<p>Now I'm looking for some schools that have the followings:
+LAC
+Low tuition (<15k)
+Low->mid rank
+low->mid SAT scores (mine is 1310/2030)
+some scholarships/aid
If anybody knows some, please show me. Thanks a lot!</p>
<p>Would you be eligible for any financial aid? It will be very hard to find any schools costing <15k, but it's possible it would be that cheap for you, if you demonstrate need, or can get merit aid (which you definitely could plenty of places.) Are you in a state that has any LACs within the state system? These would probably be the only schools to truly fall in your price range. But as I said, getting a more expensive school to <15k is certainly doable.</p>
<p>Wells College might be a very good fit for you. The largest segment of the student body had high school GPAs between 3.0 - 3.75, the average SAT is an 1150 (so maybe even a little low for you), tuition (not including board) is $17,810 and the average aid package is $17,747, and they accept about 70% of their applicants. With your SAT scores, as long as you have a 3.5, you're eligible for a minimum of $20,000 in scholarships over the four-year period. I am strongly considering using them for my financial/academic safety.</p>
<p>But really, with your scores, I don't know why you would need to go somewhere like that (not that Wells isn't good!). Are you just nervous because you don't have the stats that some people on here have? Because, remember, they're the weird ones, so you really don't need to be concerned...</p>
<p>Looking at this post (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=350315)%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=350315)</a>, is the issue that you're an international student and can't get aid? What's your TOEFL, if you need one?</p>
<p>I did a search on College Board that included most of your factors -- SAT scores, international student status, tuition and fees (though not boarding) under $15,000, etc. -- and came up with zero results. To find a college offering aid to international students and still being under $15,000 is just too much to ask, I think. You may need to rethink some things.</p>
<p>You might look at colleges in Canada.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody
The reason I want a school with under-15k tuition is that I really really need financial aid, at least a half or 3/4 tuition at schools with over-35k tuition. So, I have to narrow down some schools in case I am not admitted in big LACs, at least, I can pay for those schools. Indeed, I have a really bad CR score, but fairly good Math score. SO, I'm really worried.
Tuition is really a big problem for int' students. My Toefl score is 101 and I will take SAT2 in next Nov(may be around 2100-2200).
The schools I intend to apply are Lake Forest, Lafayette, Skidmore, Gettysburg, St.Paul's Uni, CUNY Brooklyn, Hampshire, Ohio Wesleyan.
I do need some safeties with low tuition. So, please, pay a little attention and help me!
Thanks again</p>
<p>The thing to remember is that the colleges with lower tuition usually have smaller endowments, which means less financial aid is available. It actually costs the majority of students less money to attend a more expensive college than a cheaper one. You would be better off looking at pricier colleges that offer aid to international students.</p>
<p>And I think people are paying attention, as you asked. Your request is just really hard to meet.</p>
<p>in addition to schools with low tuition fees, look for schools that would offer you merit-based aid</p>
<p>Thanks again
By the way,please chance me about getting in those schools above!</p>
<p>How about small and cheap public universities?
Here are a few that might be appropriate for you academically and financially:
Concord University
Eastern Oregon University
Missouri Southern State University
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
West Virginia State University</p>
<p>Well,I think that the private LACS may give me more chances getting fin aid that the public universities. In fact, studying in the US is more than a dream for me, so I really don't pay much attention on the rank of the college or the IVY(of course,I'm not qualified enough!!). So, finding an affordable school is by far the most important factor.</p>
<p>Another question is that if I want to transfer to the BC,BU,(or some colleges in Boston) ,UCs, which community colleges should I study? Which has the highest percent of transferring to those schools?</p>
<p>They don't really do surveys like that. I know Santa Monica College is the top feeder to Southern Cal, but that's the only example I can think of off the top of my head. A lot of colleges, particularly liberal arts colleges, have articulation agreements with community colleges. If there's a particular college you're interested in, you could check with them about community colleges they might be affiliated with.</p>
<p>You will find very few community colleges that offer housing, though, and I imagine you will need that. The only examples I can think of off the top of my head are Monroe and Onondaga in New York, New Hampshire Technical Institute, and Eastern and Central Maine, and others that are in harsh weather and/or rural areas. There are others, of course, but generally speaking, they're the more secluded ones.</p>
<p>Edit: And for the UCs, that's a whole separate issue. You may want to try the UC transfer thread.</p>
<p>BC, BU and the UCs have close to none fin aid for international first year applicants and none for international transfer applicants, and they all are really expensive. Could you afford them?</p>
<p>The public universities I listed have out-of-state tuitions between 5K and 10K and I thought that you might be able to handle that without fin aid.</p>
<p>In order to get anything close to a full tuition scholarship to a private college you need to be really overqualified; especially at small colleges that means that you likely won't find intellectual/academic peers and as many higher level courses as you are looking for.</p>
<p>Anyway, here is a list of private colleges that give merit-based aid to international students (including a few women's colleges because I don't know your gender):</p>
<p>Columbia College, SC (full tuition scholarship guaranteed for 1300+ SAT score, but women's college)</p>
<p>Saint Peter's College, NJ ($13K tuition scholarship in your SAT range; current tuition is $22K)</p>
<p>La Salle University, PA (you are eligible to compete for a full tuition scholarship, but not guaranteed)</p>
<p>Park University, MO (only 8K tuition and you would likely receive at least a half-tuition scholarship and an additional housing grant, but it's bigger than what you are looking for)</p>
<p>Mississippi University for Women, MI (another women's college, about 10K tuition and you would likely qualify for a merit award)</p>
<p>And another public university that just popped into my mind:</p>
<p>Southern Arkansas State University (about $8K tuition, offers several scholarships to internationals, including two out-of-state tuition + room & board scholarships)</p>
