Well to be fair, OP said it was a cheerleading post, and I believe her.
@SaifoSehamy is that correct that internationals NOT needing aid have a 40% admit rate? I’ve never heard anyone say that before. (Or do you mean among ALL US schools, not just the top 20 or so?)
Thanks @SaifoSehamy that was what I wanted to express. Was the message delivered with a bit of excessive enthusiasm? Sure. But I expressed it in a way that I would have responded positively to. People are different, and they respond differently to different types of delivery.
If most people dont find this useful, thats okay. Obviously there are people who do understand where Im coming from.
And i never said it was a cheerleading post (?) but if by cheerleading you mean encouraging and optimistic, I’ll take it.
Senior, your enthusiasm is wonderful and congrats on your terrific admissions results.
To the rest of the world reading this- you need a back up plan. The probability that you will be admitted to a college in the US with enough aid to attend is very, very small. You should go in to the process with both eyes open, and recognize that if you want a university education, you need an option in your home country in addition to whatever international aspirations you might have.
The pot of money is finite. The number of colleges which will admit you without regard to your family’s finances is very small AND those colleges are highly competitive anyway, even without the financial angle. And most of the colleges in the US which are happy to have foreign students and will accept you, are going to give you a small amount of aid which your family is going to find highly inadequate once travel costs, health insurance, etc. are factored in. You cannot land at an airport in the US with a student visa and “figure out the financing” once you get here. You won’t be getting that visa unless you can demonstrate how you are paying for your degree.
So sure- let’s celebrate with the OP. But everyone else- you need a backup plan.
@seniorburnout Yes, that is what I meant.
@seniorburnout hello!, I’m almost in the same circumstances, I have a strong academics, but not amazing extracurriculars, and my financial situation it’s terrible compared to the US economy (its currency is too strong right now) I
I also have some questions about how you did in your applications:
Sorry if I’m going too personal, I hope you don’t mind answering, Thanks.
@blossom I think that’s pretty obvious, every international has or must have a back up plan, but as the OP says, it’s worth the try.
@Mrduque thanks for asking!
yes, I applied through the Commonapp, so all the colleges get the exact same recommendations. I asked 4 teachers for recs, so I had to choose which one to leave out for colleges that asked for a maximum of 3 recs. But yeah, they were the same to every school.
it depends on your level, but provided that you are already familiar with the material, I think that 50 days of hard work could really improve your score. That being said, I took the SAT 3 times (yikes!) and I strongly believe that the more you practice, the better you will get. Of course, once you reach the 2100 mark, its gonna be much harder. But you just gotta keep studying and eventually your score will start going up again.
So bottom line: study hard for those 50 days, but do not hesitate to take the SAT again. And remember, I might have needed more time to improve because I also had schoolwork to do, so you could potentially improve quicker (provided that you work super hard of course) and not have to take the SAT 3 times.
My dad has studied in the US with finaid, so he knew about all the opportunities i would be given if I studied in the US. So he was really cool about it and supported me through everything.
i asked for a commonapp fee waiver. Saved a ton of money. If you really think that fees would be a burden, go for it.
@seniorburnout thanks for your help, by the way, do you think that taking the SAT again in November it’s too late? And did you have to translate your recs and your transcript? If you had to of course.
Nope, its not too late. I also took it in November! I have friends that took it in January too, but at that time you will want to focus on perfecting your applications so dont do that.
My school often sends kids to the US, so teachers are familiar with how to write recommendations. They all wrote them in English. My councelor translated my transcripts. If your teachers cannot give you a recommendation in English, then you should translate it, but i have no idea how exactly you should do it. Do some research, Im sure you will find the solution. Just dont leave it till the last minute.
@seniorburnout thanks for your help and congratulations!
Thanks for this post it is very inspirational ! And congratulations ! I’m also a foreign student and I’m applying to american colleges, do you have any tips about things that you think made the difference ?
@hello_840 Hi and thank you!
Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out why they admitted me 
Personally, I was one of those “well-rounded” applicants. I didn’t have a single part of my application that was extraordinary. But, if I had to choose, I would say that it was my SAT scores and my essays.
Scores matter a lot more than we like to think, so definitely focus a lot of time and effort on your standardized tests.
And I think my essays made me stand out because they were very creative and well written.
But honestly I have no way of knowing. And there is definitely no one way to craft a good application! Each individual has different strengths and weaknesses, and colleges know that. They are not looking for people that fit into specific molds.
Sorry if this wasn’t helpful! College admissions are a mystery for everyone Honestly just do your best! That’s all that I did, and it’s all they are asking of you!
No it was helpful thank you ! What was your score on the SAT ? What subjects did you chose ?
I got a 2290 on the general SAT, 790 on Math Level 2 and 800 on Physics.
Fin aid at the elites is always pretty iffy, but if you can pay some, I believe UMinnesota and MiamiU in Ohio have merit scholarships for internationals.
Oh, and the test score-based merit awards at Alabama are open to internationals, right?
Hey senior, which books did you use for math II and Physics? I’m taking them in october so, the sooner you answer, the better, thanks.
@Mrduque I used the Barrons book for Math II and the Princeton Review book for Physics. Whenever I didn’t understand something, I just looked it up on the internet and watched a couple videos. Don’t hesitate to complement your studies with outside sources, they helped me a lot. Good Luck on your exams!
Yes I’m using Khan academy for every topic that I don’t understand, Thanks!
Hey, your post really helped calm my nerves, being an international student applying to the U.S. with financial aid as well! Can I know how long it took you to study for SAT II Math? Since you did get a 790 (wow!) You used Barrons to study for that? Also, it would be really helpful if you could share your college essay with me (if you’re comfortable doing that) - I just wanted to get an idea of what it’s actually like. Congratulations on getting into Harvard!
Also, I’m applying to UPenn as well and since you were accepted there, may I know if you were able to secure financial aid there? Did you apply to need-aware or need-blind colleges? Or both?