<p>I'm an international who is considering applying to Columbia, UPenn, Brown, Stanford, and Cornell as a transfer student. However, I'll need some financial aid to supplement my family's contribution to the cost of my education, and all these colleges state that they have limited financial aid for international transfer students. Should I apply anyway and hope that, on the very slight chance that I'm accepted by any of these institutions, I'll be awarded at least 4000 to 9000 dollars? Common sense tells me not to bother, but on the other hand, an unrealistic sense of optimism is urging me to apply. xD I'd really appreciate your opinions. Thank you. :)</p>
<p>It turns out my parents can’t afford as much as I originally thought they could. I’ll need somewhere between 20000 and 30000 dollars per year in aid from any of these institutions. Should I apply even so? Do international transfer applicants with this much need get accepted at these colleges nowadays?</p>
<p>From Penn
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<p>From Stanford</p>
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<p>From Columbia</p>
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<p>From Cornell</p>
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<p>With the exception of Cornell, your ability to pay will be a factor in admissions. One of the challenges that you will face is that schools have a limited amount of aid for international students and even less for international transfer students. Your needing 30k will not work in your favor.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input. So forget it, you say? I know you’re right. I’ve read all that before. I just can’t help thinking about the infinitesimal chance that I might actually get in to one of those colleges. xD Nonetheless, I really don’t want to spend hours on applications that most probably won’t come to anything, what with college work and the limited two months that I have till deadlines.</p>
<p>If you have great stats and achievements, especially if you’re from a country that sends few applicants, go ahead and try. You would have been far better off just needing $9K thought. Also, keep in mind it’s what the colleges think you can pay, not what your parents think. Most Americans are shocked by what colleges think they can afford, but internationals even more so because college is so much cheaper in most places. US colleges expect significant lifestyle sacrifices to pay for college. So run some calculators to see what these schools will expec.</p>
<p>Thanks, Waverly. I’m from India and attend college there, but I lived in Saudi Arabia between the ages of seven and eighteen. I went to a small U.S. high school there that really didn’t have much to offer in terms of academics and extracurricular activities, limited by its conservative location and meager funds. I have decent numbers and extracurricular achievements, but nothing stellar. </p>
<p>SAT: 2300 (CR:780 M:720 W:800)
HS GPA: I honestly don’t remember. I was valedictorian, with straight A’s except for two A-'s in art and history, and one wretched very unfair B+ in technology.
College GPA: 71.5%, but it’s tentative because the university screwed up our results. According to what I’ve heard, anything above 70% translates to a 4.00, but I’m not sure exactly how colleges in the U.S. will take it. I attend the most competitive liberal arts college in India; the highest score in class is 77%. I’m still trying to adjust to the Indian system and went through a lot of emotional stress last term; I hope to do better on my second semester exams.</p>
<p>Recommendations are going to be difficult because my teachers barely know me; neither does any college official. The relationship between teacher and pupil is quite weak in India. An assistant professor knows I’m responsible and hardworking and that I write well. Another knows I’m involved on campus and in class; she also knows that I really like her. But that’s it. And I have a feeling anyone I approach with the news that I want to transfer is going to be appalled because my college is very prestigious; no one would be able to fathom why I’d ever want to leave.</p>
<p>My principal extracurricular activities are writing and community service, especially environmental and animal activism. I spent many hours volunteering in high school as secretary of student government and as an English tutor. I also performed lead roles in a couple school productions. I served as captain for six volleyball and badminton teams throughout high school. At college, I’m the founding editor of a campus newspaper and class representative. I haven’t won significant recognition for anything except high school academics and athletics.</p>
<p>The thing is, I entered my current college choosing to study English, but one semester later, I’ve figured out it’s not what I want to major in. I’m desperate to study an environmental program like environmental science/biology/studies, earth systems, or natural resources. I would also love to complete a minor in creative/journalistic writing or communication. Unfortunately, at my current school, I have none of these options. I can’t change my course of study; even if I could, it wouldn’t make much of a difference because my college doesn’t offer any of the programs I want. To complicate things further, students can’t choose courses from varied academic spheres in the system here; we’re given a focused one-track curriculum made up almost entirely and exclusively of required courses. I can only take seven courses this year, out of which six are part of the English discipline. Because of this, I’m worried that I won’t be qualified enough to transfer to a science-centered environmental program. UPenn and Harvard have both told me that the courses I’ve had to take may not be adequate.</p>
<p>Phew! That is way too much writing, but I didn’t know how else to get all that across. With all of my background considered, do you think I should apply?</p>
<p>It turns out my parents can’t afford as much as I originally thought they could. I’ll need somewhere between 20000 and 30000 dollars per year in aid from any of these institutions</p>
<p>Aid isn’t based on what your parents are willing to pay. If you thought your parents would pay a lot more, then that suggests that your family has a good income and/or assets, but just won’t pay what you’d like them to pay. That’s not going to matter to schools. </p>
<p>You can try, but be aware that schools are often need-aware for int’l transfer students. And, schools may think your family has little need.</p>
<p>Aren’t these schools need blind covering %100 for people whose parents earn less than 60000?</p>
<p>^^^^^
Read the information above in #3</p>