Help me find college

College Search & Selection
1

I am an international applicant (from Nepal).
Here is my profile:
SAT: 1370 (not taking it again)
TOEFL: 104
High school GPA: 4.0
Decent ECAs

Subject of interest: Computer Science

I have applied to the following universities:

Lafayette College,PA(ED)
Howard University,Washington DC (RD) WES Evaluation is still going to take about a month
Temple University, PA (RD)

I am thinking of applying to Purdue University as well. ( I know :frowning: This is a lot of safe universities, but I don’t want to risk my admission) P.S Not that financially strong as well.

2

You need to check the financial aid policies for every place on your list.

3

Congratulations on your success in high school! I think you’ve applied to some good schools.

The financial side of it is very important for international students. Many schools really look for internationals to be full pay, or at least they consider a student’s ability to pay in that they might, for example, give preference to a student who could pay $30,000 to one who could pay $10,000. So it is difficult.

The schools (like Harvard, etc.) who are wealthy and don’t really need students to pay also have the most competitive admission process. Some schools who claim to meet full financial need, though, are not so extremely competitive in admissions. I suggest you google “schools that meet full financial need.” Note that this may not apply to international students at a particular school. Two that come to mind are Beloit College in Wisconsin and Clark University in Massachusetts (which I don’t think quite meets 100% of need). Both are good schools. Beloit has rolling admissions, so they process your application and notify you relatively quickly–you don’t have to wait until a certain date.

I found Trinity College (in Connecticut), Skidmore (in NY), and Wellesley in MA listed as schools that provide good financial aid to international students. Wellesley is all female, so not sure if that works for you–beautiful campus though.

One final idea: University of Kansas. It would probably be too expensive, and I would not normally recommend it to you. You would be a strong candidate though. And it is in Lawrence, which I’ve heard is a vibrant college town/city with a high-tech sector. Your stats would be strong, so maybe you’d receive some good financial aid (see also my remarks below about Nepal).

You might also look at Canadian universities. They tend to cost less, although I don’t know much about financial aid.

Americans really like Nepal. So that might be of some advantage to you. Also, they like geographic diversity–students from many different states and countries. For example, I’m sure Beloit would love to have a Nepalese student if they could make it happen financially. You’d bring a unique perspective to the school.

Good luck!

4

Have you ever considered studying in Germany? Jacobs University in Germany has the best computer science degree in Germany and the price is 26,000 euros; most of the campus is international which means that most students get financial aid. You should look into applying there as you’d get some financial aid at an already cheap university. You can also study other classes there an perhaps get a minor in something completely different, like International relations. Here’s a link to apply: https://www.jacobs-university.de/study/apply-now.

I’m a student here right now and if you have any questions hit me up :slight_smile:

5

“You might also look at Canadian universities. They tend to cost less, although I don’t know much about financial aid.”

The best known Canadian universities (such as McGill, Toronto, and UBC) are less expensive than comparable schools in the US but are quite a bit more expensive for international students compared to other “not quite as well known” schools in Canada. Thus if cost is a factor then anyone considering schools in Canada might want to look at the MaClean’s magazine listings to get a list of good universities, and check international pricing for a range of schools. There are quite a few very good schools where the total cost of attendance for international students is very roughly in the range of C$30,000 per year, which is about $24,000 in US dollars. A few such as Memorial University of Newfoundland might be a bit less than this. 1370 SAT might be borderline for McGill and Queens, but should be sufficient along with a 4.0 GPA for most schools in Canada.

I am under the impression that a full scholarship is unlikely for international students. I don’t know about need based aid. Prices would be a bit lower for anyone with Canadian citizenship, or at schools in Quebec for citizens of France.