Help! Choosing between princeton, brown, stanford, williams, swartmore etc..

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>I’m really new to College Confidential (this is my first post) and, like everyone else - is stressed about choosing a college.
I’m an New Zealand international student, (but born in China - and living as a homestay kid with adult caregivers in New Zealand - which is really wierd, because I’m a kiwi citizen acting like an international… enough of that) Anyway, I’m struggling to narrow my choices of college down to 10 - 15, because it’s really hard to find a good ‘fit’ without actually visiting the college, so I’m really unsure of the general social atmosphere of the school. (these forums have been a great help in giving me some background!!) </p>

<p>Anyway - my tediously long list:</p>

<p>HIGH Reach: Princeton, Stanford, Dartmouth, Brown, Cornell</p>

<p>Reach (LAC): Williams, Swarthmore, Wellesley</p>

<p>The rest: Middlebury, Carleton, Wesleyan U, Colgate U, Hamilton, Oberlin, Macalester, Lafayette</p>

<p>Safety: Connecticut, Berea, Kalamazoo</p>

<p>I’ll be applying for practically full financial aid, and I realise it will be extremely difficult - which is partly why I’ve embraced the Liberal Arts colleges - I hear some are very generous with their financial aid towards int’l students. </p>

<p>SAT: 2140 Math:730, Writing: 720, CR: 690 :frowning:
Class Rank: 1/2 out of 150
Extra Curric: This will sound really wierd - NZ is a country in the ‘country’!! But I love it!</p>

<li>Ranked 8th in the Hillary Challenge (team event) (5 day adventure race - tramping, kayaking, mountain biking, caving, etc) </li>
<li>Representing NZ in the Junior World Dragonboating Festival in Sydney this year, NZ B Mixed team… (got beaten) </li>
<li>Badminton - 6th, Soccer, School Council, Amnesty International</li>
</ol>

<p>Then there’s a few awards I have accumulated - mainly to do with maths and science, not very significant I don’t think… especially compared with American students and their honour awards and societies which totally bedazzle me! </p>

<p>I’m really looking for a diverse and unique school - with lots of different kinds of people, where I can work hard, but also play hard. More than anything, the social mix, the open mindedness of students is especially important!!</p>

<p>So could someone please please help me decide which of these schools to kick out, perhaps suggest some other schools that may be a better fit? Or could anyone possibly shed some light on the current schools in regards to the pros and cons of the school, so I could be more informed???</p>

<p>Help!! help!!</p>

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<p>You know, no one on this board is really qualified to state your chances. Over-qualified students have been denied at HYPS. Kids who people dismissed without a second glance have gotten into the top places. You never know. Apply, and the worst that can happen is a rejection.</p>

<p>Anyway. Middlebury and Swarthmore are very 'work-hard' schools from what I know. Pton has VERY stringent grading policies, you really will have to buckle down everyday to earn an A. Cornell is considered the most difficult Ivy. Brown and Dartmouth are a little 'cooler', as in they don't have fiendishly difficult academic requirements (how's an open curriculum sounding to you?). Stanford is kinda like HYP, so...</p>

<p>Hope that helped (considering what little knowledge I have of this whole process!)</p>

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<p>A lot of the schools you're applying to are also on my list, so I might be able to help.</p>

<p>Princeton: obviously it is great academically and is also need blind towards internationals, which might help you. I believe it also disregards freshman grades, so if those would hurt you this would help too.
I do get the impression that it is incredibly preppy and elitiist (I can't say for sure, though) and is incredibly sleective, which is why I took it off the list.</p>

<p>Brown: great academically with a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing classes, very liberal and I know an int'l guy who got some really good finnacial aid from Brown. It has a fairly urban location and is also very selective. It's also one of my top choices.</p>

<p>Dartmouth: this college would probably be very good for you since it's great for outdoor activities you seem to like. It's very isolated though and there seems to be a sizeable frat scene. However, it has a great undergrad focus and the student body seems to be very happy and content. I guess it's just really cosy and has a real community.</p>

<p>Williams: pretty much the same as Dartmouth, but without the frats and without any grad schools at all. Plus, it's need-blind for internationals</p>

<p>Swarthmore: really beautiful campus with the woods and all. It also isn't far from Philadelphia. Awesome academics very liberal. However, Swathmore is incredibly focused on the academics and you really have to love what you do, since it is so incredibly intense.</p>

<p>Wellesley: women's college (kind of a con for me) and very close to B?oston. Wellesley also seems really cosy and nice to me, though some people say there can be a lot of competition going on among the girls.</p>

<p>Middlebury: is need-blind towards internationals and thus has a lot of them. It's awesome for foreign languages and international studies. It's in a pretty isolated part of Vermont.</p>

<p>Wesleyan: great academics, very liberal student body, nice campus, community and professors. I believe its strengths include film and political science. I also really like Weleyan.</p>

<p>Though it might also be a reach, i would suggest Amherst if you like Williams and the other LAC's. </p>

<p>Also, if you like Brown, but don't mind a core curriculum, you might like Columbia. That one is my first choice.</p>

