<p>Hi guys, right now I am going to so-so engineering university in India.I got in McGill but couldn't afford it in spite of grants.I am good student with poor ecs and I am hoping to transfer as sophomore to some institution which can provide me with financial aid.I know that my chances at ivy league institutions are pretty low but still if I could do some things in two years of my college life which can give me a shot at Harvard,Cornell,yale,stanford,etc would be really great.Please suggest guys what can I do to improve my profile?</p>
<p>If you are having trouble affording McGill, that means you will be requesting a lot of financial aid. This means your chance will literally be zero percent (without exaggeration). Don’t waste your time.</p>
<p>Been there, done that!</p>
<p>Become 1 percent.
See [The</a> Real 1%: Harvard Admits 15 Transfer Students | News | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/6/21/transfer-admissions-one-percent/]The”>The Real 1%: Harvard Admits 15 Transfer Students | News | The Harvard Crimson)
</p>
<p>muaythaiguy18 : Thanks for advice from your experience.What do you suggest I could try for?</p>
<p>4kidsdad: Thanks for answering my post in all the threads. I will checkout the link .</p>
<p>As far as I know, being a transfer student disqualifies you from a lot of aid packages, particularly for Ivy League schools. I think Brown actually has a policy (I might be mistaken) that they don’t grant admission to anyone that needs any amount of financial aid.</p>
<p>Basically, wanting to transfer + requiring money is a pretty bad situation – I’d try to get a full-ride from a school in the US which isn’t as prestigious but is more willing to give money. You might want to try USC (don’t know their policy), Purdue, UCLA/UC Berkeley/UCSD (they’re less expensive to begin with), and UIUC.</p>
<p>^
Kinda.</p>
<p>For US citizens: Columbia & B have limited need based FA for transfers; B has need-aware admissions for transfers. Intl. applicants ALWAYS should check the website or contact the college for specifics.</p>
<p>The OP is asking about these highly selective schools because they are the only ones that provide FA to Intl. students. Thus the conundrum: the ones that offer generous FA to Intls. are also the most difficult to get into.</p>
<p>USC does not have need based FA for Intl. students but has merit, although this may not be available to transfers (I can’t tell):</p>
<p>[USC</a> Financial Aid - Applying & Receiving Financial Aid - International Students](<a href=“http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/international/]USC”>http://www.usc.edu/admission/fa/applying_receiving/international/)</p>
<p>Any public is not going to provide need based FA to Intl. students. The UCs are about 10k/yr less expensive than privates for OOS/Intl. students.</p>
<p>Ah, okay. Thanks for the clarification @entomom.</p>
<p>Regardless, best of luck getting in to a school that will pay for some (hopefully most) of your education!</p>