International Student Applying for Scholarship

Paying for College
1

<p>-Background/Introduction:</p>

<p>Hi, My name is Rustom Al Hamouri.
I am of Jordanian Origin, currently residing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
I'm in my last year of High School (also known as Senior Year)
I attend an American Curriculum private school, where AP Courses are imposed on you starting from 10th Grade.</p>

<p>-Current Test Results/Academic Performance:</p>

<p>Average of 66% (11th Year)
A SAT Score of 1800 (Critical Reading: 550/Math: 700/Writing: 550)
A combined score of 1250 (Critical Reading + Math ONLY)
An essay score of 6
Scored 600 on SAT II Literature Subject Test</p>

<p>-Future Exams and/or Standardized Tests:</p>

<p>TOEFL iBT on 25th of February 2012
AP Calculus AB Exam on 9th of May 2012</p>

<p>-Other Qualifications/Activities:</p>

<p>Community Service at several locations across the city (one of which include a school/care-center for handicapped children) commencing beginning of 2nd Academic Interval (Early February Timeline)
Total Community Hours: 320</p>

<p>Planning to study in the States, as it's always been a dream of mine.
Do you think the following qualifications could qualify me for a scholarship, ANY KIND of Scholarship ?</p>

2

<p>Doubtful…your SAT scores aren’t high enough and most schools don’t give scholarships to int’ls.</p>

<p>How much will your parents pay? If they’ll pay enough, maybe there’s a school that you can afford to outright pay for.</p>

<p>If your parents can’t pay for much, then it’s very unlikely you’d get enough scholarship money to attend. A $2k scholarship isn’t going to matter if your parents will only pay a smallish amount.</p>

<p>Typically, for an int’l to get a very large scholarship (such as full tuition or a near full-ride), they need very high scores for either a merit scholarship or to get accepted to the schools that give need-based aid to int’ls.</p>

3

<p>The people who are best able to advise you on this are the college placement advisors at your own international school. Usually they are expert at helping their students find places to study. If they aren’t, then you need to contact the counselors at the closest advising center of [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://educationusa.state.gov/]EducationUSA”>http://educationusa.state.gov/) There are several offices in Saudi Arabia [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/SaudiArabia#.Tvoqn5jlBmI]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/SaudiArabia#.Tvoqn5jlBmI)</p>

<p>If you spend some time in the International Students Forum here at CC, you also should get some more good ideas. You can find it by going to the main page that lists all of the forums and then scrolling down.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Too lowish? What scores do I need to attain to get a scholarship ?
*Planing to re-do SAT on 28th of January 2012 in order to obtain a higher score</p>

<p>Financial-wise, My family is very stable (thank god)
But only under one condition are they willing to cover my tuition fees, and that is IF I got a scholarship. The reasoning behind their decision is that I have to earn my right to go to college, and only the way to prove that is to get a scholarship.
The amount of the scholarship doesn’t matter, as long as I get one. Cause in my parent’s eyes, that’s all what matters.</p>

5

<p>Since I can’t edit my own topic for some absurd reason. I’ll just state it here.</p>

<p>I’m not applying to Ivy League Universities, since these are a bit of out of my reach (academically speaking)</p>

<p>Universities I intend to apply to:</p>

<p>University of Tampa
University of Houston - Main Campus
California State University - Los Angeles Campus
Wichita State University</p>

6

<p>Education USA? Name sounds familiar, think I met up with them a week or 2 ago
It’s not that I have problem with choosing where to go, I’ve already finalized my list of colleges, as you can see from my previous post ^_^</p>

<p>And that’s exactly what they told me, “You know what you want, You know where you want it, and you know how you want, so what are you waiting for? Go get it, the sooner the better”</p>

7

<p>*But only under one condition are they willing to cover my tuition fees, and that is IF I got a scholarship. The reasoning behind their decision is that I have to earn my right to go to college, and only the way to prove that is to get a scholarship.
The amount of the scholarship doesn’t matter, as long as I get one. Cause in my parent’s eyes, that’s all what matters. *</p>

<p>*University of Tampa
University of Houston - Main Campus
California State University - Los Angeles Campus
Wichita State University
*</p>

<p>did you look on these schools’ websites to see if they even give int’ls scholarships? I doubt that CSULA does. Don’t know about the others. Often, publics do NOT give scholarships to internationals. If these don’t, then why apply to them?</p>