<p>On a side note, I think that most lower-tier colleges award merit scholarships to their best applicants but many colleges don't advertise their scholarships. A former friend of mine applied to two forth tier (by US News definition) colleges in the Midwest and she was surprised to be offered scholarships to both of them (one being a half tuition scholarship) because their websites did not even mention the existence of scholarships.</p>
<p>In order to get the most useful help, you need to do the following:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Ask your parents how much they are willing to pay each year for your college education. (I know you're asking about places that are less than $15 k a year for tuition, but you also need to realize that room, board and books (about $100 a year per course) will greatly add to your expenses as would transportation.</p></li>
<li><p>Use a financial aid estimator such as the one on college confidential's home page to find out approximately how much aid you would qualify. Realize, however, that many colleges won't give you as much aid as you qualify for or they may give you that aid in only loans and work study. It's only the very top college that guarantee to meet 100% of your financial need (as documented by the paperwork you turn in-- tax forms, etc. -- not by what your parents are comfortable paying). Most do not meet 100% of students' documented financial need, and may meet lots of that with loans/work study. Typically, the self help part of one's financial aid (Loans, work study, summer employment) rises each year.</p></li>
<li><p>Check out your state's public institutions. Usually the best financial deal one can get is via one's state's public institutions, which will have reduced tuition rates for state residents, and may also have good merit-based scholarships for state residents. State universities tend not to have good need-based aid because that's based on endowments, but they can have nice merit aid for state residents.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As for private universities, often one's best chances for being able to afford private universities are checking out private institutions within commuting distance. They may also have special scholarships for local residents.</p>
<p>While you'll see by reading CC that some people get excellent aid from private universities -- sometimes even rivialing what they'd have to pay to go to in-state publics -- the best such deals are for students with sky high scores and gpas.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Also do some preliminary research on your own. Spend the $6 or so to buy the college guides by US News, Time or Newsweek, which will provide a good overview of most of the colleges in the country: costs, sizes, scores of incoming freshmen, etc. You also need to figure out what you're looking for in a college and how far away you can afford to go. Remember that it's usually cheapest to go to college near your hometown. Indeed, most students attend a college within 250 miles of where they live. If you choose to go far away, you'll have to pay additional costs for clothing (particularly if the college has a different climate than does your hometown), transportation, storage of your belongings during the summer, etc. Also, if finances are an issue, your parents may not be able to take the time off to transport you to college or attend things like family weekends. You also may only be able to afford to go home for winter and summer vacations. Depending on the campus and your ability to make friends, that can lead to some very lonely 3-day holiday weekends.</p></li>
<li><p>If you're attracted to LACs because of the small classes and nurturing faculty, check out the honors colleges and living/learning communities at your in-state public universities. Often those programs at public universities offer an experience similar to being at a LAC for a much lower cost.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I think you'll have a tough time finding many LACs with tuition that's below $15,000.
Some of the college guides I mentioned before also have lists of colleges that are good values (i.e. good education, relatively inexpensive). Still, I don't know if many or any have tuition less than $15 k. </p>
<p>Some of the cheaper LACs that I am familiar with are Earlham and Guilford. I think that Calvin College also is relatively inexpensive for a LAC.</p>
<p>Northstarmom, those are valuable tips for every future applicant. tee8tee, however, is an international student, so (s)he does not have an in-state public university nor does (s)he qualify for need-based financial aid at most colleges. Even getting a loan to finance his/her education might be very difficult.</p>
<p>OP, since you are an international, you will have a very hard time finding a U.S. college that will meet your financial needs. Relatively few U.S. colleges offer financial aid to internationals. To qualify for such aid, internationals usually have to have scores and grades far above the college's averages.</p>
<p>Being able to afford to pay $15 k toward your college education in the U.S. is not a lot of money particularly since you're an international and may not qualify for need-based aid.</p>
<p>Check out the international board here, which may be able to give you good advice. Also follow the suggestion of checking out Canadian colleges, which are much cheaper than are most U.S. ones.</p>
<p>The first thing I want to say is to thanks everybody very much. I do appreciate your advice. I'm a male! After asking my parents about the expense, their answer is that they can pay approximately 20k for me each year. Now, I wonder if colleges really look at the academic honors and awards of int' students? Just because I achieved many and many prestigious prizes for gifted students in my country. I rank in top 5% in my class and my ECs are fairly diverse. So, can all of them make up for a fairly low SAT scores and in some ways, bring me about 15-20k scholarships? I do need some advice, so please help me!</p>
<p>I think it's about time to clarify what you are looking for. From your previous posts I assume that you already have your reaches and matches in line (and yes, your awards will help you for them) and you are now looking for safeties, correct? Now, what other aspects except for the financial one are important to you? What about the size of the college? Does it need to be a LAC, or would a liberal arts colleges as one school within a larger university be ok, too? What about its location (Northeast, South, rural, urban...)? What do you want to major in? Should it be a residential college?</p>
<p>When lower tier colleges award scholarships, they first of all pay attention to your stats (class rank, GPA, SATs) because those will appear in rankings. Only once you achieve a given set of numbers, they will look at other credentials to determine which 20 of the 100 applicants with SATs above 1300 should get the full-tuition scholarships. While your awards may help you, you should not count on them when looking for a financial safety.</p>
<p>At this point I would again recommend you to look at public colleges with low tuition fees. If your family can contribute 20K, why not attend a public school with a cost of attendance of 15K-20K even if it does not offer any scholarships to international students? Just for the sake of having a financial safety that you can attend without a scholarship if you need to.</p>