Early Decision at Connecticut/Grinnell/Vassar/Davidson/Reed/Oberlin as an International Applicant

College Search & Selection
1

Greetings!

I am a high school graduate from Bangladesh and currently I am in a gap year. I am considering the colleges mentioned in the title for applying in Early Decision for the Fall of 2019.

My SAT score is 1500 and I am planning to take it again this October. Besides, I have a perfect score in Math II-C and 700+ scores in Physics and Chemistry. I am still undecided about my major, but I lean more towards psychology, social science, and creative writing. I have a few literary publications, two national level achievements in writing, and an international essay writing prize. Aside from these, I was involved in the student government in my high school and worked as a peer counselor.

My EFC is less than $3000 per year and I haven’t been able to manage any outside scholarship to finance my education yet. Considering my profile and the fact that I need almost a full-ride scholarship to enroll in any US college, can anyone please help me to sort out which of the aforementioned colleges will be the most convenient one for me to apply in Early Decision? A comprehensive analysis for your opinion is much appreciated and you can suggest any other LAC if you feel so.

P.S.- Don’t suggest me the Ivies and their ilk, as well as the LACs like Amherst, Williams, Colby, Colgate and so on, who are well-known for providing substantial amount of aids to the ones they accept. I am quite drawn towards the type of LACs I have already mentioned above.

2

While I also like the schools you list, I think you should pursue Vassar ED. They are very generous. Not sure about the situation of International Student aid, but get on their website: They have a head of International Admissions who has been doing it for decades. Contact him.

3

Vassar might land as both the most literary (http://flavorwire.com/409437/the-25-most-literary-colleges-in-america/) and strongest in social sciences school from your group, and could make an appropriate ED choice.

As additional suggestions, Kenyon and Oberlin would seem to fit your indicated preferences.

4

I looked him up for you: Andrew Meade.

My previous comment is just my opinion based on your inquiry.

5

The feel of the schools you list are very different. If you don’t like the feel of Williams or Colgate, I’m not sure that Connecticut College or Davidson would appeal to you.

Have you looked at Kenyon College? It’s renowned for its writing program. Of the other schools you listed, Grinnell and Vassar seem like strong choices for your interests but I genuinely have no idea how the ED for internationals plays out at any of these schools.

6

Congratulations on your academic success!

These are all great LACs. Do you have any other considerations for the college that are important to you? For example, % of international students, weather, urban vs. less urban, overall campus culture?

From this list, Grinnell is seeking to expand the number of international students to 20% (I think it’s at 17% now) and has a very large endowment and generous financial aid. It’s location is pretty isolated but it’s a great college.

I’m sorry I don’t know a lot about international admissions, but hopefully others can provide you additional information.

7

in my, perhaps slightly biased, opinion, i think you should choose grinnell. here’s why:

a.) psychology at grinnell is treated as a hard science (like chemistry, biology, etc.) instead of a social science. you’ll be participating in labs and gaining hands-on experience just like any other science major.
b.) grinnell’s facilities really can’t be beaten. they’re constructing a new humanities and social sciences building that’ll be complete next year (by the time you’d get there), and it’s stunning.
c.) with it’s $1.8B endowment, that makes it the fifth wealthiest liberal arts college in the nation, right behind williams, amherst, pomona, and swarthmore, and they know how to use the money. the financial aid is great, and 90%+ of the student body receives some form of financial assistance while attending the school. going to grinnell is significantly cheaper than attending my in-state flagship university, and i know a ton of kids in my incoming class who are in the same boat.

a few other little things:

d.) the open curriculum is fantastic if you want to double major.
e.) the international student population is pretty sizeable for a school its size. (it’s probably like this at every other college, but i was, and still am, shocked at just how many international students are in my incoming class.)
f.) the male:female ratio is fairly balanced with it being 45/55. (conn’s is 30/70, and vassar’s is something like 40/60 or 35/65, i can’t remember.)

i was stuck between choosing grinnell or vassar for my early decision application, and i ended up choosing grinnell because there was just something about the school i felt drawn to. i couldn’t, and still can’t, really explain the feeling, lmao.

as mentioned before, kenyon’s writing program is easily one of the best in the country. do more research on grinnell, vassar, davidson, and kenyon, and go from there. the biggest difference between the schools will be their environments. see which school’s appeals to you more.

