<p>Hi. My final year is starting from june this year and I'm looking to get into any of the colleges in the states. Though i'm not a resident of USA nor I have ever come up here, Plus i dont have sufficient knowledge about how to choose a college which is good enough for me. Way too many choices to choose from and i'm kind of confused about a few things. There are some basic things that I do require and i cant find sufficient information about them. As I said I'm an international applicant so a college which would give out financial aid merit or need based, would be my preference. Plus i just gave a practice SAT-I test without any prep, my score was 1950, and i'm going to give the real test by Nov, so I'm pretty sure i'll manage a score of around 2100-2200. Choosing a major is another confusion for me, I was always good with maths and computers so I'm gona opt for something in the field of Computer, either Computer Engineering or software engineering or if there is any better program then these, please do recommend. I was looking out for financial aids offered by different colleges but the only full ride scholarships or aids were only by the ivy league colleges, are there any other colleges as well that offer full ride scholarships to international students. And which SAT-II subject tests am i suppose to take if i go for computer engineering.
About my achievements other then the SAT score, i have been in my school's basketball team for over two years now and have won regional championships as well. Participate in Athletics and have won a few trophies there as well. I have won twice the regional english essay writing and short story writing competitions and in declamations as well. Vice President In the English Debates Department. Won in science exhibitions as well. Head of the Computer club of the computer club. I have a few participations in the dramatics as well. I have school given certificates for all these as well. And i'm pretty sure i can manage out letter of recommendations from the two science head of departments and maybe from the head of the school as well. I'm one the best students our school has. I head volunteer work has some importance in the admission as well, so i'm going to do a internship with an Environmental Protection NGO. There's one last question i had and that is how much do the grades of an international applicants matter in the whole admission process?</p>
<p>All the help and guidance would be appreciated.</p>
<p>You need to read through everything (and I do indeed mean everything) at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) Then you need to make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to where you live. They are expert at helping students from your country find good places to study in the US. They can tell you which colleges and universities have admitted students like you in recent years, and whether or not those students have received financial aid. If you cannot visit the EducationUSA office in person, find out how much help they can give you by email or telephone.</p>
<p>*As I said I’m an international applicant so a college which would give out financial aid merit or need based, would be my preference. *</p>
<p>If you think that your SAT will be in the 2100 range, then it’s not likely that you’d get accepted to an ivy or elite that gives generous need-based aid to those who qualify after the school reviews parents’ income and assets. Besides, those schools are incredibly hard to get accepted to even with top stats.</p>
<p>You need to find out how much your parents will pay.</p>
<p>You need to find out which schools will give you large merit scholarships for your stats. These won’t be top schools, but they will be good schools.</p>
<p>well i can manage more then 2100, if i work hard enough, i have time till oct. and i’m pretty sure i can manage something around 2200-2300 if i put all my efforts in.
Plus about the college preference i’m looking for should have these atleast. Any one can suggest some which follow up on these needs:</p>
<p>A merit/need based financial aid program
Offer computer majors
A good campus life/studying environment
preferably on-board living
most importantly should be a well reputed college :)</p>
<p>and thanks everyone for their opinions and help :)</p>
<p>For international students it is VERY difficult to get merit/financial aid, especially if you are looking for significant amounts. Below is a list that might be helpful. Also check out the International Student forum for other ideas. As to picking a school, there are literally hundreds of colleges throughout the country which meet all your other criteria.</p>
<p>Not all foreign applicants are equal. Many colleges use internationals to increase their diversity percentages. They also like the global viewpoint that international students can provide. Diversity can include various attributes: racial, ethnic, religious, economic and general worldview.</p>
<p>So the first question is what is there about your personal profile that might be of interest to an American college? I don’t mean standard highschool extracurriculars like debate or basketball. I mean what based on your life experience would you be able to contribute to the campus community? </p>
<p>Grades, scores, rank plus recommendations, essays and traditional ECs are important, of course, but in interational admissions equally important are who you are and where you’re from.</p>
<p>The very selective colleges and universities usually only offer need based aid which is calculated based on your family’s income and assets. You should ask your parents to use an online calculator to get an idea of how much you may be entitled to. If it works you can proceed. </p>
