<p>Hello :-) I'm a junior at a US-patterned HS abroad and I'm starting my college search....which can be difficult for someone who has never been to the US before.
Basically I'm looking for:
A) a school whose fees either falls under 20,000$ (practically impossible for private, I know) or offers generous FA packages to internationals (most of which is "highly competitive" but watever, I'll take my chances...as long as I get admitted somewhere hopefully I can figure out a way to pay for it)
B) somewhere urban, yet somewhere were I can have fun without getting drunk. After four years of uni, I may never come back to the US again, so I want to make the most out of the experience by being able to step off campus and explore every now and then. However; I DON'T drink and would be uncomfortable being somewhere where a large part of the social scene focuses on parties and stuff.
C) a school who's admissions commitee is selective, but loves high scores and may forgive a low GPA for a high SAT score. I'm a 2350/ 3.0 er.
D)I love love love the idea of a liberal arts school, especially since I was a humanities student in HS. (in 10th grade they seperated us into a "sciences" class whose core subjects where chemistry, physics and trignometry and a "humanities" class whose core subjects were economics, buisness, history and english.) I see myself either attending a small BUT not entirely remote LAC or a normal sized university with a strong arts and social sciences program.
E) A school with lots of diversity. I wouldn't travel half-way around the world to get my degree unless I was going somewhere were I would meet diffrent kinds of people from diffrent backgrounds.
F) A good music scene.</p>
<p>At the moment I'm considering:
Occidential (Match)
U of Chicago , NYU(reaches)
Maybee McGill, Canada....altho thats a reach too.</p>
<p>so...where else do you guys think is right for me?</p>
<p>College Of Charleston (great city atmosphere, LAC type school, not as much diversity though, very affordable though)
University Of Pittsburgh (medium sized school but VERY strong liberal arts and sciences in a great city, relatively cheap school)</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with you applying to NYU as a reach school but maybe U of Chicago is beyond a reach for you?</p>
<p>I think you are underestimating the importance that colleges place on GPA. It is the #1 criterion for admission, and a high SAT does not outweigh it. FA for internationals is hard to qualify for. I would not call you a match at Occidental. Look at less selective colleges, as Pierre has suggested.</p>
<p>Charleston and Pittsburgh sound like great places (after looking at college ******* reviews) , I’ll definatley take them into consideration.
Mayb U of Chicago is beyond a reach for me, as a B-student with nothing much to showcase but high scores, but dont straight A-students with 2000s apply to harvard? although from that pool, less than 10% are accepted every year? I’ve always loved Chicago, so I’m looking for other LACs in the area and if not, I’ll just apply to U of Chicago as my what-the-hell-I-know-I’ll-never-get-in-but-you-never-know school.
As for Oxy, correct me If I’m wrong, but don’t I fall into the low range of their grades (they mostly take kids with As and Bs, I’m a B-student) and the high range of their scores (the average oxy scores around 2000) so -backed up with a good essay- wouldn’t I have an OKAY chance of getting in?
I know FA for internationals is hard to qualify for but eh- you guys have like 4000s unis or something in your country, right? I’m sure I’ll find 6-8 I can apply to that fulfill my needs A-F above,including the $$ aspect, Right? so hey, people, help me out!! more school names please
editt:// the ***** is CC taking off the name of some other college review site…</p>
<p>A lot of what you want will be hard to find. First, there are few LACs in urban areas Next, it will not be easy to find 6-8 schools that will give significant aid to an international B student. In fact, that would probably be impossible. Third, urban schools tend to be the most expensive. </p>
<p>So you can try NYU as a reach but there’s little chance they will give you money and it’s one of the most expensive colleges on the planet.</p>
<p>So I’m not sure what you mean by you’ll find a way to pay. If you mean friends, family and loans, that makes sense. If you mean you’re going to apply to many schools and hope they come through with money, I think you will be disappointed. The limited funds for internationals is more limited than ever because of the economy and losses to endowments.</p>
<p>Everything also depends on what country you’re from. If it’s one that doesn’t send many students to the US you’re in much better shape than if you’re from Asia or Europe. </p>
<p>That said, some schools that might be worth looking at are Sarah Lawrence, Bard, Columbia College (Chicago), Fordham, Northeastern. None meet all your needs though.</p>
<p>Yes, I do come from a country that sends very few students to America to study (I’m an Egyptian citizen), however, I’ve been living in a more prosperous country now (the United Arab Emirates, and yes that’s the country and Dubai the city-lol- and I do not go to school on a camel :p), although it has a horrible education system so many ppl send their kids to Europe or the States for college. Over half of my HS’s students leave the coumtry for uni, especially since our school is highly-respected in the region and noone really likes being left behind for college after 4 yrs of hard work. When making FA decisions, would unis take the country I live now into account, or the country I’m from? Most Egyptians can’t even afford to send their kids to college, let alone send them abroad from uni…
If the FA thing dosen’t work out, I’ll defiantly look at loans…
I think I really like Northeastern, after looking into it…thank you for adding that :)</p>
<p>Have a look at Goucher, Lewis & Clark and Macalester.