8

I’m a fan of Grinnell. My D applied and they surprised her with an “early write”. She visited and her host was a wonderful international student. There is some good information around CC about them and on their website. The study abroad and internship program was very good in that you can choose one of theirs or find one even if it is unpaid, they will not only pay you, but also help those students who need $ for living expenses/stipend if I remember correctly. I also read that they do a good job of bring people/speakers/entertainment to the campus as they understand the location be lacking.

The endowment is not only top notch, but all signs point to they are spending it on their students.
You sound wise in your approach and I wish you the very best outcome.

9

The most important factor will be whether a school meets full need for international students, and that is a very short list.

10

@BD2023, Purely from the point of view of which college you will most likely be accepted to with substantial aid, I would have to choose Grinnell.

According to their 2016-17 CDS their first year class is 23% non-resident aliens, and 73% of their total internationals receive some sort of financial aid. (I wasn’t able to find the 2017-18 CDS.)

Aside from that I would Grinnell is a great all around choice for academics, for friendly culture and for an outsized endowment… We don’t know how many international applied or how many were accepted, but my guess is that because of its rural midwestern locale it’s not too popular among South Asians. Just speculation.

Among the others, it’s a toss up. Oberlin and Reed enrolled the highest percentage of internationals, but Reed percentage of aid given is only 32% and Oberlin (for some reason) didn’t post this information in their CDS.

I would recommend Dickinson which has strong academics and one of the highest percentages of enrolled internationals and one of the highest percentages of internationals receiving aid. Also Mt. Holyoke if you are female.

Here are the figures if you’re interested. The first percentage is the number of internationals enrolled against the total first year class. The second percentage is the number of internationals receiving aid against the total of internationals enrolled. I included Kenyon since several people mentioned it, and Dickinson and Holyoke because they are highly international friendly.

Conn College* 38 / 444 8.5% Aid 84/133 63%
Grinnell 97 / 414 23% Aid 222/304 73% (2015-1016)
Vassar* 47 / 624 7.5% Aid 77/192 40%
Davidson* 31 / 519 6% Aid 60/122 49%
Reed* 61 / 411 15% Aid 47/146 32%
Oberlin* 85 / 728 12% Aid NA /289 NA
Kenyon* 36 / 453 8% Aid 57/94 61%
Dickinson* 99 / 607 16% Aid 211/295 71.5%
Mt Holyoke* 151 / 529 28.5% Aid 322/605 53%

11

Thank you for your recommendations, @momrath . FYI, I am a male applicant.

Regarding the financial aid for international students at Oberlin College, they claim that more than 80% of their international students receive average aid covering almost 75% of their total cost of attendance.
(Link: https://www.oberlin.edu/admissions-and-aid/financial-aid/applying-aid-international-students)

12

There’s something wrong with that 80% number. According to their 2017 CDS a total of 289 non-resident aliens were enrolled. Oberlin omitted the total number of non-resident aliens that received aid, but they state that they spent $5.7 million on international aid, averaging $36,672 per student.

80% of 289 = 231 x $36,672 would come to $8.5 million. Working backwards if the total was $5.7 million and the average was $36,762, then 156 or 55% received aid. That would be consistent with their 2016 figures too.

I don’t have anything against Oberlin and 55-60% is still a good number for internationals receiving aid, but if you’re thinking about making them your ED choice you should ask them to clarify.

I’ve been studying admission rates and financial aid for internationals for some time now and all I can say is that the information is frustratingly opaque making it difficult for international families to understand their real chances.

13

@momrath, thanks again. Your info has been quite helpful! Could you please give brief insights about the overall financial aid scenario for international students of these colleges too — Carleton, Hamilton, Lafayatte, Lehigh, F&M, and Macalester?

Also, it would be great if you could provide me with more information regarding Dickinson College. As you recommended, I researched a bit about it but couldn’t find much. It appeared to me that Dickinson is not committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated needs for international students. Is it so?

