<p>Hey, I'm an International Student with 100% need. I have no resources for information besides the internet since I graduated from school in 2010 and my family knows nothing about US colleges and admissions etc. </p>
<p>I only began my US college search in May 2011 and this is my list of schools that I really like that I've come up with:</p>
<p>I’m not asking about my chances though so i dont really thinks scores are relevant. I’m from the Caribbean and we do things very different. We dont rank and we dont calculate gpa. our focus is on passing our national exams bcuz those grades are what determine whether you get into the available university.</p>
<p>As far as i know the only grades that go onto transcripts here are the end of year exams grades of each school year. Anyways, all I really want to know is if anyone here is aware of any others schools that i could check out that give financial aid to internationals and are a little less selective.</p>
<p>And also i’ve always wondered how the US high school system works. For example, is homework graded. Are there assignments that make up a percent of the finalmark or is just a single test at the end of the year like us etc…</p>
<p>What’s relevant is how it’s done here, not in your country. US colleges will ask for much more than year end grades.</p>
<p>You asked in the OP if your list included schools that were too selective. Again, no one can tell you without knowing your qualifications.</p>
<p>All of these schools are very selective. Most of them don’t have much money for internationals. Most applicants will get rejected form all of these schools. The vast majority of international applicants needing money will not get it from all of these schools. There are no safety schools for internationals needing money.</p>
<p>There is not one system in the US. Different schools grade differently.</p>
<p>Sigh, I’m sorry if I’ve confused you. I am aware that it’s really difficult for internationals needing aid like myself. As for what you said about end of year grades, won’t schools just accept the transcript as is? </p>
<p>When I gave my former school principal the secondary school report etc, she commented that she was confused by the questions about highest gpa in class and rank. I really don’t know how she’s going to tackle them since as I said, it’s not the way we do things. </p>
<p>Don’t US colleges consider applicants in context of the applicant’s educational system?</p>
<p>BTW, I did not know there was disparity within the US hs system. I thought they at least had similar formats for grading. Thanks for enlightening me.</p>
<p>Colleges will work closely with your counselor to get the info they need.</p>
<p>While they do look at you in context of your system, it doesn’t mean they won’t ask for more info. For example, in many countries, many grades don’t count towards getting into local colleges. US colleges will require more than just the grades from the year that count locally.</p>
<p>You are wasting your time at this point wondering if this college list is too broad or selective. To focus your application strategy, why not call these schools and simply ask them if they will meet 100% need for international students? If one of these schools accepts you and discounts their $55,000 cost of attendance to $10,000 and that is more than you can afford, then the admission is irrelevant. Princeton is one of the very few schools that pledge to meet 100% need for internationals with need blind admissions. Even then you will be expected to contribute at least $4000 from term-time earnings and a summer job.</p>
<p>Completely untrue. All of these schools give need-based aid to international students. MIT and Middlebury meet 100% of demonstrated need for internationals. Colgate and Trinity do not guarantee that, but still have aid available.</p>
<p>That being said, I would remove Colgate and Trinity from your list, and forget about St. Olaf and Lafayette. Concentrate on schools that are known for meeting full need. Receiving an insufficient financial aid package is essentially the same as being rejected.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I know this does seem last minute but I’m at the point where I’m trying to figure out if I’m making the right choices and if there’s something I’ve missed before I submit my apps.</p>
<p>Ghostt, what are some other schools that meet full need besides the need blind colleges?</p>