<p>If you need to get some kind of scholarship in order to convince your parents, then you should apply to schools that you know will give token scholarships to int’ls. </p>

<p>As for your scores…some schools will take later scores and some won’t for scholarship consideration.</p>

<p>If you just need a token scholarship, then apply to UAHuntsville. I don’t know what your GPA really is, since a 66% is failing here.</p>

<p>But, if your GPA is would translate into a good GPA, then you’d probably get a $2500 per year scholarship.</p>

8

<p>if you don’t want to listen to happymom, then why are you here? go ahead and apply.</p>

9

<p>Would working (over the summers/ during the school year) be an acceptable alternative to your parents? </p>

<p>You aren’t selecting very promising schools for merit scholarships. For instance, U Tampa says, “UT offers partial academic scholarships to qualified undergraduate international students with exceptional grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. These funds do not cover the full cost of attendance, estimated at $36,904 for 2011-12. Scholarships up to $8,000 per academic year are awarded, depending on the level of achievement.” ([The</a> University of Tampa - Financial Aid - International Students](<a href=“http://www.ut.edu/financialaid/international/]The”>Financial Aid for International Students | University of Tampa)). You don’t have exceptional SAT scores. </p>

<p>You are aware that there are other costs besides tuition, right? How much can your family pay per year (keeping in mind that your costs will increase)? Do you know what you want to study? (By the way, the listed acceptance rate may not be the acceptance rate for international students). </p>

<p>It may be possible to find colleges/ universities that will practice “tuition discounting” for your situation. In other words, schools inflate the cost of attendance by x amount, but give x dollars of “merit scholarships” to accepted students. The “final price” is the same, but one way yields a merit scholarship, and the other doesn’t. Alternatively, if you apply to schools where you are the tippy-top of the applicant pool, you may get some merit money.</p>

10

<p>UTampa</p>

<p>UT Scholarships
UT offers partial academic scholarships to qualified undergraduate international students with exceptional grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. These funds do not cover the full cost of attendance, estimated at $36,904 for 2011-12. Scholarships up to $8,000 per academic year are awarded, depending on the level of achievement.</p>

<p>SAT Critical Reading: 480 - 570
SAT Math: 490 - 580
SAT Writing: 480 - 570 </p>

<p>You might get some scholarship money from UTampa. Your math score is high for that school. </p>

<p>You’re in a unique situation where you just need some small token scholarship. Usually when int’ls are looking for merit scholarships, they’re looking for quite large ones.</p>

11

<p>Would working (over the summers/ during the school year) be an acceptable alternative to your parents? </p>

<p>You aren’t selecting very promising schools for merit scholarships. For instance, U Tampa says, “UT offers partial academic scholarships to qualified undergraduate international students with exceptional grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. These funds do not cover the full cost of attendance, estimated at $36,904 for 2011-12. Scholarships up to $8,000 per academic year are awarded, depending on the level of achievement.” ([The</a> University of Tampa - Financial Aid - International Students](<a href=“http://www.ut.edu/financialaid/international/]The”>Financial Aid for International Students | University of Tampa)). You don’t have exceptional SAT scores. </p>

<p>You are aware that there are other costs besides tuition, right? How much can your family pay per year (keeping in mind that your costs will increase)? Do you know what you want to study? (By the way, the listed acceptance rate may not be the acceptance rate for international students). </p>

<p>It may be possible to find colleges/ universities that will practice “tuition discounting” for your situation. In other words, schools inflate the cost of attendance by x amount, but give x dollars of “merit scholarships” to accepted students. The “final price” is the same, but one way yields a merit scholarship, and the other doesn’t. Alternatively, if you apply to schools where you are the tippy-top of the applicant pool, you may get some merit money.</p>

12

<p>Would working (over the summers/ during the school year) be an acceptable alternative to your parents? </p>

<p>You aren’t selecting very promising schools for merit scholarships. For instance, U Tampa says, “UT offers partial academic scholarships to qualified undergraduate international students with exceptional grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. These funds do not cover the full cost of attendance, estimated at $36,904 for 2011-12. Scholarships up to $8,000 per academic year are awarded, depending on the level of achievement.” ([The</a> University of Tampa - Financial Aid - International Students](<a href=“http://www.ut.edu/financialaid/international/]The”>Financial Aid for International Students | University of Tampa)). You don’t have exceptional SAT scores. </p>

