Help in College Search

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Hello.
I'm an International Student seeking to study in the US.</p>

<p>I know some of you might get irritated by my question, but can anyone tell me a list of colleges/universities to which I could still apply? (deadline has not passed). These colleges should also give financial aid university to International Students.</p>

<p>So far I've applied to:</p>

<p>Gettysburg
Trinity
St. Olaf
Wooster
St. Lawrence
Colby</p>

<p>Others:</p>

<p>U. of South Florida (scholarships)
U. of Oregon (scholarships)</p>

<p>However, this is a VERY short list of colleges, and the most common outcome can be that none of them will offer me financial aid. This is my first time applying to the US.</p>

<p>Can an international student or a very wise person give me more options to which I could apply?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I promise to bake you brownies :slight_smile: </p>

<p>Lol sorry, but seriously. Anyone wants to help?</p>

3

<p>If you get into Colby you WILL get aid. That’s why it’s so hard for internationals to get in. I think the same applies to Trinity, and if I remember correctly St. Olaf does NOT pledge to meet full need. Don’t know about the others.</p>

<p>Most deadlines have passed, but in order to help you with your search I need to know how much you can afford.
Many schools with rolling admissions offer merit scholarships, so you might qualify for those, but I need to know your stats (SATs, GPA, rank) for that.</p>

4

<p>My need is exactly why I won’t be accepted @Guitar500
I already made a couple of posts regarding my situation, and many persons told me that it’s actually useless what I’m doing. You migh think the same.</p>

<p>I’m from a poor country (El Salvador) and my dad had financial crisis in the last decade, and the most my dad can afford each year for college is $5000. So basically I’m asking for a full-ride financial aid and/or scholarship. The only ones able to do this are Ivy Leagues, and the ones I’m applying for don’t.</p>

<p>My stats are:</p>

<p>GPA: 3.80 (UW)
SAT: 1980
TOEFL: 101
Rank: Top 10%
I did the International Baccalaureate (I was the highest score)</p>

<p>EC:
150+ hours of community service
School Newspaper
Catholic Youth Group
Work experience</p>

5

<p>Oh, yes! I remember, I read it a few months ago. Well, I don’t know who you’ve been talking to because it’s certainly possible. I do remember people advising you against taking out huge loans, and I’d have to agree.</p>

<p>It’s difficult, but it’s certainly possible. Have you had a look at this?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;
You qualify for a couple of those, although I don’t know how many of those have rolling admissions and not all apply to internationals. And you won’t really get to be picky with the college you choose.</p>

<p>If you want to go to a top school, I suggest you take a gap year. It might not sound like the best choice, but it’s a great way to strengthen your app. I think you mentioned you didn’t want to or something similar, but if you’re really serious about it, it’s really something worth considering. If your parents don’t want you to do that, you could just have a serious talk with them and show them how important this is.</p>

<p>That’s if you don’t get in, of course. But you do have a chance, your stats are good and if your essays were great, you’ll be in the running. Really, the only weakness in your stats is that CR score, but they’re more lenient with that one when it comes to internationals, plus you’ve got a good combined score.</p>

<p>If you don’t get in and you decide to go for the gap year, you could get your SAT score up, although it’s fine, especially considering your math one was very high. If you take a few months to read, your CR score will go up. If you can just increase it by 50-100 points, you’ll be able to get full rides at many schools.</p>

<p>The problem is that it’s too late to apply to many of the top LACs that give money to internationals. There are quite a lot, too. And since those are holistic, you don’t need perfect test scores to get in. If you try to reapply next year, you’ll have time to make a better list and work on your app.</p>

<p>I couldn’t find any schools with late deadlines that offer much aid to internationals, but I’ll look for more tomorrow. I need to go to bed.</p>

<p>But really, don’t lose hope. You have a good chance at the schools you applied to, and if you don’t get in, you can always try again. It might sound impossible, but it’s not. I know many internationals who got the aid they needed with stats similar to yours (myself included). Not only the Ivies offer great aid, and even the Ivies don’t want a bunch of 2400 4.0 kids.</p>

6

<p>Have you thought about going to a community college? Many internationals can’t afford to go to a 4 year school and often use the 2+2 method. And if you research properly there’s some CC’s that have on campus housing.</p>

<p>I don’t know if you’ve tried this but have you looked at your governments web page? Some offer money for students to study abroad just like they would if they were studying in their home country.</p>

7

<p>Thank you a lot @Guitar500. Your optimism really cheered me up.
I’ll try to answer in order:</p>

