Help out an international student [create a college list] please!

College Search & Selection
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I’m an international student with an EFC of $15k ( need aid ) . This is the list of colleges I’ve made… Is there anything I can add into the list?

  1. UT Dallas

  2. Stony Brook Uni

  3. Amherst College

  4. Boston Uni

  5. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey–New Brunswick

  6. Pomona College

  7. Dartmouth College

  8. Vanderbilt

  9. Williams College

  10. UIUC

​

This is my profile.

Demographics

  • Gender: Male
  • Race/Ethnicity: Indian
  • Residence: India
  • EFC: $15k/year ( need aid )
  • Hooks (Recruited Athlete, URM, First-Gen, Geographic, Legacy, etc.): none;

Intended Major(s): CS

Academics

  • GPA/Rank : Grade 9 : 92%; Grade 10: 93%; Grade11: 96%; Grade 12: ____.
  • APs - 5 APs ( AP Calc BC, AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism, AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science A, AP Statistics )

Standardized Testing

List the highest scores earned and all scores that were reported.

  • SAT/ACT: 1550 ( super score )

Extracurriculars/Activities:

  1. self-taught python, java and also build couple of projects and apps with 5k+ downloads on play store.
  2. Published a Book
  3. Independent Research ( Research Paper: Not Published )
  4. USACO Gold
  5. Run a podcast with 100k total plays till now.
  6. Internship at a startup
  7. Tutored kids for a year in my Grade 11
  8. Around 50 hrs of volunteering
  9. Facial Recognition app and couple of other ML projects
  10. Played badminton as a hobby

Awards/Honors:

  1. 100% Merit scholarship in grade 11 & 12
  2. Gold medals in aa few Olympiads

Recommendations:

  • Math Teacher: 9/10
  • English Teacher: 7/10;
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Are you a high school senior (I am guessing due to not having your final results for grade 12)?

Have you already applied to this list of schools? If not, then are you planning to take a gap year and apply to start in Sept of 2024?

You have very good stats and strong test scores. I like your ECs but these are difficult for me to evaluate. Some of the schools on your list meet full need, some do not. Unfortunately for international students all of the colleges and universities in the US that meet full need for international students are very competitive for admissions.

Some of the colleges that you have applied to consider financial need when determining whether to admit you, but then meet full need for any student that is admitted. I think that this is fine. “Meeting full need if admitted” is what you need. Any school that is going to meet full need for all admitted students will be a high reach for admissions, regardless of whether or not they are need blind for admissions.

My guess is that you will get some acceptances to universities that are not affordable given your EFC. Whether you will get any acceptance that comes with enough aid to make the university affordable is hard to say. This might be a reach, but is possible.

If you have already applied then I think that you just need to wait and see what happens. If you have not already applied and are planning to apply in the fall to start in September of 2024, then you should be checking at each college and university whether or not it meets full need for international students.

Do you have an affordable option in India? I do know a few people who got their bachelor’s degree in India and their master’s degree in the US. However, even that might be difficult to afford with an EFC of $15,000/year.

One thing to be very cautious about: IMHO you should not start studying at any university in the US unless you are confident that you will be able to afford to complete you degree. It is possible to get half way through a degree and then discover that you cannot afford to complete the degree. See what financial aid is offered when you get accepted to colleges and before you decide whether to attend.

Good luck and best wishes. You look like a strong candidate and it would be great if you can get an affordable offer and come to study somewhere near here!

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Isn’t this thread similar to your other thread:

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Congratulations on your accomplishments!!

Now to your query.

My first question is why these colleges? Except for UIUC none are especially known for CS, and only Dartmouth is need-blind for international students.

UIUC is not going to be affordable. They generally have no financial aid for international students, so there is no point is applying, unless you have found scholarships that can pay for you.

In any case, the only colleges there which is need blind for international applicants are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst, and Bowdoin.

Acceptance rates to these colleges are extremely low, and lower for international students, and the countries from which they receive the most applications are China and India.

For every other college which provides financial aid at the amounts that you need, your need for financial aid will be considered. Realistically, that means that you have to be better than any applicant who can afford to pay more than you.

If you want to attend a college in the USA, to which you likely be accepted, and be able to afford, you need to search for colleges which have merit awards for international students. For colleges at which you would get need-based aid, your profile would have to be strong enough that they will be willing to accept you instead of a full pay international applicant.

So you would need to look for colleges which provide financial or merit-based aid, at which your profile would be in the very top percentiles.

Apply to some of the colleges with low acceptance if you want, but the chances are pretty low. If you have alternatives which are assured elsewhere, that’s OK, however, don’t base your college plans on acceptance to one of these USA colleges.

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Yes it is, so I’ve merged the threads.

And here is the link to the OP’s previous similar post from last month: Chance me for USC, Pomona.. Do I even stand a chance? - #2 by tsbna44

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What can you add? Add a college in your home country of India that is affordable and where you will gain acceptance.

Your list is highly competitive for admissions, some schools are need aware for admissions, and some do not meet full need for all international students.

So…how do you plan to pay for colleges that don’t guarantee to meet your need?

And in terms of acceptances…you have a lot of reach schools. You might get acceoted and you might not.

So…you need to add a sure thing that is affordable in YOUR country.

And I saw your post that you weren’t cut out for the BS needed to get accepted into a college in your country. I’d be trying to figure out what I can do!

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If your EFC is $15K, why did you apply to the publics?

You can get close to your EFC with the U of Alabama based on merit.

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As others have pointed out, the majority of these will be unaffordable even if you get accepted. Dartmouth is need blind but based on your profile I don’t believe you’ll be accepted.

I don’t know how to assess your grades. Are you the top student in your school? In your region?

What were your AP scores?

On what topics?

You may not like the admissions process in your country (FWIW, many complain about the process here too), but you need options there. If you don’t get an affordable acceptance in the US (which is extremely likely), what is your plan? Not go to college at all?

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There are thousands of schools in the U.S. Only seven of them are need blind for international students. SEVEN! So the competition for those schools is fierce.

You need to find schools that offer a lot of merit for international students. Many of these are not schools you may be familiar with. You have received a few suggestions. You have a lot of research to do to find a broad list of schools that fit this category. Or find an affordable school in your home country.

Good luck!

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