Hello, I have a crazy long list of colleges and I’m afraid this list is not balanced(safety/match/reach). Would you mind helping me with my list?
I have 1450 superscored new SAT, around a 3.7-8 UW GPA and probably a 32-33 ACT but I haven’t got my scores yet so I can’t tell for certain. My EC’s, essays, recs etc. are on the good-ish side. I’m an international student from eastern europe/middle east and my family contribution is about 20k-30k per year + money for personal expenses.
OK so here’s my list, I know that it’s really long but I won’t be applying to all of them. I’ve also applied ED2 to NYU(money is no problem only with NYU).
Vassar
Barnard
Wellesley(applied)
Yale-NUS
Babson (can only attend with the global scholarship, not sure how realistic)
Kenyon
Brandeis
Lafayette
Case Western
Bryn Mawr
Smith
Trinity Col
Colby(applied)
Colgate(applied, sorta regretting)
Macalester
Reed(applied)
Drexel(applied)
Jacobs Uni in Germany (applied)
U of Alabama(applied)
I’ll also be applying to a couple in Canada.
I really need some serious help and suggestions, thank you very much in advance!
Either Econ(or sth related to it like Business, finance etc.) or Comp Sci(or engineering where possible).
I really want to apply Barnard but I’m not sure if I’ll get accepted at all because of my financial need. Other than that, my only preference seems to be get accepted at a school where I’ll get enough aid to pay.
Since my 1# choice is NYU, it honestly doesn’t really matter where I’ll end up other than there.
If you don’t care where you end up, then just apply to the ones with the highest acceptance rates so you will get in somewhere. I am sure you are aware that you have several women’s only colleges on your list. Bryn Mawr might be possible with your stats. You alos have a lot of very small LACs on the list, but NYU is big.
You should have contacted some of these schools to find out which ones offer good aid to international students. Nearly every school on your list is a possibility with your stats, but money is the issue. I think you can get into Case Western and Trinity in Connecticut (not the one in Texas, right?) There are a lot of great colleges on your list, but FA is the issue. You will probably get into Drexel and U Alabama IF they can give you the FA you need.
It’s late in the game becasue most of these colleges’ applications are due in a few days, and their offices will be closed. Do a search for whihc colleges offer good FA for international students and see which ones on your list come up. Good luck.
Vassar, Barnard, Trinity, Brandeis and Babson are due Jan 1st, others are due 15th. I’ve done hours of research online, but somehow never thought of contacting the colleges! But I think I still have a chance to contact the ones that are due 15th. Thank you for the advice!
According to the website, I’m currently available for the 75% scholarship at Alabama and if I get a 32(or above) on the ACT, then I’ll get a full scholarship. I’m thinking I’ll get into Drexel too, but I have to ask if they focus a lot on need, because I don’t really need to apply for FA there.
It seems to be that my current problems are with Barnard and Vassar mostly. Is it worth paying the app fees, or should I not even bother? Also, do you think I need more safeties?
Oh sorry I forgot to mention that, it’s not the NYC campus I’ve applied to. So it’s A LOT more affordable since they are need-blind and give plenty of aid etc.
Did you apply to the NYU campus in Abu Dhabi or Shanghai?
I think you have a decent shot all all the ones on your list. You’re in range for Vassar stats-wise, no guarantee you’ll get in, but if you really want to go there, give it a shot. Barnard will be more selective.
It can be hard to predict what aid you’ll get, so I’d apply to as many as possible (fees/time permitting) so you have more chances of one giving you aid.
If you want to drop some and you don’t care much which ones, then I would drop the less selective ones as the others are more likely to give merit aid to a student with good stats. For example, drop Barnard (also living in NYC is expensive!), and Kenyon, and maybe Babson since it sounds iffy anyway.
You’ll almost for sure get into Bama so that’s a safety. Not sure you need to add more. If you need another match/safety you could add RPI - especially if you go with CompSci - and as a girl you’re likely to get merit aid. It’s a college for nerds, good business school too (tech-oriented). Similar to Case Western, which you’re likely to get into.
Thank you very much for your help. I think I’ll be crossing Barnard off of my list and I’ll decide what to do with Vassar tonight. I checked RPI out and it looks really nice, I’ll most probably apply after I get in contact with their FA office.
And what about Brandeis? Does anyone have an idea regarding their FA policies? I’ve heard they give good aid, but I’m not very sure…
I would keep Case Western on your list as there are no barriers across schools/majors if you are accepted. So you wouldn’t have to be admitted into CS or engineering specifically. Also the application is free and there is no supplemental essay required.
What’s your preference in terms of school size and surrounding community? For example Kenyon is a small college in a very small rural town. Drexel is urban and has a very preprofessional focus.
I think I would prefer somewhere as urban as possible since I want to do internships while I study. For student body, even though I can almost adapt to any environment, I don’t really like the “typical” university thing where everyone’s obsessed with school spirit, games/sports and sorority/fraternities.
I actually didn’t know Kenyon was rural, I only loved how the campus looked so I added it to my list. But I guess I’ll be crossing that too!
If you prefer Urban, I’d lose Vassar but keep Barnard. I think you’ll find Barnard acceptance rate is lower yet their average scores are also lower, I think average SAT is about 1400. Vassar has a slighter higher acceptance rate but also higher average SAT (closer to 1500). Remember too that Barnard is all women, so self-selective to a degree.
Sorry i meant drop some of the MORE selective ones, as less selective ones are more likely to give merit aid. Selective ones might give more need-based aid but that will depend on your family’s income - you need to run the NPC.
A 33 is better than a 1450 (it’s more like getting a 1500), so that will help some, but it won’t make anything a sure thing if it isn’t already (like Drexel or Alabama may be).
I’d focus on running Net Price Calculators to see if they come out close to the $20-30K you’re talking about. For any schools that do, look closely at their financial aid websites to see what they say about international students. Some of your schools (like Vassar) have particularly good aid, but you need to know what they would be in your situation.
I agree that the more selective schools are less likely to give merit aid, either because they give very little of it or because your stats may not be high enough for what they do give. It looks to me like most of the schools on your list are like this, so you might want to look at a list of “schools that give a lot of merit aid” to find one more that could give at least $20k or more in merit to get closer to your ability to pay.
Oh, OK thanks for the advice! 33 is my best score ever so I was thinking of trying a couple “20% acceptance rate” schools, but I’ll just reconsider that I guess.
Vassar and Barnard are quite selective (similar to Wellesley and Colby), so you could apply to one or two of those. All four would be difficult but seem at least possible.
Your other schools mostly seem to be in the 30% range, where you might or might not get in. But really, all the schools are your list are pretty highly regarded, other than Drexel and Alabama (which have their positive aspects as well). I think affordability and a fit as far as location and programs are more important than selectivity here.