<p>Well, I don’t know much about US-Colleges, thats why I’m here. Big Future now gives me a list with colleges who grant financial aid for internationals. You’re right, I made my list mostly out of reputation and rankings, because thats how hear about colleges. Also I know that I get accepted by the best universitys in Germany, I would even get a scholarship. In addition, I propably have to make my master back home so a well-known college would help me a lot.
I am looking for reaches, but that seems quite hard for internationals with financial need (no, my parents can’t afford 50.000+ for my education, especially when it’s free in my home country). Also, without GPA and High School Courses, most of these Chance-Calculations aren’t working. USC for example grants aid for more than 200 Internationals, also the avarage ACT is 29-33; so I thought my chances aren’t that bad there. UChicago on the other hand just provides aid for ~60 Internationals and has an ACT-mid-range of 31-34.</p>
<p>It’s good that you have an excellent safety in Germany.
If you are only applying to the US “to see”, then your list is fine. If you want to attend a good college, then you need to diversify your list. I already gave you quite a few schools to investigate (you’d really be a great “fit” for Grinnell).
You need to think of “fit”. What’s the university’s culture? Its values? What does it look for? Can you articulate how you “fit” with that culture and values, and what you would add to that?
USC gets something like 40,000 applicants and only 50 internationals get financial aid; to get it, you need to be in the 34-36 range which represents 25% applicants and be exceptional otherwise. U Chicago gets about 26,000 applications and about 20 internationals get financial aid so odds are lower but in both cases they’re really a crapshoot. Your odds are only about 1 in 10 at best. Understand it’s not 1 who’s qualified vs. 9 who aren’t. It’s more like 6 or 7 are qualified but they can only take 1. That’s where institutional need/“fit” come into play.
BTW, looking into Top 50 liberal arts colleges* as well as the top 30 national universities list would really help you find a place where “fit” is high, even among all these prestigious institutions. </p>
<ul>
<li>(in the US, LAC or Liberal Arts College means “smaller higher-level school that provides intense learning through small class discussion in many non-professional disciplines such as philosophy, economics, foreign languages, laboratory and computer sciences, visual arts, etc”)</li>
</ul>
<p>I spent the last few days thinking about my chances and reasons to study in the US and came to the following new list (again…):</p>
<p>Boston University (40%)
Cornell University (15%)
Darthmouth College (10%)
Duke University (10%)
Harvey Mudd College (10%)
Lafayette College (30%)
Stanford University (5%)
Union College (30$)
UPenn (10%)</p>
<p>Again, for Engineering (thats why e.g. Grinnel and most LACs aren’t on that list)
Besides Boston, Union and Lafayette I see my chances very slim, but maybe one is a hit (My estimated chance in brackets. I don’t really need a safety school as I’m going to apply to the two top institutes in Germany as well. Would you agree with my estimations? </p>
<p>And finaly, I have two questions left:
- Where should I apply early? I thought about Stanford or Cornell, but chances at Lafayette would be much higher of course.
- I haven’t really prepared myself for the SAT II tests yet. I’m going to take Math 2 and Biology E, both were my best courses in High School, but I still would need some time to get into the tests. Also I never used a graphical calculator before, as they aren’t allowed at my school. If I take the SAT II in November, will the results still be on time for Regular Decision (Obviously not for Early Action) or do I have to take them in October as well?</p>
<p>Thanks again very much for all your help</p>
<p>Bump 10chars</p>
<p>Your estimate for BU is a bit high, and take out 5% for Cornell and UPenn, but otherwise you’re in the right ballpark.
You should apply early to your favorite school. If Lafayette is your favorite, apply ED - remember that if they admit you (and, with ED, your odds climb to 50%) you MUST attend. I don’t think applying ED to Stanford will really change your odds drastically, so if you’re not sold on Lafayette for ED, I’d apply to Cornell ED.
And if none are your favorite, and in particular if you need financial aid, apply to all RD.
You can take the SAT in Nov and Dec and stil be on time for RD.</p>