<p>My annual family income is <15000$ and I have not been preparing for IIT. I am in 12th grade just now , scored 94.4% in 10th . I took the SAT exam on the 1st of June. Didn't achieve a good score(1850). I still have my 12th board results in hand(ISC) which is the main factor considered in universities of Singapore and Hong Kong. But, I have had this INTENSE craving since childhood of studying in a good US university.
Is this the convention ? Can people having a family income of 100K+ afford US education ?! This isn't fair ! There is another problem with me- I have a poor extra-curricular record ! So, the universities like UPenn and Cornell are crossed off my list because they require a hell lot of extracurriculars ! So, what on earth am I supposed to do now ?!</p>
<p>First off, your SAT score is really good. You can go to many great universities right of the bat. You also try the ACT and see how you do. These tests aren’t the only factor they determines whether you are accepted to a good college or not. How good of your GPA? Have you done anything out of class? Hobbies? Great essay? If your nor satisfied with your SAT score you can try it again. Also, your financial situation puts you to an advantage against other applicants.</p>
<p>In Indian schools, we do not have a GPA system. As I posted earlier, I obtained 94.4% in 10th grade. And, yes, I am going to take the SAT again but I was wondering that when I don’t have good extracuuriculars and I am in need of an aid which is offered by top colleges(which require ECs) so what’s the point of taking the exam again ? And I have to write an essay so maybe I can make up on that. I mean maybe I can write a good essay.</p>
<p>Hey, maybe you are just looking at the wrong list of colleges, widen that field of view, to increase your chances of getting into a ‘good’ college with a bit of aid, rather than an extraordinary college with no aid… catch my drift?</p>
<p>Hmm… I do understand what you are saying. I have already had a look at some universities which are not in the top 50/100 but those which offer an aid and are not extraordinary are too bad… I mean they are not even in the top 150 :(</p>
<p>These “rankings” are overrated. If you are interested in Engineering (since you mentioned IIT), you need to look for an ABET accredited program and then you can be assured that the education you will get is of good quality.</p>
<p>Their are over 3000 colleges in the USA. Not just the 8 ivys. 2000 of them are ABET accredited and proper 4 yr universities. My advice, forget the rankings and find schools where u would enjoy. U live in India, so u can live anywhere in the USA without worrying about an occasional ride home (cuz u wont be getting one anyways lol) look at school size, location, maybe some facilities they might offer. An 1850 could get u many places.</p>
<p>Look at any ABET accredited school that will offer aid for your stats. Even if the school is ranked very low any Abet program is good so don’t worry about ranking . Then add any LAC that welcomes internationals and is located outside the typical big cities.</p>
<p>You mention your 10th grade scores, but you are now in 12th - what were your high school grades last year? US Colleges will want to know how you did your entire time in high school (grades 9-11, plus any marking periods available from 12th when you apply).</p>
<p>How do your SAT scores break down? Did you have a really high math score and mediocre on the CR and Writing portions? Have you taken TOEFL? </p>
<p>As already mentioned, broaden your search. There are plenty of good schools outside the top 150, and I’m sure some of them offer aid to foreigners. Maybe they’re not extroardinary, but to call them bad is an insult to the students who attend those schools. </p>
<p>You call it unfair that you US families with income in the $100k range can afford these schools - what makes you think that is true. What makes you say that? Families with that kind of income have to come up with a significant amount of money to send their kids to college here, and it is not as easy as it looks. Yes, US students are offered aid to attend US Universities, but do you understand where that aid comes from? Some of it comes from taxes paid by US Citizens, and the rest comes from donors to the Universities, again typically US Citizens. If they choose not to offer significant aid to foreign students, it may be because foregn alumni are not providing the money to do so.</p>
<p>Please think about why you want to come to the US. If you have wanted it that badly, you should have been preparing in much the same way you would have been preparing for IIT. The reality is that few foreign student get into the top US school - but so do few US students. If you expect someone else to pay the bill, you need to show something that makes it worth while for them to do so.</p>
<p>Look into drexler university. (Something like that) its in penn</p>
<p>^ I think you mean Drexel 
And yeah, it’s a pretty good school in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>I totally agree with everybody else - US colleges are NOT limited to the Ivies, Stanford and MIT. Here in India we seem to place too great an importance on rankings. But the truth is that ranking is not everything. If the university is accredited and more importantly, if YOU like the feel of it, then it is the university for you, regardless of what anyone says.</p>
<p>This is not for everyone, but have you considered applying to college via an educational consulting agency? They’re everywhere, and most of them are free. They look at your profile and suggest colleges where you definitely will get in to. If you ask for aid, they will name universities where you will get aid, too. A friend of mine whose stats were somewhat similar to yours applied via an agency and got into 4 of the 5 colleges she applied to (with good scholarships, too). </p>
