<p>I'm pretty new to this forum. I'm an Indian living in New Delhi and my dream is to get into U.S. for Aerospace engineering (Aeronautics) :) I'm currently in Class XII and I wanted to ask the people on this forum (as everybody seems so helpful) about my chances at some certain universities with enough aid to bring the total annual cost down to a maximum of about $16,000. My academic credentials are as follows :</p>
<p>SAT I score (2nd attempt) - 2060 (690 CR ; 680 Math ; 690 Writing)
SAT I score (1st attempt) - 1920 (630 CR ; 660 Math ; 630 Writing)</p>
<p>My ECAs are as follows :</p>
<p>-Member of Debate Society - 6 debates till now (2nd position in one, qualified preliminary rounds of 2)
-Model United Nations - 1 MUN - Best Position paper award (National level)
-Member of Environment Council
-Almost 2 years of dance at DanceworX - contemporary jazz/ballet (have done 3 stage shows)
-Community Service - teaching Underprivileged kids - about 20 hrs.</p>
<p>Academics
-Scholar badge holder for year 2009 - 2010 (Class X) and 2010-2011 (Class XI)
-Class IX Aggregate - 79%
-Class X Board GPA - 9.2/10
-Class XI percentage - 80% (9th in class)</p>
<p>The colleges I plan to apply to are :
1) Purdue
2) UT Austin
3) Texas A&M
4) Univ. Of Minnesota - Twin Cities
5) Arizona SU
6) Univ. of Arizona
7) Ohio SU - Columbus
8) Georgia Tech.
9) Illinois Institute of technology - Chicago</p>
<p>Any advice or any response about my chances at the universities above (with aid) will be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot guys ! :)</p>
<p>Really? That’s great. But since he worked with NASA, I’m assuming he chose astronautics and not aeronautics?</p>
<p>Also, guys. Thanks a lot for the replies but I also wanted to know if I have a good chance at the financial aid as mentioned in the 1st post. (I’m an international) Thank you so much :)</p>
<p>It doesn’t hurt to dream! And in this case, you are not dreaming too high.
You seem to be a good match for all of these schools, and many of them will probably be good chances (I put all of them in the “possible” to “likely” category).</p>
<p>As for financial aid, it may be a little tougher. I don’t think any of these institutions are need-blind to international applicants. If you are a solid applicant, of course, they will let you in. But if you happen to be borderline in the applicant pool, then they will likely factor in your ability to pay. </p>
<p>With the exception of IIT, all of the universities you listed are state universities, and very few of them offer significant financial aid to international students. State universities reserve the vast majority of their available aid for residents of the state they serve.</p>
<p>To be blunt, if you can only afford $16,000 per year, you need to take all of those state schools off your list. You won’t be able to afford them.</p>
<p>These are terms to categorize the level of difficulty an applicant has in getting into a particular school. A “reach” means that the applicant’s academics are lower than the middle 50% (or the average), or that the school is so competitive that admission is nowhere near guaranteed. For example, all of the Ivy League schools are “reaches,” and a few other schools, such as Stanford and Duke, are also reaches, simply because they are so competitive!</p>
<p>A “safety” school is one that you will likely be admitted to. Your academics are far above the average of the applicant pool (and in some cases, the class profiles). There’s also the “financial safety.” In the event that you do not receive any financial aid, you will still be able to attend this school by paying full tuition. I don’t think any US school is a financial safety for you, unfortunately, desidreams.</p>
<p>@Desidreams: That’s for you to figure out! It’s your college research process.
You also have to factor in your preferences. Do you want to go to a public or private university? Private is usually more generous with financial aid.
Small school, big school? Nice campus, or “I don’t care what the campus looks like”? Good food? What clubs? etc. Do you want to go to a school with a moderate international population?</p>
<p>What part of the country do you want to go to? That’s a first step.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t like using the word “safety” to categorize a particular set of schools. It connotes bad feelings, as if you don’t want to go that school, a “last resort,” if you will.
It’s hard to say which schools are safeties for you because you are an international applicant.</p>
<p>St. Louis University is somewhere between a likely to possible. I really don’t know about financial aid, though, but if it’s a school you absolutely love and wish to attend, then it’ll likely accept you.</p>
<p>There’s this [horrible] thing called “demonstrated interest.” Some colleges that fall between the uber competitive to “magic formula” ones keep track of this interest. So if you keep in regular contact with the school by attending conventions, presentations, visiting campus, etc., then you’ll solidify your relationship with it. It’s safe to say that St. Louis also values demonstrated interest. It’s a little difficult to say for international applicants, though.</p>
<p>There is no such thing as a financial safety for international students. Very few schools guarantee to meet need for international applicants, and those that do are extremely selective.</p>
</p>
But since he worked with NASA, I’m assuming he chose astronautics and not aeronautics?</p>