<p>Yeah. I made a couple of posts regarding my financial status and if I could have chances in studying in the US. MANY persons told me that it’s useless (you could check) and that I should study here and try to get my master’s degree. That could be an option, but the thing is I already wasted $400 (from my $500 savings) on application and tests. I can’t just ignore that. Money doesn’t grows on trees, and that’s why I’ve been struggling so much, specially because my parents also think that I’m being stupid with this.
Regarding the loans, my mom lied to me. She told me I could ask for loans but I really can’t. I don’t work, and the studnet loans the government gives requires the lender to work. My parents can’t ask for a loan either because, about 7 years ago, they asked for a loan but they couldn’t payed it completely (we had financial crisis). Because of that they’re on the “black list” of every bank and none wants to give them a penny.</p>

<p>Yes, I did take a look at that thread, and I actually considered to applying to some. Troy U looks like a great university, but the problem is I just qualify for full-tuition scholarship. The room, food, and additional expenses hovered around $13k and my dad can’t really afford that. I also applied for UA-Huntsville, but I had to cancel my application. The admission lady told me that I needed to sent my transcripts to an evalutation agency (NACES), but the problem is that the agency asks me for $500 for a ONE copy evaluation, and if you wanted extra copies you needed to pay $100 more. I can’t pay that, and I asked my dad if he could and he just laughed and said that he couldn’t afford it because of financial problems. I told the university that my school gave its transcripts in English and in American GPA, and that if the IB Transcripts could waive this requirement (SCU does this), but she told me no.There was no use in continuing and I withdrawed my application.
Until then, I just have applied to UO and USF since people told me they give good aid.</p>

<p>I’m in no objection with the gap year, but what will I do in that time? I graduated in June/2012 and I took a half-gap year studying for the TOEFL and SAT and taking a mathematics course. Right now I’ve applied to a job in a call center and I’m also going to college pre-courses at a local university so I can get a taste of college (I’m not in college), and this courses are like college courses, so I’m practically doing something right now. If I don’t get in I plan to study and retake the SAT on May or somehwere betwwen May-October and take my SAT Subject Tests on October (I want to apply for Stanford).</p>

<p>The problem is that the only good thing are my academic stats. My EC stats are poor, and colleges don’t want a geek or nerd in their campus. They want someone who’s active both academically and non-academically. I made my essay about my bullying experience (I was bullied for like 8 years), and I don’t know if it’s really that great. </p>

<p>And thank you very much. You really don’t have to look for every single college that offers aid to internationals. That should be my job, not yours… I’m sorry for this, and I’m impressed to see a dude who’s my age who knows A LOT about college aid and admissions. You really are a smart guy, and I didn’t knew you were international. Are you currently studying in the US?
And it’s really impossible for me. The competition (other intl. students) have better stats than me (mostly Asians and Europeans), with 4.0 GPA and great extracurriculars. Colleges will prefer them over me.</p>

<p>@ohitskayleigh Yes I thought about that, but tell me: how am I going to afford the other 2 years of study at a 4-year university? These universities DON’T offer aid or scholarships to transfer international students. I don’t think I can’t even pay a CC either, so that’s why I’m struggling here.</p>

8

<p>Okay, well I found a couple that are need blind or give good financial aid to internationals:
Graceland
Manhattanville
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Harvey Mudd College
Tufts
Trinity
Cornell
Texas A&M (not need based but still offers some)
Kalamazoo College (Same as above)
Ole Miss (Same as above) </p>

<p>And of course the Ivies.</p>

<p>You could try signing up for collegeweeklive(.com) it’s where you can join live conversations from college admissions team etc where you could ask questions about financial aid. Yester was international student day or something like that and I clicked on this link and it sent me to a college page after realising it wasn’t the one I wanted I clicked on the next arrow, 2 miniutes later I had an email from Pittburg State saying they had scholarships for me, yes it may have been automated but it was still financial aid.</p>

9

<p>Hello @ohitskayleigh!</p>

<p>Thank you a lot for getting in the trouble of doing a research. </p>

<p>Regarding the list you gave me:</p>

<p>Graceland gives great scholarships. I just saw I applied for the $12k scholarship, but the problem is that the tuition and fees hover aroung $30k. I still can’t pay $18k.</p>

<p>Manhantanville looks like a great option. It gives very good scholarships and it also gives need-based financial aid.</p>

<p>Cornell’s and Worcester’s deadline was on February 1. It looks like I’m late here :(</p>

<p>I already applied for Trinity, and for the others, I still haven’t looked.</p>

<p>I am, indeed, signed up on collegeweeklive. I already spoke to some colleges here, but sadly, some insist that I should not apply if I can’t pay college…</p>

<p>And now I have a question I want to ask you, Guitar500, and any other international student or american student:</p>

