hi,
I’m a student from Turkmenistan applying to BU. This university is my no 1 choice, but I can not afford the tuition, so do I have more chances to get merit-based or need-based scholarships if I apply under ED 2, or I should apply by ED 1?
As a rule, ED applicants do not have good chances for merit awards. Merit is used to tempt and get those students a college wants but likely has better choices. BU will want to “buy” away students that may have a Harvard acceptance that requires them to pay the bill fully. Money from BU would buy that Boston experience for a lot less. That’s the main purpose of merit money. With ED , you are already committed. Also , merit money is not usually awarded until late in the season when all the applications are in and the school can decide who to award the money
You also need to see if you are even eligible for the merit money as an international. Even more pressing is the fact that acceptance is not need blind for international students. If you need financial aid, your chances plummet. A school won’t waste an acceptance on you unless it is prepared to give you the money to make it possible for you to come since you can’t even get into the country without a verified plan of paying for yourself
BU does not offer much financial aid to accepted students.
Duke University, Harvard University & several LACs ( Amherst College & Grinnell College for example) do award financial aid to accepted international students who demonstrate financial need.