14

You will find all of this data about non-resident aliens on each college’s common data set, which is usually posted on the college’s website. Unfortunately, very few colleges share more detailed information like how many internationals applied and how many were accepted, with and without aid, so we don’t have black and white admit rates.

I don’t know much about Dickinson except what I’ve learned from students and parents on CC who are very enthusiastic about its academics and international focus. I’d suggest that you post your questions on this board:http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/dickinson-college/

15

Can anyone please clarify whether Connecticut College is considered on par with Grinnell or Vassar in terms of academic reputation?

Also, what does the social life at Connecticut College look like?

16

As a general source for ideas, the Kenyon College overlap schools tend to represent good choices for students with your expressed interests:

Oberlin College
Middlebury College
Brown University
Wesleyan University
Carleton College
Grinnell College
Bowdoin College
Colby College
Yale University
Vassar College

Hamilton College
University of Chicago
Amherst College
Williams College
Bates College
Denison University
Tufts University
Macalester College
Haverford College
Swarthmore College

https://www.kenyon.edu/admissions-aid/admissions-statistics/

17

@momrath, I have done a bit research based on the data you provided in #9. Although Grinnell College has the highest percentage of ‘‘non-resident aliens’’ receiving aid against the total number of them enrolled, its average financial aid package for them is around 36.5k per year, which is the lowest among the other schools mentioned in your list. Any say about that? Considering my need for almost a fullride scholarship, would Grinnell still be a better option for me?

18

@BD2023, International admissions is more of an art than a science, but for sure it’s not random. Colleges start with a general target percentage of international students to the total undergraduate student body. Then they come up with a dollar figure of how much they want to budget to support those students. The admissions committee works within these parameters. They have a general idea of how many students they need to admit to get to the their target yield. They then balance need aid and full pay applications, and hopefully get close to their targeted percentage and dollars. They are professionals and are good at their jobs.

Internationalal figures are fluid and can change up or down, by accident (over or underestimating the yield) or by policy change (desire to enroll more internationals). Right now many LACs are actively recruiting internationals, both full pay and those that need aid. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the number of applications that LACs receive from internationals is skyrocketing, so there’s more competition.

The other factors that come into play are 1) if the college guarantees to meet demonstrated need for internationals and 2) what “demonstrated need” actually means for you, personally.

I’ve listed below a few examples of the total amount of financial aid paid to internationals per year. I believe this figure would include both need and merit aid if both are offered.

You can see that Grinnell is near the top of the list which demonstrates a commitment to recruit and fund internationals. Macalester and Dickinson are up there as well, as are some of the women’s colleges.

You can drive yourself crazy trying to make sense of all this data. It’s like a Rubik’s cube of interlocking factors. I think overall your chances of getting admitted to Grinnell with sufficient aid are high, but of course there’s no guarantee. Grinnell has a very high standard of academics. It offers sophisticated and welcoming environment in the heart of America. As with all LACs, your application will need to reflect why you want to go to Grinnell and what you can offer to the campus community.

I believe Grinnell will meet full demonstrated need for internationals, but you should confirm that. Whether the amount that Grinnell determines that you need matches the amount that you really need is between you and Grinnell. You should make contact with the financial aid department and find out.

Total financial aid awarded to non-resident aliens (2017-18 CDS)
Macalester USD11.3 Million
Mt. Holyoke 10.5
Amherst 9.1
Smith 8.6
Grinnell 8.1 (2016-2017)
Dickinson 7.7
Bryn Mawr 6.4
Wesleyan 6.0
Williams 5.8
Oberlin 5.7
Wellesley 5.5
Vassar 4.7
Pomona 4.4
Swarthmore 4.1
Conn College 4.1
Hamilton 3.2
Kenyon 3.1
Davidson 2.9
Reed 2.4
Haverford 1.5

19

A plug for Amherst #gomammoths!
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quanzhiguo/2018/07/19/only-five-u-s-colleges-are-truly-need-blind-for-international-students-here-they-are/#2ad4ed834a9a