Hey guys, I’m an International student from Nigeria. I’m looking for schools that could potentially offer me full ride or full tuition. My parents can only afford $2000, so financial aid is really important.
My extracurriculars are: Press club (editor in chief), chess club(won a local tournament and reigning female champ in school tournament), student union government(for five years running. I’m always a leader in my ECs), lots of national math olympiad medals, school awards.
GPA: 3.6
Rank: #4/75
I got accepted into the 2017 Yale Young Global Scholars program(Frontiers of Math and Science) but I’ll probably not attend because of $$$
I haven’t taken the SAT yet but I’m aiming for 1500-1600 and I’m 100% sure I’ll reach it.
My intended major is Electrical and Computer Engineering, but frankly, I can do anything from math to creative writing(my passions, so why not?)
I’m interested in schools with ROTC(yes I know the limits for international students) but it’s not that important.
I’m not picky about schools, at all.
I’m also interested in outside scholarships for international students(not art or photography)
Do a google search and a list of schools will come up. Just to warn you, in the US a 3.6 isn’t going to be a high enough GPA to get you what you are looking for. Perhaps that’s the highest grade your school gives, so of course that could be very important to your situation.
Honestly, looking for schools with ROTC really hinders you. It restricts the number of colleges (especially lower ones) and also benefits you in no way (international students can only do the first two years, while being unable to commission).
in terms of your GPA most colleges/universities weigh your grades in the context of your country/ background/curriculum/examination board…
if you get a good SAT score as you intend to, you have very high chance of being accepted into a top school with scholarship/aid …so do your best…also look up the admission requirements at colleges you intend to apply and take any additional tests as may be required ( SAT subject tests etc)
Applying to just one school may not be a prudent thing to do, given the number of qualified applicants to all these schools … if it is not affordable to apply to many schools, please be aware you can request waiver of application fee.
Also there are colleges which dont charge an application fee…many of them top liberal arts colleges and many of them also give generous aid to admitted international applicants( though they maybe need aware for international applicants)
@liteneasy the crowdfunding sites don’t work in my country, deposit deadline’s 24 hours ago. I actually got a $4500 tuition waver, but I still can’t pay the rest. I’m over it btw. I guess life’s like that.
I wasn’t planning to apply to just one university, I meant just one Ivy League. MIT was my dream, but they don’t give a lot of financial aid.
Current school list:
U of Alabama
Howard
Minerva at KGI
NYU Abu Dhabi (maybe)
How do selective schools see competitions vs ECs like clubs? I only do math olympiad, but I’m heavily involved in activities at school, whereas my counterparts do like 5 competitions a term. It’s unsettling.
@gigichuck that is really unfortunate that you have to miss the YYGS due to financial circumstances…MIT is one of the need blind institutions ( per Common data set report they have published almost 72%of their international UGs receive financial aid) , if you get good SAT scores, and ace your essay and manage to secure good teacher/counsellor recommendation you have a bright chance… so you should apply…
competitions- if you win them probably they would be a demonstration of talent, ability and clubs etc are EC. The relative weightage for Test scores, GPA, EC , Talent / ability etc for a specific college is documented, in the common data set if published by the College…
Again colleges will review your application in the context of your background and circumstances,and opportunities available to you as well as your interests and passion.
Community colleges are already much lower in cost. There are the same federal and state grants available to CC students, but they would not apply to you. Many community colleges do have scholarship opportunities, but my guess is that most, if not all, of them are for in-state residents. In fact, many CC scholarships apply only to residents of the city or county, or someone going into a certain field of study.
You could investigate a few CCs though; they may have private scholarships without those restrictions. Every CC would be different.
Community colleges do not give any scholarships to international students AND prevent them from getting a full ride/full tuition merit scholarship once they transfer (transfers get lousy aid in the first place and international transfer students get nothing.)
The best bet is to get the highest possible score and apply as ‘first time in college’.
My advice is to apply to as many schools as you can afford. On a side note, most of the Ivy league schools , if not all, are need blind even to international students. Try to excel in your school and apply to the schools that you are interested in. Remember the golden rule…safety, match & reach. A lot of schools have scholarship set aside for international students of exceptional talent even state schools… yes state schools.
Make sure you have a ‘killer’ personal statement and be thorough in your application. Take Sat and at least 2 Sat subjects if you can. Remember to detail in your extra curricular activities not just your academics.
UAlabama has full tuition for internationals. Full ride is for NMF’s (citizens).
MIT has extremely generous financial aid, so if the NPC indicates you have to be full pay or close to it it means you should be able to afford public flagships.
“MIT is also extremely academically demanding. It is a huge wake up call for many of the students who go there.”
Yes. That is not a problem. You should see my high school curriculum.
@schoolfees Let’s say at this point that I can only afford to apply to 4 schools. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for reach, match, safety, especially since “safeties” aren’t likely to give full ride.