<p>How bad can pickyness be?</p>

<p>I mean, I would love to study in America. I really want to, but I’m not sure if I’ll be okay going to a random college just for that.
It’s not the location what bothers me. I really don’t mind that.
What I’m worried about is the level of education. I would like to go to a college where I’m sure I will learn A LOT and that I will be a great professional. I don’t want to go to the US just to party and travel and put “studying in college” as an excuse. I really do want to study in an amazing academic enviroment, but I’m not sure if going to any college that will give me aid is the right choice.</p>

<p>I want to study Computer Science. Are all liberal art colleges GOOD at this field of study?</p>

<p>I’m sorry… I hope I’m not sounding impudent or impassive or stubborn or whiney.
I really WANT to go to the US but I also want to learn a lot.</p>

10

<p>I understand how you feel because I want similar things like you from a college experience and all the partying is why I’m not going to my home country university. </p>

<p>Anyway you will need to apply for scholarships that are outside of the college, try iefa and ones like that. </p>

<p>And now about your question… Some colleges are better than others at certain academic subjects, for example Yale might be better than Harvard in English Lit but Harvard might be better at maths. So you want to look at colleges that have a good review on the subject you want to take. </p>

<p>If you’re worried about fitting in and if it’s a party school look up reviews of the school on google. Also there’s a thread on here where people are saying what schools they crossed off their list and why, they have lots of small LAC’s that can offer good financial aid. </p>

<p>There’s 2 colleges that you can attend for free, I just can’t remember what they’re called, I research and edit the reply.</p>

11

<p>Thank you. And yes. I want a good college where I know I’m going to be a great professional. But sadly, financial status won’t let me reach that. The good and best colleges are expensive.</p>

<p>I tried the iefa before. It didn’t worked out. Most of the best scholarships are oriented towards an specific group. For example this one: <a href=“http://www.iefa.org/scholarships/2137/GotScholarship_$40K_to_Give_Away”>http://www.iefa.org/scholarships/2137/GotScholarship_$40K_to_Give_Away&lt;/a&gt;
Most of them are for women, african-americans or black ethnicity, asians, students with disabilities, or for specific countries. FEW of them are unrestricted in everything, and this ones are just worth $1000 for one year. It really sucks, but there isn’t any opportunity for me here. (I’m a Salvadoran).
I wish I could apply for loans but I can’t. Loans isn’t a chance for me.</p>

<p>Where are this threads? In the international students section? You got the link for it? And which two colleges? I would love to apply for those!</p>

<p>I just know that Berea college is one of the best with financial aid. Students (both domestic and international) just pay for room, food, and other fees. The tuition is payed by the college (it’s free), but the deadline was on January/15th</p>

12

<p>I somewhat don’t agree about the best colleges being the most expensive. When looking for colleges to apply to I got some “okay” schools which were costing nearly $35,000 per year when I could apply for a lot better one for the same price. Try Perdue, it sounds like an amazing school, I loved it when I read about it but sadly I don’t have the grades. Plus if I remember correctly they have good fin aid. </p>

<p>I can’t right now but it’s on the parents thread and should be on the first couple of pages. </p>

<p>Yes Berea was one but I can’t remember the other still. I’ll try and research and let you know. </p>

<p>Do they have a university fair in your country? If so try going there and see if any US colleges are there.</p>

13

<p>Also have you tried looking at different countries? I know you said you wanted to study in the US but over here in the UK we have very good universities. For the price you’re going to pay for an okay college you could pay around the same price to get into Oxford. Because you’re from a country which has a low income you are eligible for to apply and maybe get the ‘‘Reach Oxford Scholarship’’ which covers University fees and college fees, a grant for living expenses and one return air fare per year. In my opinion it seems stupid not to apply, I mean you would have nothing to pay for 3-4 years depending on the course length, unless you want to do medicine then don’t apply because the scholarship can’t be used for that. Although the deadline has already been you could take a GAP year and then apply next year.</p>

14

<p>I hope you can find that other school. I’m very curious, but I’m sure the deadline has already passed.</p>

<p>No. There isn’t an American university fair here in my country. There’s this program called “Estudios Internacionales” who hosts international college fairs once a year, but from the very beginning they say that none of them offers scholarships or financial aid.
There is an American college fair in a school here (which is called “Escuela Americana” or American School) but that fair is exclusive for them. The only way you could attend is if the school invites you.</p>

<p>I did try the UK. Actually, UK was my second country option. I love UK. The people, the place, the culture… everything. The thing is, it’s much more expensier than the USA, and LITTLE financial aid is offered there, even for domestic students. I searched a lot over there, but most of them don’t offer a lot of aid. There a re good scholarships, but for that you need to have perfect scores in everything.
Oxford is a joke. I can’t even get there as a janitor. They are very demanding. For example, for IB candidates, they ask for a 43 minimun score to get accepted. My score was 35 (my school is an IB amateur yet).</p>

