Do I have a chance for top 20 US universities? International student, engineering [$5-11k per year]

[mik_2]

Thank you so much for the helpful tips i will definitely try my best.

[MYOS1634]

What’s your budget (what will your parents be able to pay, each year, without taking on debt)?

Are you a boy or a girl? (Some women’s colleges have engineering)

Can you take the SAT or ACT? You’d need to practice first because the format is very different from iGCSEs. The SAT will be adaptive so it’s eally beneficial to get corrrect answers right away, and a high SAT or ACT will yield merit aid (which may or may not be sufficient depending on your financial need, so answering the 1st question is essential if you want good advice).

I would recommend Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering.

Cross out most public universities.
Once you have an ACT or SAT score you can add those offering sufficient financial aid.

You could apply to UToronto, McGill, Concordia Montreal, and other Canadian universities - depending on your financial need.

Since all 20 of you got 9’s, it means you attend an elite school (also, in US parlance since all of you got 9’s in IGCSE’s, provided all took the same number of IGCSE’s, you’re all ranked #1). How would your school rank nationally? How would “top 20” at your school compare to national rankings, ie., would being ranked #1 (alongside 19 others) be equivalent to being top1% nationally, top 0.5% nationally?

A Levels: Can you take Maths, Physics, Chemistry (if not possible: Biology or CS), and AS level English or Arabic?

Look into HarveyMudd, Olin, WPI, Union, Lafayette, Tufts, Bucknell (Smith if you’re a girl)

[Mwfan1921]

@MYOS1634

What’s your budget (what will your parents be able to pay, each year, without taking on debt)?

OP said annual budget was $5K-$11K, not sure if debt is involved to achieve those numbers or not though.

[MYOS1634]

Thanks - saw that later.

It means only public universities with full rides or full tuition with low R&B are feasible, outside of meet-need schools. Probably best bets would be Lafayette ED or similar but with straight 9’s and A/A* at A-Level the OP is definitely among top applicants academically, the issue of course is that Qatar isn’t quite EC-friendly.

[mik_2]

hello,
without debt about $5k-11k,(i know highly unlikely but if i do get into top uni then maybe a debt is worth it?)
i’m a girl
I was planing to take SAT but just checking if its worth it you know., because A-levels alone needs alot of work.
also question is there something called computer engineering in US univeristies (not computer science)?
i don’t really think my school is “elite” its just there alot of hardworking nerds lol, i also dont think that being ranked 1 in school means aything nationally because if you are top in country cambridge/edexcel sends a certificate saying that. and yes i will try my best to take maths,phy and most likely bio AL alongside AS arabic.
i’ll check out the universities you mentioned, Thanks

[mik_2]

yea unfortunatley not much opportunities are available :')

[MYOS1634]

Not that many kids from Qatar have 5-8 9’s (and here I’m assuming it’s more than 5 9’s). Not many kids have straight 9’s - for Americans: 1=US F, 2= US D, 3= US C, 4= US B-/B, 5=B/B+, 6=A-, 7=A, 8=A*, 9 is super above grade level&meeting international levels of competition. ONE 9 is - several is quite uncommon. Top students tend to have scores in the 6-7 range with a couple 8’s. A 4 is expected to continue the subject at A-Level, competitive students want 5+, and if students have a 1 in English or Maths (any level) they have to “resit” (retake) the exam.

Studying Arabic for A-Levels is only useful for US colleges if you indicate you’re interested in minoring in it.

As an international student, you’ll likely want to do an OPT (27 months where you work at a job for a US company - paid, of course) so computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or “just” CS… are all better choices than Bio-medical engineering, which has fewer positions and thus is less likely to lead to OPT.

Yes, computer engineering does exist in the US.
Some examples at colleges that may “meet need”:
https://ece.lafayette.edu/
or you could major in anything and add
https://compsci.lafayette.edu/program/minor-in-computational-methods/

Smith doesn’t have ECE but it’s got deep pockets and seeks to recruit women interested in Engineering. It’s one of the original “7 sisters”.
https://www.smith.edu/academics/engineering

computerengineeringwtdwm.pdf

https://international.unm.edu/

https://www.olin.edu/academics/majors-concentrations

Electrical and Computer Engineering - The University of Alabama in Huntsville

https://ece.utdallas.edu/admissions/undergraduate-programs/computer-engineering/
+

Eugene McDermott Scholars Program - Office of the Provost | UTD

[thumper1]

@JackH2021

They are generous with merit aid. Last year there were many posts on CC about Case awarding strong students with President’s Scholarships (merit aid) equal to 50% of tuition.

That’s not generous enough for this OP.

[mik_2]

Yea but kids from Egypt here score A* on everything loll (because to get accepted into best public unis in egypt in “high ranking” majors like med& engineering you almost need 100%) but that motivated me to work harder so thanks! Also i dont really have choice in studying AS arabic its a requirment to graduate :').
Also from what i know is that in US unis you dont choose your major on application just “preferred” is that right? Does that matter if you get admitted like can you choose another one?
Also thank you for the other info i’ll check them out.

