<p>As of now, I've decided on applying to the needblind ones: Harvard / Yale / Princeton, as well as others who have aid, albeit limited: Stanford / UPenn / Columbia.</p>
<p>Are there any other universities of equal caliber which you could suggest for international aid?</p>
<ol>
<li>I'd look for 1/3rd to 1/2 aid</li>
<li>I'm also considering UT Austin and UMich</li>
</ol>
<p>no aid at ut austin</p>
<p>Thanks for that. You're in Calcutta? Are you applying this year for admissions? Where to?</p>
<p>ya to a whole lot of em.......</p>
<p>There are some liberal arts colleges which could be considered to rise up to the level of the Ivies and which do have aid for internationals: Amherst (it's my school, of course it comes first, it may become need-blind for intels this year, whatever that would entail), Williams (need-blind), Swarthmore (not need-blind, but generous), Pomona, Claremont-McKenna, Smith(only for girls), Bowdoin, Colby, Vassar, Oberlin, Wesleyan U etc.
For an almost complete list see the US News rankings.</p>
<p>yup lacs are generous with fin aid
But i heard that Stanford is quite stingy with fin aid
Washington U in St.Louis gives considerable amount of aid to admitted intels at the top of their list (because they use money to lure the hyp admitters in).. but they may not give you half or third of the tuition cost if you are just one of the average admitted intel student.
State schools generally dont give fin aid.
What about Brown U, Rice U, Cornell, and MIT (needblind)?
I think Barnard (columbia's sister school) gives considerable amount of aid too. btw, if you become a barnard student, you can take all your classes at columbia and even dorm there in your upper years (i heard) lol.</p>
<p>Brown is quite stingy from what I know; Cornell gives a few full rides each year. MIT admits more internationals but the competition is fierce. Rice doesn't provide financial aid to internationals at all. Ehh not so sure about Barnard, I remember reading on their website which says it only gives very few internationals financial aid each year (something like 3??).</p>
<p>You should definitely check out each LAC's website though...i'm sure there's information about fin aid for internationals. Better yet...write to the admissions or financial aid person directly to ask for details.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the information. Problem is, I'm not looking at the LACs since I intend to major in business or economics, so I'm stuck to the places which are stingy :(</p>
<p>I am a possible econ major here at Amherst. There is no problem with majoring in Economics at an LAC - I don't know where you have this misconception from! Business is another thing, as not all LACs offer it, but I think you could find at quite a handful of places. LACs are not some sort of artsy version of an university - they offer almost the same things as an university offers to its undergrads, except for the impersonal treatment.</p>
<p>
[quote]
no aid at ut austin
[/quote]
UT Austin does have financial aid for intls, but I assume its for exceptional kids. No harm in trying though.</p>
<p>UMich doesn't have financial aid for intls for the first semester, but you can apply for financial aid 2nd semester onwards, i.e. if there are some dramatic changes to your source of income ;)</p>
<p>Economics is a very popular major at LACs...lots of ppl graduate with econ major get into top business firms so it's really not a problem. I intended to major in business and got into UT austin's mccombs school of business, but decided to go to vassar for a LAC education...and I'll probably major in econ and computer science. A lot of LACs have exceptional econ programs, some are better than many big U's...so definitely look into LACs</p>
<p>UT doesn't provide financial aid to intls, but there might be some partial scholarships.</p>
<p>cud u ppl tell me what all are the chief diff between an LAC and a University in general .. also in the context of scientific fields as popular as computer science.how popular and effective are these.......</p>
<p>What do you guys think about the aid Williams would offer for ED international ?</p>
<p>Hey but are the LAC's also good for engineering students. I mean should I apply to Amherst if I want to do Computer Engg.</p>
<p>OK, some more words about LACs.
First of all, the only way to differentiate a (generic) LAC from a (generic) university is the presence of Graduate programs. That is, LACs don't have any graduate programs - no Master's, No PhD's, no Postdocs etc. Of course, there are some exceptions to this rule - Wesleyan University, which is considered to be an LAC has a few graduate programs, although you cannot compare their scope with the UG program. There are a few things that follow from this - because of no graduate students, this means that there are usually only professors teaching courses and no TA's. This can make a big difference in your academic experience, trust me. The lack of graduate programs means better opportunities for research assistantships, as professors still do research and publish and need people to help them with it. However, while professors do research, the main focus of their job is teaching, unlike at the major universities where the main focus is research itself. This translates itself into a better learning environment.
Typically, LACs have smaller classes than universities - my 4 classes at Amherst this semester have attendances of 7,15,25 and 30 - try to get this Freshman year at a large university.
Let me just say another word on some conventional wisdom about LACs:
1.LACs are a rung below universities...NOT! LACs are different educational institutions from universities but this does not justify devaluing them. If you want some evidence, 3 Nobel prize winners, an American President and 2 other chiefs of state have graduted from my very small (just above 1600 students) LAC.
2.LACs are in the middle-of-nowhere...depends. Some of them are indeed, others are in more densely populated areas, others are even in or near big cities - Bentley College in Boston is the first example that comes to my mind, but that is just one of them.
3.LACs are hippy/preppy/nerdy/whatever/not-down-to-earth. Each school has its own character so its not a good idea to generalize. There is as much diversity in the realm of LACs as there is among universities.
4. No one will know where I went to school if I go to an LAC. Well, chances are you won't get the bragging rights you would get from going to an Ivy. But, all top LACs have very tight alumni communities which are very helpful. Also, if you go to a strong LAC, chances are your future employer will know about the school, especially if it's in the area - Amherst is not that well-known in California, for example, but here in the North-East people certainly know about it.</p>
<p>One last thing, there are some good LACs for engineering, I'm sure, but it depends on what you wish for - if you want a B.E., then try Wabash or McKendree (there are tons of others, I'm sure). If you want a strong science program to enable you to go to Grad School for an M.E. afterwards, try Oberlin, for instance. Again, there are other such colleges, but my info is very limited on this, as I'm not a science major.</p>
<p>The alumni relationship in small colleges is really tight! I can sense it immediately after I was admitted into Dartmouth. Alumni of all age and all race will try to connect with you, a student who is yet to matriculate in the school, to enhance such a relationship. And this personal warmth will persist throughout your life.</p>
<p>Hey, bogororo, let's have a meet when I travel to Amherst College.</p>
<p>bogororo, what is the character of Amherst? I may apply next year</p>
<p>thnks for info ....cool but i think i am still sceptical abt LAC admission.....</p>