<p>You are aware that there are other costs besides tuition, right? How much can your family pay per year (keeping in mind that your costs will increase)? Do you know what you want to study? (By the way, the listed acceptance rate may not be the acceptance rate for international students). </p>

<p>It may be possible to find colleges/ universities that will practice “tuition discounting” for your situation. In other words, schools inflate the cost of attendance by x amount, but give x dollars of “merit scholarships” to accepted students. The “final price” is the same, but one way yields a merit scholarship, and the other doesn’t. Alternatively, if you apply to schools where you are the tippy-top of the applicant pool, you may get some merit money.</p>

13

<p>Would working (over the summers/ during the school year) be an acceptable alternative to your parents? </p>

<p>You aren’t selecting very promising schools for merit scholarships. For instance, U Tampa says, “UT offers partial academic scholarships to qualified undergraduate international students with exceptional grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. These funds do not cover the full cost of attendance, estimated at $36,904 for 2011-12. Scholarships up to $8,000 per academic year are awarded, depending on the level of achievement.” ([The</a> University of Tampa - Financial Aid - International Students](<a href=“http://www.ut.edu/financialaid/international/]The”>Financial Aid for International Students | University of Tampa)). You don’t have exceptional SAT scores. </p>

<p>You are aware that there are other costs besides tuition, right? How much can your family pay per year (keeping in mind that your costs will increase)? Do you know what you want to study? (By the way, the listed acceptance rate may not be the acceptance rate for international students). </p>

<p>It may be possible to find colleges/ universities that will practice “tuition discounting” for your situation. In other words, schools inflate the cost of attendance by x amount, but give x dollars of “merit scholarships” to accepted students. The “final price” is the same, but one way yields a merit scholarship, and the other doesn’t. Alternatively, if you apply to schools where you are the tippy-top of the applicant pool, you may get some merit money.</p>

14

<p>*You are aware that there are other costs besides tuition, right? How much can your family pay per year (keeping in mind that your costs will increase)? Do you know what you want to study? (By the way, the listed acceptance rate may not be the acceptance rate for international students). </p>

<p>*</p>

<p>This is a good point. Along with tuition, there’s room, board, fees, books, personal expenses, travel costs, and insurance. As an int’l, you have to show that you have all the funds before you’ll be given a VISA. </p>

<p>Int’ls are expected to show that they are coming to the US with all their school expenses and spending money for a year (a few thousand dollars) along with the school costs. Each school’s website should have a breakdown for int’ls so that they know how much they need to show they have. </p>

<p>If you were given a $1000 scholarship to some school, would your parents pay the $25k-40k per year for the rest of the costs?</p>

15

<p>Would working (over the summers/ during the school year) be an acceptable alternative to your parents? </p>

<p>You aren’t selecting very promising schools for merit scholarships. For instance, U Tampa says, “UT offers partial academic scholarships to qualified undergraduate international students with exceptional grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. These funds do not cover the full cost of attendance, estimated at $36,904 for 2011-12. Scholarships up to $8,000 per academic year are awarded, depending on the level of achievement.” ([The</a> University of Tampa - Financial Aid - International Students](<a href=“http://www.ut.edu/financialaid/international/]The”>Financial Aid for International Students | University of Tampa)). You don’t have exceptional SAT scores. </p>

<p>You are aware that there are other costs besides tuition, right? How much can your family pay per year (keeping in mind that your costs will increase)? Do you know what you want to study? (By the way, the listed acceptance rate may not be the acceptance rate for international students). </p>

<p>It may be possible to find colleges/ universities that will practice “tuition discounting” for your situation. In other words, schools inflate the cost of attendance by x amount, but give x dollars of “merit scholarships” to accepted students. The “final price” is the same, but one way yields a merit scholarship, and the other doesn’t. Alternatively, if you apply to schools where you are the tippy-top of the applicant pool, you may get some merit money.</p>

16

<p>Would working (over the summers/ during the school year) be an acceptable alternative to your parents? </p>

<p>You aren’t selecting very promising schools for merit scholarships. For instance, U Tampa says, “UT offers partial academic scholarships to qualified undergraduate international students with exceptional grades, SAT and TOEFL scores. These funds do not cover the full cost of attendance, estimated at $36,904 for 2011-12. Scholarships up to $8,000 per academic year are awarded, depending on the level of achievement.” ([The</a> University of Tampa - Financial Aid - International Students](<a href=“http://www.ut.edu/financialaid/international/]The”>Financial Aid for International Students | University of Tampa)). You don’t have exceptional SAT scores. </p>

