So over the past summer, I met a 17-year-old in a village in Tanzania that wants to attend college in the United States (Sewanee to be exact).
He told me over Facebook that his father can’t afford to pay for his education but that he was not going to give up on his hopes of going to Sewanee. I don’t know his exact grades—or how their grading scale works—but I’m under the impression that he is in good academic standing, and I know for a fact that he works hard.
Does anybody know of any other colleges or universities that will be likely to give financial aid to a student like this?
Are there any specific organizations that give scholarships to international students?
I figured that I might as well post this information on here. I’d really like to help him out. He is a great guy and he really values his education.
There are good and generous scholarships at many schools…and even for international students. Those tippy top schools guarantee to meet full need for all…but that doesn’t mean that full need financial aid isn’t given anywhere else.
There are even full scholarships at some community colleges.
This student needs to know which schools give aid to international students…because some don’t…at all.
We don’t know enough about this student to even guess. It’s very possible that he is a top student…and certainly would bring geographic diversity to some college campus.
As I said…we don’t have enough information to provide specific examples…because we don’t know enough about the OP…has he taken the SAT or ACT…and why are his scores? The OP already said he knew nothing about his grades.
For example…if this kiddo,was a NMS winner…he would have a very fine financial aid package at University of Alabama. He might qualify at Ole Miss.
He might be a fabulous student who could get admitted to a top school…as you have suggested…with lots of need based aid…if he has financial need.
And this is on the sewanee website.
So he might hit the jackpot and get a full ride at Sewanee.
A family from Tanzania probably makes about $1,000 A YEAR. $10,000 is an unfathomable amount. @randomstudent789:
You can help this young man in several ways
start organizing fundraisers in your church community as well as town. Make a collection box for a coat, mittens, scarf, socks, sweaters. (If the wrong size there are certainly international students at a nearby college who will welcome the help - ask their international student and scholar office.)
This student is going to need a lot of help to buy books and airfare, plus clothes, bedding and towels, desk lamp, rug, slippers, notebooks, etc. Some can be collected ahead of time, some will need to be purchased when he arrives.
He wont be able to go home for the holidays. Having a “church family” and “host families” who can take him in at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and spring break will mean a world of difference as the college may well close then and he’d be all alone without shelter.
In addition, having the support of a church community or community in general will help him secure a visa.
contact him and tell him to study using Khan Academy on his phone. He’ll need to score as high as he can. Passing the 1,000 point mark is the first hurdle. He shouldn’t take the SAT until he has discerned the patterns and scores over that, preferably in the 1,100-1,200 range. (Scores are viewed within context.)
Check with educationUSA/Africa to see if they have fee waivers for the SAT. If not, explain to the young man you’ll help raise funds to pay the registration fees if he finds a way to get to the testing site, food and water for the trip, and identification (none of which are likely easy from a Tanzanian town).
tell him international students in his situation must apply to 15-20 colleges. He cannot just apply to Sewanee. Send him a Princeton review’s best colleges. Have him focus on top LACs (provide him the names) plus colleges such as Earlham and Babson. There’s also a MasterCard Scholarship program for African students. Tell him people on this site can review his essays.
what were his OLevels/GCSE results? Is he enrolled in secondary school and what sort of exam is he preparing? How does he rank compared to his entire grade/year in school?
you may want to read the memoir I will always write back.