Help me narrow College Choices (for international aid) and Chance?

thanks merc, momrath and mwfan, I’ll look deeper at Bryn, Mt Holyoke and Smith.
Good to know about Barnard too, and Scripps, and I’ll try and branch out a little more from the Shelby Davis list. As my school is small (<100 per year, and doesn’t provide much statistical help at the moment, what’s the best place to find out things like the ratio of aid-receiving internationals etc? Is it on the college website itself (I don’t seem to be able to find it…), or is there some sort of database?
Thank you all again, you’ve all been so great and helpful!

The best place to find statistical information is in each college’s yearly Common Data Set (CDS). These are usually posted on the school’s website. If not you can search for them.

The CDSs refer to internationals as non-resident aliens (NRAs). These figures do not include green card holders, students that hold dual US/Other citizenship or US citizens who live abroad.

Here is an example from Dickinson College for school year 2018-19. All colleges follow the same format.
https://www.dickinson.edu/download/downloads/id/10064/cds_2018_2019pdf.pdf

If you scroll down to section 2B you will see the number of non-resident aliens enrolled in the first year class and in the whole college that year. You will also see the total enrollment numbers for first year students and all students that year. You have to do the dividing to get the percentages of NRAs.

Then, if you continue to section H6 you will see the total number of non-resident aliens that received financial aid that year and the dollar amount of aid distributed among all NRAs that year. Again, if you want percentages you have to do the math.

What the CDSs don’t tell you is how many NRAs applied and how many were admitted, nor of those admitted how many were offered aid. Only a handful of schools publish this information. (Wesleyan is one. )Thus, it’s really hard to get a clear picture of your chances of admission with sufficient aid.

Remember that in order to get need-based aid your family must submit detailed financial documentation. The amount that you receive will be the amount that the college’s financial aid department determines that you need, which may or may not match what you actually need. US citizens can use the on-line calculators to get an idea of their expected family contribution, but these calculators are often unreliable for internationals.

The colleges’ financial aid offices are there to help families, so don’t be afraid to email or call them if you have questions. Every college has a slightly different formula so it’s best to get started early on understanding the process.

That’s awesome, thanks momrath!

If you apply through UCAS, does it count as “one”?
Have previous graduating classes been admitted to at least one affordable college with this limit, or are there shut outs?

Yes, UCAS counts as one (that’s why I’m left with only 7). There are shutouts, but we are a small school (just got back to 100 per year) and only about 40-50 students per year apply to US colleges, and about half have a backup in their own country, so the numbers end up being very small each way…

So, you could maximize your list by having UCAS (1), home count backup (1) and commonapp (6)?
This way you’d really have 12 possibilities…
Or does commonapp also count as one!

If you had to make your list today, and building on good advice above, I would recommend:

Option A: (willing to consider womens college):
Macalester
2 of Smith/Mount Holyoke/Bryn Mawr based on fit (Smith most selective, Mount Holyoke least)
Grinnell
Middlebury
Dickinson
Wesleyan

Option B: (not willing to consider women’s college):
Macalester
Trinity (CT)
Grinnell
Middlebury
Dickinson
St. Olaf
Wesleyan

The list has to prioritize Davis Scholars colleges since they favor UWC candidates (which may explain the restriction on number of colleges applied to). I wouldn’t apply to more than one “non Davis” college.
Note that Trinity (CT) tends to give financial aid to athletes and I don’t think they’re on the UWC list.

Thanks Myos, Trinity takes about 6-7 SDavis apparently, and seem a decent chance for me so definetely considering, and I agree maybe 1 non SD is appropriate (possibly Dickinson). Sadly common app doesn’t count for 1 like UCAS and so I can stretch it to 7 only in US.
Itisatruth, thanks so much for the lists, they’re exactly the sort of advice I’m looking for… One question I have about St Olaf, which crops a lot in the advice: is it very religious? I’m an atheist, could it work?