<p>You are aware that there are other costs besides tuition, right? How much can your family pay per year (keeping in mind that your costs will increase)? Do you know what you want to study? (By the way, the listed acceptance rate may not be the acceptance rate for international students). </p>

<p>It may be possible to find colleges/ universities that will practice “tuition discounting” for your situation. In other words, schools inflate the cost of attendance by x amount, but give x dollars of “merit scholarships” to accepted students. The “final price” is the same, but one way yields a merit scholarship, and the other doesn’t. Alternatively, if you apply to schools where you are the tippy-top of the applicant pool, you may get some merit money.</p>

17

<p>It may be possible to find colleges/ universities that will practice “tuition discounting” for your situation. In other words, schools inflate the cost of attendance by x amount, but give x dollars of “merit scholarships” to accepted students.</p>

<p>This is a good strategy since your parents only care that you get some odd scholarship and aren’t looking for a specific amount. </p>

<p>You’d need to find schools (likely private) that will give some merit to int’ls. </p>

<p>What is your intended major?</p>

18

<p>Is there a way to quote other member’s replies in a post ?</p>

<p>@College_Ruled: Thanks for the useful information, but why 5 posts :stuck_out_tongue: ?</p>

<p>@mom2collegekids: I’m thinking Petroleum Engineering (not sure though)
but it does make sense, since I’m going to go back to Saudi Arabia after I finish getting my degree :slight_smile:
Looking back at your previous posts, yes my parents are willing to pay $25-40k tuition fees, if I somehow get a scholarship. 3 Questions :stuck_out_tongue:
1] Is $5k enough for a year’s worth of allowance ?
2] Is “Tuition Discount” is commonly practiced by colleges, or is it hard to find colleges who does so ?</p>

<p>4]It is not really a question, about private schools, don’t they normally have prestigious requirements, as you can see, my stats aren’t what you call “prestigious” or anything close to that infact xD</p>

19

<p>* I’m thinking **Petroleum Engineering <a href=“not%20sure%20though”>/B</a>
but it does make sense, since I’m going to go back to Saudi Arabia after I finish getting my degree :slight_smile:
Looking back at your previous posts, yes my parents are willing to pay $25-40k tuition fees, if I somehow get a scholarship. 3 Questions
1] Is $5k enough for a year’s worth of allowance ?
2] Is “Tuition Discount” is commonly practiced by colleges, or is it hard to find colleges who does so ?</p>

<p>4]It is not really a question, about private schools, don’t they normally have prestigious requirements, as you can see, my stats aren’t what you call “prestigious” or anything close to that infact xD *</p>

<p>Have you looked at each school to see if they have THAT major? </p>

<p>I don’t think UTampa has any Engineering at all, but I could be wrong.</p>

<p>I don’t think CSULA has that area of engineering.</p>

<p>since I don’t think CSULA will give any scholarships to int’ls, I don’t think that school will work out for you. </p>

<p>Cal State L.A. is unable to offer financial assistance to international students. Assistantships, scholarships, and fellowships usually are not available to California nonresidents</p>

<p>1] Is $5k enough for a year’s worth of allowance ?</p>

<p>Probably…each school has their own req’ts. You need to look at each school’s website.</p>

<p>2] Is “Tuition Discount” is commonly practiced by colleges, or is it hard to find colleges who does so ?</p>

<p>It seems like it’s often practiced by some lower ranking privates who need students. However, not all with give scholarships to int’ls…you’ll have to look at each school’s website.</p>

<p>4]It is not really a question, about private schools, don’t they normally have prestigious requirements, as you can see, my stats aren’t what you call “prestigious” or anything close to that infact xD </p>

<p>NO! Many privates are easier to get into than some publics.</p>

<p>What other area of engineering are you interested in? PetE isn’t offered at many Colleges of Engineering.</p>

20

<p>The “College Matchmaker” at the College Board website says that there are 26 schools within the U.S. that have petroleum and/or petroleum technology majors, so I agree that you might want to expand possible areas of focus.</p>

<p>I believe that tuition discounting in the manner I described above is somewhat common for domestic students, but is much less predictable for internationals. Many colleges are seeking international students, because they are full pay.</p>