[thumper1]

@mik_2

Also from what i know is that in US unis you dont choose your major on application just “preferred” is that right? Does that matter if you get admitted like can you choose another one?

This depends on the college. At some colleges, you apply to the specific major. At others, you can go undeclared and choose later. At some it’s VERY hard to get into some majors after you enroll.

There is no standard answer to your question.

[thumper1]

@mik_2

i still didnt write any, applying for class 2028

So does this mean you are currently a middle school student? Age 13 or so?

If so, a LOT can change between now and when you actually apply to college.

OR do you mean college graduation class of 2028? I think this is what you are saying.

You don’t have a GPA, class rank, or SAT/ACT score but you want us to chance you? This is a shot in the dark!

[Momofthree24]

@mik_2

Also from what i know is that in US unis you dont choose your major on application just “preferred” is that right? Does that matter if you get admitted like can you choose another one?

This depends on the school. Many require you to choose a major upon applying. Some do not. Transferring between majors can also be difficult depending on the school and major.

Given your financial constraints, I suggest you do a lot of research into schools that give a lot of financial aid and merit to international applicants. Good luck on your journey!

[mik_2]

i’m in grade 11 right now and my final year is grade 12 and yes i know it really isn’t much information but i just wanted to see how i’m doing so far because if i’m planing to apply to universities in USA next year then i have to prepare a lot for it, and was also checking people’s suggestions on whether i should even consider applying because my ECs are not much and i dont know if i can do more next year.

[MYOS1634]

US universities will know that options for ECs are limited for a girl in Qatar.
Anyway, EC’s can show 2 things: leadership and… institutional “usefulness” (ie., you offer sth they need: they need an oboe player and you play the oboe, they need a golf player for their team and you are a top gold player, you have lots of followers on instagram…)
Figuring out what your important EC’s are will be another step.

It doesn’t matter that the Egyptian kids in Qatar all score 9’s; what matters is that this is exceptionally impressive and certainly all students in Qatar don’t (nor anywhere else). You’ll be compared to applicants from Qatar following the British system and/or applicants from the Middle East following the British curriculum.

Engineering is a bit different: in most cases, you need to apply directly to Engineering because it’s one of the most competitive majors (with CS, Biology, and Business) and because there’s a strict curriculum.
At LACs (or universities like AU or CWRU) you can apply for anything then switch, however some majors (especially preprofessional ones) remain more competitive to get admitted to because you cannot admit everyone to the same major and there needs to be a balance throughout the college. Unfortunately, most LACs do not offer Engineering (they generally offer CS and Physics, but not Engineering. Exceptions are HarveyMudd, Smith, Union, Lafayette, Bucknell, and a few others.)
At most universities, there’s a distinct College of Engineering and you must apply directly. Some Engineering majors may be in other colleges (like Agricultural Science, Mineral Science, Information Science) but all in all you must apply to that college if you want to study Engineering, and it’s hard to switch into Engineering if you applied for another major (sometimes it’s impossible because the criteria are different depending on the college or the major). It is, however, generally possible to switch out of Engineering into another major. The issue is that engineering tends to be common at large public universities with many colleges and public universities that are most well-known for engineering, like UCB, Georgia Tech, Purdue… do not offer financial aid to internationals - they already attract all the full-pay internationals they want and their mission isn’t to serve the world, but to serve their state, then, second, to serve the US. Highly selective private universities from Vanderbilt to Stanford to Yale, Dartmouth, and Northwestern see themselves competing on a global scale and will offer financial aid to internationals AND engineering, but the top students from the entire world apply there.
You see the conundrum.
What you’ve got going for you is that you’re a girl (not that common in Engineering) and from the Middle East to boot (lots of boys from the Middle East, fewer girls), and your string of 9s makes it clear you’re a top student academically.
Taking the SAT should help you if you get a super high score (we’e talking 1480-1500…) because it also opens universities that offer merit aid. In your case you’d need at least a full tuition scholarship at a university located in a low cost of living area, or, more likely, a full ride, which on merit has become almost impossible to get since many universities that offered these full rides 10 years ago stopped doing so.
So you’ll need to think carefully as to why engineering, what your plan B would be, whether you can afford to take the SAT or ACT (and if you register for a date, make sure to practice, practice, practice beforehand because a standardized test tests how familiar you are with its standardized features&format), whether you could consider another country…
BTW, would NYU Abu Dhabi be a possibility for you?

[Techno13]

I second Smith College (if you do not identify as male). They have Engineering and are always trying to expand diversity. I do not know if they are need blind for international but they meet full need. Very very few schools are need-blind for international students (Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, etc.) Public schools are unlikely to meet your need.

[thumper1]

@Techno13

I do not know if they are need blind for international but they meet full need.

Smith is need aware for international students.