<p>I think you could loose Cornell. I like alsmost all of the colleges on your list, except Cornell. It's big and it's isolated and I believe it only really is great for engineering/(hotel) management. Though I'm not sure, since I haven't really researched the college.</p>

<p>Hope that helped :)</p>

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<p>Thanks a lot!!!! Really really greatly appreciated - I'll definetly look into Columbia or Barnard - seeing as they are basically share all the classes, but Barnard is easier to get into (correct me if I'm wrong). </p>

<p>I had always thought Cornell was a school big on the social scene - quite the opposite to nerdy, stuck-in-the-library type people.. and, Amherst seemed quite preppy to me, which is why I took it off the list - but I'll definetly re-look into it!!</p>

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<p>Well not to be a wet blanket but I'd say that Williams, Middlebury and Macalaster are also reach (probably high reach) for us Internationals. Macalester received 1100 INternational apps last year and accepted only 40-50.</p>

<p>Well you like to play sports and Dartmouth has lots of outdoor activities. If you want kinky academics and very intellectual atmosphere then I'd say have a look at Reed (web.reed.edu).</p>

<p>I have heard that Cornell is very cranky with the aid for Internationals so reconsider Cornell.</p>

<p>Good Luck! :)</p>

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<p>Just a quick advice: as an international student applying for full financial aid, you DON'T have the luxury of picking and choosing. So eliminating a very good/generous school due to things like preppiness is very, very ill-advised. Internationals have to adapt to life here in the state so it's not a big deal if you have to live with a little preppiness surrounding you. </p>

<p>My post is very incoherent so bare with me.</p>

<p>In my opinion, I would say :</p>

<p>Pick 2 from Princeton, Stanford and Cornell. Princeton is the most generous while Stanford and Cornell are pretty stingy. They are more or less academically equal. Stanford is a little bigger and is in California so it will offer you a bigger social scene as well as a more Asian atmosphere than the other two. Princeton pretty much makes up the entire town in New Jersey so it's pretty isolated and expensive (And it's not extremely elitist) I can't say anything about Cornell as I don't know much about it but I don't think it is very international-friendly.</p>

<p>Pick 1 from Brown and Dartmouth: These two are pretty similar in term of selectiveness. I don't know much about the atmosphere but chances are if you don't get into one you won't get into the other.</p>

<p>Oberlin, Wesleyan (checkout the Freeman Asian scholarship), Middlebury and Carleton are all competitve, though a notch or two below the Ivies. Definitely considering applying to Middlebury and Lafayette as they both are very generous. However, Middlebury is in Vermont and it is very very very cold. You might also want to know that Wellesley is all-women school so if you are not one, well...better luck next time. </p>

<p>Wesleyan, Middlebury and Carleton are all LACs, btw.</p>

<p>Looks like you got a decent list of safety which is very good considering internationals' slim chances at the top schools. Try researching this forum's college visits section. That might help you get a sense of where you are applying to. </p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

7

<p>If chances are so extremely slim, can anyone suggest any other schools that are very generous with their financial aid towards international students, that I could possibly consider??</p>

<p>lol yes I am a girl, therefore elligible for Wellesley</p>

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<p>Hi!...
As for your college list, You should have some pattern in that area..Like, 3-4 REACH, 5-6 Match, 4-5 Safety...(Now the rest is up to you!:)..For decision, you should go for the college's sites, none here can do the trimming for you!:)..Best wishes for college selection!)..
As tetrisfan said, none can tell your chances, but, we can give opinions, in mine is, you should work a bit more on your ECs...
If you want more ''chances'' replies, go to ''What are my chances?'' thread here, <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/forumdisplay.php?f=5&lt;/a>
Enjoy!...</p>

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<p>ok since you are an international student asking for a full ride(covering full tuition,room and board) you are in a hell of a lot of competition........by no means are your safeties actual safeties-connecticut college is very very hard to get in if you want full aid,berea doesn't look at SAT scores(only essays and diversity factor) and Kalamazoo has no need based aid,only merit based for international students.....i hope you drop princeton and stanford from your list as it will be very hard to get into with your stats.....now do some research and find decent enough colleges.....it may sound wierd but all the colleges you have listed might reject you,there's a 70-30 chance.....middlebury,colgate,macalester,hamilton,wesleyan,lafayette,brown,cornell etc. are very very competitive for int.students asking for aid.....the best decision for you would be to apply ED and EA to a lot of colleges......and it seems you have not given the SAT2 which a requirement in some of the colleges you have listed......ok if you want a list of colleges that offer fin aid to int.students and are generous feel free to message me....i can give you the list as i was in the same situation a year ago....best of luck with the college application process.......</p>

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<p>Be careful, most of the colleges don't want those asking for fin aid to apply ED/EA, check things like that on the college's web-site first!</p>

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<p>apply to princeton though, cause princeton is need-blind with regards to international students. they give generous financial aid too, as long as you get in. if you do some research, you'd find that it has the BEST fin. aid program in the USA. other schools can't compare to princeton when it comes to financial aid.</p>

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<p>Well there are some other colleges that meet your aid if you are admitted so I'd say that getting in is the real problem.</p>