<p>Merit aid for internationals is available at some very good colleges (not the same as the need-based colleges, though). In my opinion merit aid is totallydependent on how much they need/want you to balance their class. Colleges that are located in the midwest or in rural locations often have a hard time attracting high achieving American minorities. These colleges can often be the best bets for merit aid to internationals, especially if they are not White, not Christian, not middle class.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about CS or engineering so I hesitate to suggest any particular colleges, but for generally international-friendly admissions you might take a look at Macalester, Grinnell.</p>
<p>PS, How about using some paragraphs next time? :)</p>
<p>Well about the racial diversity applying to my case would be a rare case with all the current events going all round the world. I’m from Pakistan and with all the news going around, people from here wouldnt be the favorites rather needed by American colleges. Though I do have some community service and such plus things to my profile. Lets just hope for the best I can manage.</p>
<p>About how much my parents would be able to pay, I calculated it, it sums up around $15000 annually, so I dont know how much would that make a difference for me to get into any of the good colleges out there.</p>
<p>I checked out the colleges recommended in the thread, all of them covered the aid for international students, but the majors offered in Macalester, Grrinnell and Berea are not the ones I’m looking for.</p>
<p>*About how much my parents would be able to pay, I calculated it, it sums up around $15000 annually, so I dont know how much would that make a difference for me to get into any of the good colleges out there.
*</p>
<p>Well, then, if you end up with a SAT around your predicted 2100, you might find a school where you would get a full tuition scholarship…that would leave your parents money to pay for other costs.</p>
<p>However, be aware, that some schools require that you show ALL funding before they will accept a student and award a scholarship. I know that seems odd.</p>
<p>Well that is what I’m looking for. Can you please recommend any good schools which have such scholarships? The ones that offer majors in either Engineering in computer or any good law school? Because these two are my preference.</p>
<p>I tried looking up on the Internet about such awards but all I found were some pretty confusing opinions, I have scheduled an interview as well with the United States Education Foundation here, hope so that would help as well.</p>
Ask your parents to use an on line calculator to determine what your family’s expected family contribution (EFC) would be. If it comes out to less than $15,000, then you can look for colleges that give NEED based aid to internationals. Most selective colleges offer need based aid; however, the actual amount granted may vary from school to school.</p>
<p>Remember what is important is what the college thinks you can afford, not what you think you can afford. Determine this first.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If your EFC is greater than $15,000 then you’ll need to find schools that offer MERIT aid (which is more or less the same thing as a scholarship). These are few and far between for internationals, but they do exist. More on that later.</p></li>
<li><p>Law is a graduate program in the U.S. There is no specific undergraduate major for “pre-law.” Just about any major qualifies for law school admissions.
Engineering is a specialized field and is offered at many colleges and universities, but not all. The list would be very long.
The CS is available at most colleges though some are better than others.</p></li>
<li><p>I think you have the “personal profile” issue upside down. Your ethnic background is your best EC. You need to use it to your benenfit. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Pakistan and the corollary topics of Islam, radicalism, Afganistan, India, developing countries, international relations, nuclear weapons etc, etc are very timely topics on campuses today. Your background would be of interest to many colleges. Remember colleges are looking for students who will contribute to the campus community, both in and out of the classroom.</p>
<p>This is especially true of colleges that don’t get a lot of East Asian applicants, e.g., those in rural locations or small colleges in the midwest. As an international who needs financial aid, you sometimes have to strategize against the grain. </p>
<p>These are the same colleges that are likely to give merit based aid. They use internationals to balance out their diversity figures.</p>
<ol>
<li>Does your high school offer college counseling? For international students it helps to compare where other students from your school have been admitted. </li>
</ol>
<p>As a general statement I would say that grades are most important followed by background. Scores, rank and traditional ECs help, but not as much as the first two.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Well then I’m left with the choice of Computer Engineering, because that is something I always wanted to do and Computer and Maths are two subjects I have always been good at. Speaking of which, I dont want to go for a Major in Computer Science only, I would like to go for wither Computer & Electrical Engineering, or Software Engineering.</p></li>
