Demographics: South Asian,Female, International student
Applying test optional, didn’t took any test
Course : Don’t have the option of taking AP or honors classes, took 13 courses in phy,chem,bio, computer science,eng,Math.(which are mandatory for all high school seniors,no option of taking courses)
GPA -5/5 unweighted, class rank 2
Eca
Volunteer tutor for 12 underprivileged students
Class representative (2year)
3.Extempore speaker and mentor for speaker team
Quiz team leader,1st position in school comp, mentored the team.
5.Excutive for online organization,received best employee
Peer tutor for 8 students
7.Collaborated with other schools on a project
Sub editor for a small magazine
Club coordinator
Virtual summer camp(nothing prestigious)
Honors
Academic award national level (top 0.0008% receive)
2.Was one of the top 15 participants in a national level leadership program
Attained position in bio Olympiad (regional)
Major - Environmental studies,Econ
EFC - very little,need full ride
Recs -8/10,knows me pretty well due to my involvement in school activities.
College list
ED in Bates college
Reach - Haverford, Kenyon college, Lehigh university, Colby college , Skidmore college, Hamilton
Target - Franklin and Marshall,Soka university of America
As an international student needing full ride for me there is so safety college. Do I have any shots of getting into these colleges? Can you suggest any other generous college for me ? Thanks in advance.
You should apply to any school that you feel may fit your needs. The issue will be if those schools can afford to provide the funding you will need to attend.
Many schools are need aware, which means that they will be AWARE of your NEED for funding. If you ask for funds to attend and, if they don’t have sufficient funding, they can and may reject you.
But, . . . . you wont know if they can or can’t fund you unless you apply.
Yes, I believe that this is correct. There is no safety in the US for an international student needing full financial aid.
You are a very strong candidate. So are most applicants to the top LACs (and the top universities) in the US.
Is some sort of test of English as a foreign language required for any of the schools that you are applying to? Alternately, have you already been studying in English?
I might be tempted to consider adding Williams College to your list, and maybe Wellesley College. Otherwise I think that you are doing very well. Whether you will be able to get full financial aid to study in the US is difficult to predict. Best wishes.
Thank you so much for your help!I am already studying in English,so no EPT for me.I am thinking about doing ED in either Bates or Washington and Lee university. I also do have some more community service that I do for my rural community (I come from a rural region but attend a boarding school). I will definitely consider those schools you suggested. Williams was in my list but it’s too selective for RD. But I will add it as it’s generous with aid. Will Washington and Lee be a good ED college for my profile?
The great thing about Washington and Lee is that it is a very wealthy school, which in my opinion is very helpful. I expect that while they will consider finances, they probably also have a larger financial aid budget from which to draw. They really value leadership as well. My son is an environmental science major, so I can speak to that program as well. Very best of luck!
Actually the only thing I am worried about W&L is their geek culture. I have read some pretty negative reviews of students who were from low income families and were POC about the fraternity and sororities being too exclusive. Can you tell me what the real picture is like ? It’s great that your son attends W&L and that too in environment science!
A few brief points: financial aid can cover Greek dues, so low income kids are not excluded because they can’t afford the dues (which can include room and board).
Because there are so many people participating, there is a spot for everyone, so no one will be completely excluded. That said one may not get their first choice, although that probably doesn’t happen that often either.
Finally, there’s a wide income range in each fraternity/sorority. Whether that bothers you or not is personal. A kid in my son’s fraternity was given a late model BMW; my son does not have a car. It does not bother him one bit. (A different son of mine WAS bothered by income disparity at one of his schools, so I am not minimizing this, it really does depend on the individual).
Personally for me , income disparity won’t bother me I believe. In my boarding school, people from different socioeconomic status comes and I have no problem in adjusting. Thanks for the detailed response.