These are LAC’s that, like Oxy, are adjacent to more urban areas.
In your search, try to locate schools that place emphasis on ‘global’ or international studies. They would be schools that are more likely to appreciate (read: financial aid) an international student in their mix.</p>
<p>Yasmin, have you figured out what your EFC will be? You can run calculators to see how your need will be assessed. </p>
<p>If you’ve gone to school in the UAE for a long time that will be seen as where you’re coming from. Lots of students with plenty of money there, the colleges don’t need to give big aid to get ‘diversity’ from there.</p>
<p>Your best bet will to focus on colleges your classmates and others from the UAE are not applying to.</p>
<p>A 3.0 average would typically not constitute a match for Occidental, although if you are in the top 20% of your school, I would feel differently. Here are some schools I would recommend:</p>
<ol>
<li> Agnes Scott–excellent liberal arts all girls school in Atlanta (assuming you’re female)</li>
<li> Queens College of Charlotte–located in Charlotte, North Carolina, about 75% female, fairly diverse (18% African-American, 6% international)</li>
<li> Rhodes College–nice location, but it is fairly preppy and has a heavy fraternity/sorority scene</li>
<li> Drew University–located in a pretty suburb not too far from NYC
5.Clark University–good school, located in a somewhat shabby area of Wooster, MA, but not too far from Boston</li>
</ol>
<p>Other schools you might take a look at are University of Dallas (Catholic school, might be interested in the diversity you would bring) and perhaps Barnard (if you’re female)</p>
<p>Anyways, also try the University of Minnesota, Reed, University of Puget Sound, Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon, U Rochester, Mary Washington College in Virginia, DePaul, Marquette, Wash U in Saint Louis, and the Claremont colleges just to give you a completely random, but fitting, list. Since the whole country is yours to explore, your options open up a lot. Good Luck!</p>
<p>yasmin, I think you are conflating two different (but ultimately related) challenges: getting in and getting in with money. </p>
<p>Even with your so-so GPA, you would be a person of interest to many U.S. schools. In addition to your scores, your cultural background would make you a desireable admit, especially at smaller schools or remotely located schools that use international admissions to up their diversity percentages.</p>
<p>Getting financial aid will, however, be VERY challenging, to the point that I would say impossible. There is very little money available for internationals and those schools that offer it tend to give it to top students. I think your reasoning is backwards: schools are forgiving of low scores for internationals, but they expect a high GPA and rank.</p>
<p>If you really want to attend a U.S. college, you should plan on paying for it yourself.</p>
<p>momrath, I know getting FA for internationals is very very very difficult, but as I said before, if it dosen’t work out I’ll opt for loans.
*makes a mental note to figure out EFC
hmom5, I have been living in the UAE for a long time, but fortunately, most people here heading for the other end of the Atlantic either go to Canada (usually the same 3 suspects: McGill, U of T and Queens…which aren’t THAT expensive anyway) or to small business schools, or big state schools, all of which I’m not very interested in. I don’t think LACs see that many applicants from dubai each yr…
You have all been extremly helpful…I’ve spend the last few hours making my draft of a college app list using the names you guys mentioned. Thank you
Choices:
-Occidential (yes, I’m still holding onto this one. :p)
-Agnes Scott
-Barnard
-Claremont Mckenna
-Fordham
-Macalester
-Reed
-Rhodes
-University of Pittsburgh
-Sarah Lawrence
-St.John’s College</p>
<p>Oh yes, I love the 5 colleges system…and I imagine an area with 4 other colleges aound would be quite social…I’ll add smith as well…
hahaha pierre , obviously when it comes down to Barnard v.s. Smith and its April '10…i’d go for Barnard or <em>insert urban school here</em> but amherst is still an okay-fun town with lots of college kids around to hang out with , right?</p>
<p>“I know getting FA for internationals is very very very difficult, but as I said before, if it dosen’t work out I’ll opt for loans.”</p>
<p>I see a logistical problem if you apply to a school that meets 100% of need: You have to ask for FA, or not. If you don’t ask for FA, your chances of admission go way up, but you will get zero FA from the school. If you do ask for FA, you won’t be admitted unless the school can give you 100% of your need, and that’s where the competition becomes fierce. You can’t say “Give me what ever you can, and I’ll find the rest somewhere.” Perhaps communicating directly with a school’s FA office before you submit your app might produce a way around the problem.</p>
<p>This may not apply to “come anyway” schools that don’t meet 100% of need.</p>