<p>The catch is that agencies normally have only a certain number of colleges on their list, and they will make you apply to only those. i.e., you will have limited choice. If you want to apply to another university of your choice they ask you to pay an exorbitant fee. That is why I think doing things yourself is best. But on the other hand these people really do know what they’re talking about. You might want to consider going that route; weigh the pluses against the minuses and see if you like the idea.</p>
<p>^yeah, that ;)</p>
<p>@CTScoutmom is on the mark right there and the OPs comment concerned me as well. $15000 income from india is not comparative to a $100k income of a family in the US/Canada/Europe. Hence, this is why colleges are expensive here because everything is proportional. You don’t see a 50K per year tuition fees for a college in India, do you? Instead the cost of tuition is very low in comparison to the schools here. Plus universities don’t generally cater to international students for most part seeing that is a small fraction of the incoming students and so there is little compromise towards tuition. I honestly see why this is so since intls don’t pay state taxes. For this reason, Out of State admittees and intls pay the same rate, which is fair I guess but OOS are still residents and are eligible for federal and institutional aid. You should know that the last time I checked, most colleagues of mine (all US residents) opt for a loan; nobody’s got 30-60k to spend on each kid per year when you got a housing/transport/insurance…etc list on top of job security to go about (the parents are usually in their near 50’s and have rising cost of medication going on as well). The students are pretty independent. Some parents will support their child and some will receive scholarship/grant to reduce loan payment or even erase that for the undergraduate term. Others will have to go about it without aid and repay over 100k (not even including interest which can be changed anytime. This can follow you for many years).</p>
<p>I will be honest here that you will need to improve your SAT score for a scholarship (not admission b/c you can get admission at most schools where acceptance rate is high). But despite that, you will still be lacking in ec’s. Perhaps if you can find a school that only offers aid based on your scores, you might be able to be lucky but you will have to choose the school regardless of rankings.
It just seems that you had a dream to study abroad and have no plan or sight of how much work and worry you will have to go through. Being an intl is no easy thing. You really have to keep up with documentation and everything, which can be a pain. Additionally, you may only see your family once a year or once every 4 years (who knows what the circumstances could be). Even if you attend by loans, it will take a long time to repay those debts off. Finances just don’t end when you apply but actually start when you attend the college. Isn’t it better that you complete your program in country of origin and then perhaps do graduate work abroad? Perhaps go study at Hong Kong/Singapore with less tuition weighing down on you since majority of those universities really just consider your scores and are respected. I think at this point, look over your choices and make a careful decision with the answers I have provided above. Get an advisor and explain this and I am sure that he will offer you a list of unheard US universities or universities that have large applicant pool and heard-of intl universities. It’s not too late but hopefully you go into this process educated.</p>
<p>Honestly don’t even look into ivies. They’re not worth stressing over. I suggest you look into University of Minnesota. Beautiful campus (especially in winter), Big 10 sports, huge campus. Pretty good school, but make sure you take the ACT.</p>
<p>Sid007 is your real name Sandhan Borgohain??</p>
<p>In terms of ECs even if your school doesn’t offer any that doesn’t mean you can’t make some of your own. In fact, most US schools would prefer that students follow their own interests and create their own ECs. Surely there must be something you can do in your local area (volunteer with any charity organizations? tutor younger students?) Anything which shows leadership and/or initiative will look good. If you’re interested in a certain subject, pursue things in that area. e.g. if you want to study Computer Science, maybe design an application or a website. Local businesses are a great place to start. If there are any businesses in your area who work in a field you’re interested in, ask if you can volunteer there once a week (they’ll probably welcome the free help and you can get great experience). </p>
<p>In terms of scholarships, search the international forum on college confidential for information on need blind/generous to international students schools. Some are much more generous than others. </p>
<p>Best of luck!</p>
<p>@uscamstudent
I tried application design and website building and it won’t work in India.
Try Nokia “wish my app”. </p>
<p>Also the joint venture of schools with Coaching giant is killing EC’s.</p>
<p>Well taking the exam again just might increase your score so you have a chance. Many people take it multiple times.</p>
<p>All I can say is that you can get into a pretty good college with enough Financial Aid if your grades were good through 9-11. Your 10th score was very good so I’m assuming they were.
Put forward a sincere and well-edited application. Start early.
As for ECs, please try to remember everything you may have done outside of class. Think of any little thing you may have put your heart into. Believe it or not, presented properly, they can do the trick.</p>