<li><p>Well I’m not sure how to make use of my background, though I have a military background, My father has served in the Army for 25 years and retired as an Officer, so ultimately I got around the country alot, he was posted every part of the country and so did I. Even some of those places where it isn’t considered safe to go now. I have a first hand experience of dealing of different kind of people. I met military personnel, officers, civilian people from different parts. Even some foreign delegations. I’d look around to know ways of using this as a plus point in my application.</p></li>
<li><p>I don’t think so there’s any counseling available in my college, though there are people who can help me with that. But there is something I can surely tell you that there are only a few students from here who have been inducted into any of the undergrad programs offered in United States. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Plus this might be a bit of stupid/lame question but I came across a few people who told me that my name might become one of the reasons I get rejected, as my name is “Usama”, I dont know if that matters or not, but I want to be sure anyhow. :|</p>
<p>1,2,3
It seems to me that if your family can spend $15,000 and your EFC is $15,000 that you’ll be covered for most colleges. You can make up the gap in loans. Of course, getting grants, scholarships, merit money is always better than spending your own, but as an international student I wouldn’t count on it. It’s tough out there. By all means, explore both!</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about engineering programs so I’m not going to advise you on specific schools. The website that you linked is mostly focused on small liberal arts colleges, which is exactly what I’ve been saying: small schools, especially those in the Midwest and remote locations, recruit and finance internationals to increase their diversity percentages. The, problem is that few small LACs have engineering programs. CS, math, science yes, very strong. Engineering, rare. </p>
<p>It’s a bit of a long shot, but I’d look at Swarthmore. It does offer an engineering degree, it offers excellent aid and admits holistically.</p>
<p>I’m unclear from your posts how old you are. Are you in what would be the equivalent of high school? If you’ve already graduated and are in your 20’s then you need to focus on larger universities.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I maintain that your background would be appealing to most colleges/universities. They’re studying it; you’ve been there, seen it, lived it. You need to communicate that advantage in your essays, resume, recommendations, interviews. Choose an essay topic that illustrates (indirectly) your life experience. Don’t worry about your name. Americans are so excessively PC that it will end up being a plus. (The funny thing is that all I saw was the USA part.)</p></li>
<li><p>Reach out to the people who can help you. Do you have friends, acquaintances who have been through the process? You sound as if you’re well connected in your community. Talk to parents/students who have studied in America. Everyone likes to give advice. Use your connections!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Well my basic choice and need is college with a good Computer Engineering/Software Engineering program, so I’ll be looking for those, there are a few in the list which offer some real great programs but as I have heard, are hard to get in.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well I’ll definitely give this one a consideration.</p>
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</p>
<p>Well I’ll be 19 next January and I’m a senior in accordance to the Highschool system used in US. My senior year starts this July. I’ll Graduate next May. So most probably would be applying for fall 2012 semesters. I might be a bit confused about this as well. If i’m mistaken then do guide me about what would be the right time for me to apply?</p>
<p>I’ll take your advice on the positive usage of my ethical background under serious consideration. This was something I never thought about but now I guess i can see ways of expressing everything I have seen in a much better way and as far as I know a strong essay plays an important role in the whole admission procedure? Thanks for the clearance about the name issue.</p>
<ol>
<li>I do have a friend who got into Furman in their Engineering program last year from here, but he studied in a different part of the country. He has a full ride or at-least a full tuition scholarship but its been a while when I got last in touch with him, I’ll try to talk to him and ask him for assistance as well. There are others as well who might be of help to me. I’l ask them for all the help I can get from them.</li>
</ol>
<p>Your are correct: you should apply in December 2011 for admissions in September 2012. Furman is an excellent choice for Asian students. Smart, friendly out-going student body. </p>
<p>I have no idea how, or even if, engineering schools value essays; however, for small and medium selective schools they are big part of the process. I’d suggest that you write about an experience that illustrates your multi-cultural life experience and that impacted your understanding. You want to draw a picture, not give a sermon. Be indirect; don’t over explain. </p>
<p>I’m constantly amazed when talking to kids in my host country (Indonesia) by how little they appreciate the significance of their life experiences on college admissions. Most American high schoolers haven’t had the opportunity to travel – maybe to Europe, but seldom to places like Pakistan or Indonesia. Colleges really like the idea of “importing” global insight in the form of students from developing countries, especially hotspots. Also, don’t understand the preponderance of Islamic studies on campus. You may think that Americans are hostile. That is not the case. They are curious.</p>