<p>Hey! I'm considered an International student living in Philly.
This is going be my senior in high school and i have been doing some intensive research to find good ENGINEER colleges- that will offer financial aid to international student..( i mean full four year scholarships).
So I've made a list of colleges that i plan to apply- no more than five
Drexel University
SUNY University at Buffalo
Illinois Institute of Technology
Purdue University
Penn State U Park or Rutgers</p>
<p>Those are the five, i think that my SATs are pretty match to them (around 550s).
So what do you think about these college? Any suggestion for good engineer schools that offer aid to International?</p>
<p>I fear to apply to one my top colleges like MIT, Carnegie Mellon or Yale ( those colleges are guarantee to give me aid if i get in)<br>
However, I still need to take SAT subject test---in fact I'm not that good in science
And the TOEFL, I planing to take it as soon as possible this October</p>
<p>So should i apply anyway to one of my top college, still knowing i have little chance to get in?</p>
<p>Finally, if anyone can provide me some information for international scholarship; i'll be grateful...
Thanks..</p>
<p>Why the arbitrary cutoff of 5? If you can at all afford it, I would encourage you to apply to more. Getting big scholarships is a crapshot and you want to maximize your chance at good luck.</p>
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<p>Sorry to burst your bubble, but your SAT scores are below average for all of the universities on your list. They might be high enough to get admitted, but you will most certainly not get a full scholarship unless you get to the very top of the applicant pool.</p>
<p>If you need scholarships/financial aid, you should be focusing on private schools, since public universities (Purdue, Rutgers, Penn State) generally have no FA for international students even those with excellent grades and SATs. (And as Barum pointed out, your SATs are actually low for engineering.)</p>
<p>Yes, i know about my SATs
I’m planning to retake it as soon in October for better scores
Also on the other hand, I’ll take the TOEFL as a back up</p>
<p>TOEFL is a English language proficiency test
Its not an aptitude or standardized test so doing well is not going to be any + to your application- its more like a requirement- you meet it and you are good</p>
<p>You want to go to engineering schools and you are not good in science?
I think you might need to reconsider your choices. Since you need FA most private schools with engineering will need 2 SAT II scores</p>
<p>OK, the fact is that i’m an International Student who is doing his best to get a better scores in these tests…
As for my science skills, I’m ok. I always try get an A in my sciences classes( and I did). It just i’m not " great" at them except for Physics which I planning… to become i’m taking AP Physics this year and hope i will get great knowledge
I have been considering, making research, and project about engineer
And i realize it would be a great major for me
I like it but i know it is challenging
My Sat’s may portray( for certain reasons) that i lack the math or science skills needed to be successful in it , however i have the desire to pursue engineer</p>
<p>What need to be done by November is to increase my sat scores and apply for a good international college, ( also write an excellent essay)</p>
<p>Does Drexel really offer that type of aid? I was looking at them earlier and couldn’t see how an international who really needs aid could afford it. I thought their scholarships were rather small and competitive.</p>
<p>Drexel does have a number of merit-based full-tuition scholarships, including 50 specifically set aside for low-income students from Philadelphia. However, it seems that you have to file the FAFSA to qualify, so I am not sure how that I would work out for the OP.</p>
<p>Yes, I was skeptical about Drexell… it does not really have FA
I had some interest in it just because it was close to me…
So, I think i’ may change it with FIT or Lafayette College</p>
<p>Outside of the Ivy League (and a few other universities in that selectivity range), liberal arts colleges offer the most need-based aid to international students. If you are willing to compromise on the engineering major, those might be interesting options for you to look at.</p>
<p>I can consider trying another major, ( I like History ), but i have been doing so much plans and research about Engineer that i would regret to give up, plus it would be all time wasted… so it is hard for me to compromise</p>
<p>For now I need to find which college i should make early decison
I though Purdue would be a good one, but since my sat are a bit low…
I’m afraid that it might be a good choice
Ok guys From those 8 colleges which one should i make early decision</p>
<p>Penn State U Park, Purdue University, Rugters, FIT, SUNY University at Buffalo, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Delaware, Lafayette College</p>
<p>You said that you are an international student, right? May I ask about your current visa status?</p>
<p>And one more question: when you are applying early decision, are you hoping to just get accepted or are you hoping to get accepted with significant financial aid (need- or merit-based)? If you just want to get accepted, any one of the schools in your current list is fine. If you need significant financial aid from your university and you are not eligible to apply for aid as a domestic student (some non-US citizens are), then you need to look WAY lower. </p>
<p>Schools won’t give you aid as an international student unless you are at the top of their applicant pool. There are probably two reasons for this: first, the better universities get enough applications from academically qualified full-paying international students that they don’t have much motivation to admit students who need financial aid. Second, it’s much more expensive for the university to sponsor an international student. A low-income PA resident might qualify for $15,000 in state and federal aid, plus any private scholarship that he may earn. So the college would get at least $15,000 from a domestic student, even if their family could contribute nothing to the cost of his education. In contrast, an international student who can contribute nothing usually needs to be sponsored in full by the university, since he doesn’t qualify for federal and state financial aid or the majority of private scholarships.</p>
<p>International admission, especially with financial aid, works different from domestic admission. Ignore EVERYTHING that you hear in high school about choosing a college and application strategies (reach/match/safety) and financial aid. Those rules apply to domestic applicants, not internationals.</p>
<p>Look for well-to-do private schools where your grades/scores/accomplishments are significantly above their average incoming students’. </p>
<p>Maximize your options by applying to schools in the American mid-western states (the middle of the country) and the south, areas off-radar for most international students.</p>
You start by making a list of schools with financial aid for international students, and then choose from that list. You apply to a large number of schools because the typical international financial aid admission rates is below 10% (even when the total admission rate might be 50%). You are aware that there are very few ‘safeties’ - only those colleges who will <em>guarantee</em> a scholarship to students with your GPA and test scores. You assume that you need to score above the 75th percentile on the SAT or ACT to be competitive for financial aid. (There are a few exceptions, but almost all international financial aid recipients I have met at several colleges had test scores well beyond the average for that institution.)</p>
<p>In short, international financial aid applicants should be prepared to attend a college ‘below their league’, and it helps if they are willing to compromise on their major too. (For example, several international physics majors at my college actually wanted to study engineering and several economics majors would have rather studies business. The physics majors sometimes go to graduate school for engineering, where there’s much for funding for internationals than at the undergraduate level.)</p>
<p>Ok, I want to do early decision in hope get accepted and more likely to get FA
I think most early applicant have more chance to get aid</p>
<p>I have a R B2 visa type; but also I have TPS
I can accept to go to any colleges that are below my “league” as long they give full scholarship and they are pretty “descent” in majors that are related to math( After all if i get a full scholarchip I can compromise my Engineer major, than later as Barum advised, I pursue Engineer as a graduate)</p>
<p>So Barum, you saying that i should not make “early decision”
Knowing my situation, what is the best option for me</p>
<p>It depends on what sort of financial aid you are hoping for. You have to be careful with merit-based scholarships: you may not be considered for them if you apply early decision because the university assumes that you will be enrolling anyway - why “waste” a scholarship on you? Colleges with need-based aid for internationals seem to defer most international financial applicants to the regular round, except for the truly outstanding or clear-reject applicants, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to apply ED.</p>
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I think your best bet are liberal arts colleges with need-based aid for international students. If you go through the US News Ranking of liberal arts colleges, most of the top 50 or so have financial aid.</p>
<p>Unfortunately your SAT scores are not high enough to be competitive for academic scholarships at bigger universities, and big universities don’t usually have need-based aid for foreign students (Harvard & Co aside).</p>