going to a highly ranked place like Harvard or Yale.</p>
<p>Hi, I don’t quite understand how you can think you can be guaranteed a full ride. I am also from Canada and yes it will be struggle but we will do whatever we can to help our D succeed at College / University. I hope you know that you can apply for the CanLearn student loans, they are not great but something is better than nothing. Rather than putting all of your dreams on a full ride why not look for schools that offer incentives to international students. Where my D is going offers her free room and board for the full 4 years. This is huge to us, yes tuition fees are high in the US (especially the big schools) but take away the room and board for 4 years and her tuition fees will be the same as if she went away in Canada and had to pay room and board plus tuition. I don’t want to shatter your dreams but my D has a 3.9 GPA, extremely active in the community, and got nothing other than the incentive. In our case the important thing was planning ahead as you seem to be trying to do and having a reality check as to where you want to go. My D is doing her a double BM at a highly respected and well known community college and hoping to do her MM at either an Ivy League or other top University. It also appears that there is a lot more grant and scholarship money available for your masters anywhere in the world. I wish you best of luck and hope that it all works out.</p>