College Selection

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi Guys,</p>

<p>I'm an International Student, from Pakistan, and I'll be applying to college in the US this fall.</p>

<p>I took SAT 1 in January. I didn't do amazingly well (2070), so I'll be retaking it in May.
My breakdown was:-</p>

<p>CR: 750, M: 660, W: 660 (Essay:8)</p>

<p>I got 11 A's in 1 sitting in my GCE O'level Exams and have a consistent transcript, mostly A's and B's. I wanted to get suggestions about where I should apply. Obviously, this list will vary depending upon my final SAT 1 score but I've shortlisted 21 schools. What is the ideal number to apply to?</p>

<p>As far as ECs go, My list is pretty diverse. I've been doing Parliamentary Debating for the past 3 years. I've done Model UN for 2 years and have been to an International MUN. I'm the President of my school's Drama Club. I speak French, have studied at a Language Institute in Tours, France and am in the process of obtaining the DELF B1 diploma (already have the A2). I have contributed several opinion pieces to National Newspapers on a variety of social and political issues. I'll be doing two internships over the summer; One, at an International Law think tank, and the second at Pakistan's first Microfinance NGO which helps women start businesses by giving them loans.</p>

<p>This is the list:-</p>

<p>1.Harvard University
2.Princeton University
3.Yale University
4.Columbia University
5.University of Chicago
6.University of Pennsylvania
7.Northwestern University
8.Cornell University
9.Georgetown University
10.University of Virginia
11.Wake Forest University
12.University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
13.New York University
14.University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
15.Amherst College
16.Swarthmore College
17.Carleton College
18.Haverford College
19. Hamilton College
20. Macalester College
21. Lafayette College</p>

<p>Any input/comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Your list is too top-heavy with reach schools.</p>

3

<p>I agree. These schools get lots of applicants from Pakistan. Look at some non big name schools that might be eager to have representation, especially if you will be seeking financial aid.</p>

4

<p>which schools would those be? Lehigh? Rochester? Chapel Hill? UMCP?</p>

5

<p>Do you need aid? If yes a lot or a little?</p>

6

<p>Chapel Hill is very selective even for out of state American citizens; international students comprised less than 3% of a recent entering class (though I don’t know how many international applications they received). Many public universities (including Chapel Hill, Michigan, UMCP and Virginia) have no financial aid for international students.</p>

<p>Small liberal arts colleges outside the Northeast, and outside the US News top 20 (such as Macalester and Lehigh) may be fairly realistic.</p>

<p>What do you plan to study?</p>

7

<p>I want to do Law. Which is why I’m also applying to the UK, and might choose to go there if I get an offer. I know about the aid at Public Universities being minimal/non-existent for Int’l students, but I love UoM since my brother went there and I’ve visited a bunch of times. </p>

<p>So, apart from Lehigh and Macalester, how about Case Western, Rochester, Brandeis? What about Wake Forest? Do they give aid?</p>

8

<p>As far as aid goes, I depends on my parents, really. They’ve put my brothers and sisters through college at mostly full tuition (brother went to UoM, sisters went to LSE, UofT and Ohio Wesleyan). If anything, I’ll have to apply for 60-80% aid.</p>

9

<p>Lehigh, Macalester, and most other selective private schools do offer aid to international students. You can check the amounts awarded in section H6 of each school’s Common Data Set file. </p>

<p>Only 6 schools in the USA are need-blind for international students, and they are all extremely selective. Of the need-aware schools, the following are relatively generous to the internationals they admit:</p>

<p>[Top</a> 25 Financial Aid Colleges in US for International Students (Need-aware)](<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware]Top”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware)</p>

10

<p>University of Virginia, Wake Forest University, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, New York University and University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign don’t offer ANY financial aid to international students, so there’s no use in applying there (although New York University Abu Dhabi offers huge financial aid). Northwestern University, Georgetown University and Haverford College don’t fund many students either, so I wouldn’t be too sure about applying to these.
(Oh and btw do apply to Lafayette College cause I’m a current freshman there from Pakistan and I, like nearly everyone else of the approx. 150 intls here, have a full ride. I only pay for books and travel etc.)
Don’t hesitate to PM me if you have any questions about the application process, financial aid, or what college in the US for the Pakistani student is like!</p>

11

<p>International Undergraduate Scholarship</p>

<p>In an attempt to recruit the best and the brightest International Students, Ohio State has recently started to offer $5,000 annual scholarship to those who qualified.</p>

<p><a href=“http://undergrad.osu.edu/admissions/international/scholarship.html[/url]”>http://undergrad.osu.edu/admissions/international/scholarship.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>India Gateway Office</p>

<p>[Office</a> of International Affairs - India Gateway](<a href=“http://oia.osu.edu/india.html]Office”>Ohio State India Gateway | Office of International Affairs | The Ohio State University)</p>

12

<p>

</p>

<p>Do you understand that, unlike in the UK, law is not an undergraduate subject of study in the US? Many undergraduates who are interested in law school will major in political science, history, economics, English, and the like, but there is no specific undergraduate law degree. You’ll have to apply to law school separately.</p>

13

<p>Lafayette College has a Government and Law major:
[Government</a> & Law Department Lafayette College](<a href=“http://govlaw.lafayette.edu/]Government”>http://govlaw.lafayette.edu/)</p>

14

<p>yeah I know that. Although, some schools do have Pre-Law courses.</p>

15

<p>I think your list has too many reaches, and I’d say 10-12 is a good number (you’ll be dying with essays)</p>

16

<p>And btw, I will not be applying for financial aid. Does that significantly improve my chances?</p>

<p>I’ve decided to apply to around 18. It’ll probably vary depending on how many apps I end up getting done. :stuck_out_tongue: But I’m applying to Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Middlebury and WashU because they have no supplements. Dartmouth only has a peer eval. </p>

<p>My parents don’t want me to go to anywhere below NYU. </p>

<p>So I’ve cut out Lafayette,Macalester, Hamilton, Trinity, UIUC. I’ve added Berkeley and William & Mary and also cut Yale, Haverford, Georgetown, Wake Forest and UVA.</p>

17

<p>I’m hoping my final SAT score will be 2200 or more. I’m working hard on my Math timing, and it is improving. My CR score is 750+ consistently, and writing all depends on essay.</p>

18

<p>

At some schools, maybe so. Not at Dartmouth, which is need-blind. But how would you pay for those very expensive schools without aid? You had suggested you would need 60-80% aid. As I recall, you need to demonstrate an ability to pay for your schooling just to get a visa to enter the USA.</p>

<p>

What does that mean? Anywhere with a magazine ranking worse than #33?</p>

<p>

So you are making your list even more top-heavy with reach schools.</p>

19

<p>

Then I assume they (and you) are prepared for the possibility that you won’t be attending school in the US?</p>

20

<p>Have you considered UCLA or Berleley ?</p>