<p>Like I told you, I really love UK. It’s such a beautiful country, but colleges are much more expensier and they are very demanding. They focus more on numerical stats than other things. I really would love to study there, but sadly it isn’t an option for me since I don’t have money.</p>

15

<p>There’s an online one called ‘‘University of the People’’ which is free. </p>

<p>Oh okay.</p>

<p>’‘The thing is, it’s much more expensier than the USA, and LITTLE financial aid is offered there, even for domestic students.’’ I completely disagree, firstly domestic students get the full cost of tution paid for by the government which comes in the form of a loan but the universities can offer scholarships. Secondly, I’m going to compare my local university with University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both are public and both are in cities. </p>

<p>University of Leeds:
Cost of course: $18,898.84 (per year)
Cost of housing:$8897.70 (including food)
Cost of housing:$5450.18 (not including food)
Lifestyle: $157.06 (per week includes going out, drinks etc)
Toefl requirement: 87 which means you should get some sort of scholarship since you got in the 100’s.<br>
Scholarship amount: $2286.15- $9144.60
Total cost without Scholarship: $32,820.92</p>

<p>The UK government can also offer scholarships to international students, the ones I mentioned above are just the ones offered by the university. </p>

<p>You also don’t need to worry about healthcare costs because you’re entitled to free NHS (national health service) the only thing you will have to pay for is medicine if you need it but that shouldn’t be very expensive. </p>

<p>University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Cost: $28,446
Cost of housing: $9734 (including meal plan)
Lifestyle: $1,340 (per year)
Health Insurance: $1,500
TOEFL: 100
Scholarship Amount: Merit scholarships available but no amount it posted on the website
Cost without Scholarship: $41,020</p>

<p>Any university course is going to be very demanding, it doesn’t matter on the country, they aren’t supposed to be easy. So if you’re looking for an easy way to get a degree I don’t think university is the place for you, but I’ll let you be the judgle of that.</p>

16

<p>Union College also offers need based and merit based FA to international students but the cost of attendance is nearly $59,000! Although the deadline was the 1st February so you’d have to take a gap year for that one.</p>

17

<p>I’m not looking for an easy college. I don’t want to be partying, getting drunk and high when I’m supposed to be studying. I want a tough university that’s going to put challanges to me. </p>

<p>Regarding your advice, I just did a research today for universities in the UK and few of them offer scholarships and financial assistance to international students. I even went here [British</a> Embassy in El Salvador](<a href=“http://ukinelsalvador.fco.gov.uk/en/]British”>UK help and services in El Salvador - GOV.UK) and I didn’t find a thing. Most scholarships are for graduate studies, and the ones for undergraduate internationals are restricted. This means that they’re for specific countires, regions, and partnerships with the UK.
I would LOVE to sutdy in UK but the universities are expensive, they don’t offer huge amounts of financial aid, and I can’t pay for a degree. I don’t even know what admission tests I need to do, what is the GPA scale, etc. </p>

<p>Right now I just have to wait to get an answer from the colleges I applied. The most logical answer will be, though,a “Not admitted”, but thanks for your help.</p>

<p>You know of any other college with good financial aid or full-tuition programs that have late deadlines?</p>

18

<p>Try universities in Canada they seem a lot cheaper. </p>

<p>And it doesn’t matter what college you go to there will be partying and people getting drunk and Occasionally high even at Harvard because its part of college life, no one has ever said that you need to take part. College is whatever you make it be.</p>

19

<p>Canada is worse. They seem cheaper because you get a degree in 2/3 years, but each year is equally expensive like the US. PLUS. Canada offers $0 in financial aid for international students. I wanted to apply to York University, and this uses a Canadian app (similar to the Common App), and the application fee PER college is $200! This really scares someone from applying (in my opinion).</p>

<p>Oh, I didn’t know. I though partying was forbidden in some prestigious colleges, but it’s okay. I know I won’t make a bad time in college. Thank you again Kay Leigh!
I really would have liked to study in the UK; I really do. It’s such an amazing country! But sadly I don’t have the money… :/</p>

20

<p>I was looking at Canadian ones of the other day and they were a lot cheaper to the ones I was looking at, they were even cheaper than the ones over here and they’re subsidised by the government. </p>

<p>I really don’t know what other countries you could try. I guess Germany and Finland are worth a try its apparently really cheap there. </p>

<p>They maybe be banndd but that doesn’t mean they don’t happen. </p>

<p>Thank you and good luck to you too.</p>