<p>I'm another Junior starting his college search.
any help would be appreciated.</p>
<p>GPA: 4.0 UW.
SAT: 2100-2150 if i took it right now. probably 2200-2350 since i'm preparing for it really hard now.
AP: 2 this year. 6 next year.(science math oriented)
ECs; normal for CCers. (started many activities late. stopped many activities this year.)</p>
<p>looking for colleges</p>
<p>small to medium in a suburban. city is good too.
diverse student body as in nationality, race....etc.
generous financial aid for someone like me who has to pay all his tuition by himself. or open jobs to help me pay.
good science and math.
research. student to faculty ration low.
friendly people.
prestigious to make me feel happy even to work through college.
nice campus.
many activities to keep me busy.</p>
<p>another important thing about me is that i lived in many different countries. that might explain my lacking ECs......</p>
<p>could you list colleges from reaches to matches in addition to my preferred colleges: Princeton, MIT, Duke.
any other advices would be appreciated.</p>
<p>i'm not an international, but im a first generation. i might consider engineering depending on my interest. i haven't decided which area in science to pursue. probably more into math related science.</p>
<p>"generous financial aid for someone like me who has to pay all his tuition by himself. or open jobs to help me pay."</p>
<p>If you mean that your parents' calculated Expected Family Contribution is very low, you won't have much financial trouble at the best schools. If you mean that your parents could contribute and won't, you are in deep do-do, and working during college won't help much.</p>
<p>Murat, before offering suggestions could you please tell us more about your financial situation. </p>
<p>As you may be aware there are two kinds of financial aid: need based and merit. Need is based on what your parents (not you personally) can afford to pay as determined -- or demonstrated -- by the colleges financial aid formula. (As Daderoo mentioned this means CAN pay not WILL.) </p>
<p>Merit scholarships or tuition reductions are given out as incentives usually to students who are in the upper level academically for the college or whom the college is trying to attract because of a special talent or diversity group. </p>
<p>Both forms of aid can be in grants, loans or work programs.</p>
<p>Your grades and scores wont keep you out of the schools that you list (wont necessarily get you in either) but getting adequate financial aid at these school is an it depends situation. Princeton and MIT are generous with need based aid, but dont offer merit aid. I believe Duke offers both need based aid and merit scholarships. </p>
<p>Since aid seems to be a key factor for you you should concentrate first on determining whether or not you would be eligible for need based aid, then build your college list accordingly. There are many colleges that would fulfill your requirements, but finding one that will finance you can be a complex situation. Definitely doable, but complicated.</p>
<p>Merhaba muratbay. I'm a bit confused- are you and your parents living here now? I asked because you compared their income to the standard of living in their country. And are you a US citizen?</p>
<p>With that kind of income, you would qualify for a full ride at colleges that are need-blind (see for example Harvard's Financial Aid Initiative which is similar to what Princeton, Yale, and some other top colleges are offering).<br>
Depending on your academic achievements, you could also qualify for merit aid at some great colleges. There is a thread at the top of the Parents' Forum that lists such colleges. </p>
<p>Muratbay- pm me if you are interested. My husband lives in his home country while I live in the states with our daughters. Very similar situation. I can tell you some generalizations about financial aid based on our experiences.</p>