Georgia (the country, I believe it’s underrepresented)
A competitive STEM high-school (one of the best in country)
Gender/Race/Ethnicity : Caucasian male
Special factors: Getting a green card next summer. Had to take a gap year because of this.
Intended Major(s)
Computer Science, Econ
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA: 4.0
Weighted HS GPA: My school does not do unweighted
Class Rank: School does not do class ranks.
ACT/SAT Scores: 1590 SAT (790 EBRW, 800 Math)
TOEFL: 117
Coursework
My school does not have AP/IB. I do not know how this system works and what I should report.
But, the classes are generally advanced in my school.
Awards
1)National champion in my native language Olympiad (writing, basically). (Top 10 Nationwide)
2)2x finalist in Math Olympiad (Top 50 nationwide) + once qualified for final but was not held due to covid.
3)Gold medal recipient for great academic performance during 10th, 11th and 12th grades. (Highest high-school honor)
4)Presidential gift recipient for great academic performance during 7th, 8th and 9th grade.
Extracurriculars
junior web developer at a local organization.
social media manager, translator and organizer at an annual robotics event/organization.
3)attended a summer camp with Olympiad finalists.
4)co-founded an intellectual event at school. (What? When? Where?)
small amount of volunteer hours at my school and a separate organization.
participant in various political model activities.
school events organizer.
8)tutor for free (generally relatives / siblings)
9)Member of the American Corner in my city.
Essays/LORs/Other
Working on my essays but they are turning out great. Both of my LORs should be decent, teachers know me well and like me.
Cost Constraints / Budget
Low EFC, 5-10k. Need full aid basically.
Schools
Safety: Don’t think I have one.
Likely: Macalester EA, Reed EA
Match: Colgate ED, Lafayette College, Lehigh
Reach: Amherst ED (have not decided where to ED yet). UChicago EA, T20s RD.
yes, it does, because getting sufficient FA (a full ride) as an international is even harder than as a DACA kid… whereas, with a green card, you’re a domestic applicant, so your stats are what will be used primarily, not your financial need.
As an international student needing aid every college should be considered a reach. Certainly apply and give it your all but be sure to seek out some affordable options in your home country as well.
If the green card is expected for the summer, this student could have their I551 in early 2022 and thus legally be in the US then.
They should apply wherever they want with a note indicating their green card timeline, but because the odds are so astronomically low for any international student who needs a full ride whereas this OPs stats would provide them with 1 pretty decent chance at the colleges listed as safety and match, either waiting for the I551 or emailing Admissions at each college to see whether they allow a change of status from international to domestic in the middle of the application cycle, is the safest and likeliest path to admission.
Aside from what everybody else wrote, I’ll add that, if you want to apply ED, than Amherst is likely the best choice, if you are interested in attending a small rural liberal arts college. Amherst is one of the very few colleges which are need blind for international students. None of the other LACs on your list are, and most are not full need met, so they are likely not even affordable if you are accepted.
I will still repeat, that all colleges are reaches if you need financial aid. So you have to convince them not only to accept you, but to pay for you. Your profile is great, so you have a chance, but it’s only a chance. Nothing is even a match - you just have reaches.
Thank you for your replies. I know its really difficult, but I’ll give it my all Whatever happens, I’ll probably just miss another year. I’ve emailed the admissions officers of the colleges that I’m interested in. All of them told me to notify them after my status changes, nothing more.
Take a look at Grinnell, which offers an excellent computer science department and which tends to support international students through its robust financial aid funds.
Yes. And I think the degree to which you might succeed could depend on the level to which you research and understand these schools. If, along with computer science and economics (and, presumably, math), you would like to study broadly across areas such as classics/philosophy, religious studies, history, political theory, literature, geosciences, astronomy and visual art (or across another array of diverse fields, suited to your own interests), these schools could make great fits for you. The key would be to express this through your applications. A desire to study in proximity to nature also would suit you for these types of schools.
Does this post still apply to me? Is it not worth applying?
