<p>I thought Windowshopping mentioned having arab friends as a response to post #7 which queried if people knew any Israeli GS students so that the person could talk to them. I really don't see how the response plays up prejudices.</p>
<p>Just thought I'd bring that up since I didn't see that addressed...back to lurking...</p>
<p><em>sighs</em> To add to the entire cultural mix we've got here - I'm Croatian but have lived in the Middle East (overseas!) for my whole life and I'll be applying to Columbia RD most probably... I'm not doing ED cuz it's binding and yeah, I'm scared of binding... lol.</p>
<p>ubgone - your chances of being international are probably just as good as anybody else's who is international. As far as testing with SAT, SAT II and all that goes, your MATH scores will be worth a whole lot more than your critical reading and writing scores will. I asked a few admissions officers myself when visiting Columbia last summer so I'm pretty darn positive about this. However, also make sure to take the TOEFL (test of english as a foreign language) and if you're doing the computer-based test, you need at least 250 to be considered strongly. That is the ONLY cut-off that they have about testing scores. If you are below their SAT scores of something, don't worry.</p>
<p>Being a "non-traditional" student is a HUGE advantage since universities look for a variation of skills, experiences, origin, talent, etc. in their freshman class. They want applicants who are individuals and are different from others cuz that's the only way they'll have a well rounded freshman class.</p>
<p>About the financial aid - Yup... I'll confess here and now that as an international student it's better not to ask for it but if your family's annual income is less than US $50,000 annually, then it'll be okay. If it's over that - seriously, don't do it.</p>
<p>I hope I've helped... at least a little... ;)</p>