I have to say, and sorry if it sounds soppy, but everyone has been so helpful! (and please keep it coming…)
Thanks so much, it’s one of the things that draws me to continuing my education in the US. I know that like all countries there are all sorts of issues, but it’s obvious there’s so much goodness, and willingness to help as well.

Excellent for Trinity then.
St Olaf is not uncomfortable for an atheist, but you have to be ready for some classmates to be believers (most will be Christian, some will be Muslim). You will have one class about some texts in the Bible and their context or impacts, one class involving religion, and one class involving ethics applied to your chosen field.

You’ve gotten a lot of great advice here, esp. how to dig into the CDS for international applicant and FA info. I agree that taking fit into account is important too. I think giving some pref to the colleges that welcome a lot of international students makes sense – but remember that other international applicants may be doing same too so maybe include 1 or 2 that seem like a great fit (and of course do offer aid) even if their numbers are a little lower b/c you might be exactly what they’re looking for.

Once you identify your targets do show a good deal of interest. Most LACs value that demonstrated interest and while it’s hard as an international applicant to show up, you can reach out with questions and sign up for emails, follow all their social media, click on the emails they send you, etc. Don’t go overboard of course, but don’t be hesitant to reach out. A college counselor told us too many students think there’s a wall between admissions and applicants and that’s not the case.

Finally, spend time figuring how a college’s strengths suit your interests and the value that you’ll bring to the campus – these will be important for essays. Be specific around classes, facilities, clubs, programs that you want to be a part of. That shows you know why you are applying to a specific school and that’s what they want.

You sound like a really strong candidate and I have a good feeling about this!

Keep us posted!

Thanks AlmostThere, that’s great advice and I’ll do my best to follow it! It’s so different from Europe where they just look at your grades (and maybe a general essay) and that’s it.
I’ve started looking through the CDS data and it’s very detailed and useful, will certainly affect my list.
And I’ll definetely let you guys know how things develop…

Hi all,
so I’ve come up with a streamlined, provisional list of 8- what do you guys think? It’s in preferential order, and all the schools are on the Davis list. Flo, Roch, LC have a lot of UWCers on scholarship…

1-Pitzer -ED1
2-Trinity CT -ED2
3-Macalester
4-U Richmond or Skidmore (but Rich seems to have become really competitive, and Skid seems to take a lot in ED, so not sure…)
5-Mt Holy or GWashington
6-Brandeis
7-U. of Florida
8-U. Richmond/Lewis+Clark

Is it a good idea to write -after I get my end-of-year grades- to all these plus a few more (Connecticut, Bryn, Midd, Dickinson, Wesleyan, Grinn) with a brief description of my stats/ECs to try and gauge if I have a decent chance? Or do colleges just give you a standard reply?

Thanks for all the help!

Btw, I’m not Asian (Western Europe actually) so I guess that my pool might be a little less competitive…

They’ll likely give you a standard reply.
Your list is pretty reachy though.

Thanks MYOS - do you think I should have something like U. Oklahoma or Wartburg (big UWC enrollers with great scholarships) in there as well instead of, say, Brandeis?

Wartburg would be if you’re thinking of a 24-30 score. However, based on the rest of your list, I’m guessing not, so I’d replace UOklahoma IF you can get into the Honors college (they have lots of NMFs, the Honors College is very good) as a #8. Lewis&Clark is a good #8 too. Do you have quasi safeties in Europe?

Yes, I’ll apply to UK unis and my parents can afford tuition and living costs (our EFC is around 20k dollars for US and UK, which is pretty much what I got out of the net price calculators, though I realise it’s not very accurate for internationals. Most of the ones I like are in the IB 34-38 range so I should not have a problem with acceptance. But in my heart they are only safeties…

With bonus I should be around 40-41 IB predicted. And I’m fairly confident I’ll get something along those numbers. My pre-IB (IGCSEs) was the equivalent of 11 As (with some A*).