International student needing aid

Paying for College
1

<p>Hello, I'm currently a junior in high school, starting to seriously think about which schools I should apply to.</p>

<p>I'm a resident of New Jersey. I've lived here for about 8 years now, but I am not a permanent resident yet. My family can't afford to pay much for college, especially because my older brother is already attending college. My parents have told me the MAXIMUM we can afford to pay is about $10k, which is even a stretch.</p>

<p>I'm aiming for an engineering school. I haven't decided yet, but I'm leaning towards BMe Engineering, Chemical Engineering, or something along those lines.</p>

<p>My stats are as follows:</p>

<p>GPA - 94.7 (my school doesn't go by the 4 point scale)
SAT - 750 CR/ 720 Math/ 780 Writing, superscored 2250
All honors classes for 4 years
currently in AP Chemistry and AP English Language (good teachers and with grades so far, can expect 4 or 5)
National Honors Society
Science National Honors Society
some EC (president of invention club, appeared in ABC for YouTube competition, volunteer, etc.)</p>

<p>I'm aware that my math score for SAT is pretty low for someone wanting to go into engineering, but I'm afraid to take it again because I might get lower scores.</p>

<p>Currently, I'm looking at schools like Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, UIUC, Rensselaer Polytech, and some others. </p>

<p>The biggest problem for me is tuition. Even if I can get into a school, if I can't get financial aid, there is very little possibility for me to be able to attend.</p>

<p>What are some schools that would offer me a good amount for aid? Please help !
p.s. - I know that it might or might not make a difference, but I am female.</p>

2

<p>As you already know because you have a sibling in college, it is extremely difficult for students in your category to receive significant financial aid. You also already have a list of universities that are interesting to you, so check their websites for information about aid for international students. To find places to add to that list, run a search with the tools at CollegeBoard.org to look for institutions that offer your major and also have aid for international applicants. Since you are female, that you can look at are Smith College and Sweet Briar College. They are the only women’s colleges with engineering programs. Smith has good aid for students including internationals who are admitted, and Sweet Briar is a bit lower ranked and might like you with your SAT scores.</p>

<p>Take a long hard look at any community colleges or public universities that you can commute to. Find out if you qualify for in-state tuition and fees in the state where you are living and studying based on the fact that you live and study there. Some states would consider you in-state. If you can commute, you may be able to keep your costs down until your brother graduates and then you could consider transferring to a more expensive institution.</p>

3

<p>Seems like you are in a stressful finance situation in terms of tuition. How about attending your older brother’s school as well? Maybe that would save a few bucks here and there…</p>

<p>In short, one of my alma maters - Ohio State University is currently offering scholarships for Out of State as well as International Students as an attempt to recruit top students from around the country if not the world. It has one of the top engineering schools in the country, and it’s currently construction a $150 million CBEC Research Facility (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering). It is currently the only Top-20 Public University in the nation that offers scholarship to the OOS and International Students.</p>

<p>International Undergraduate Scholarship</p>

<p>Award
$5,000 ($20,000 four-year value); this award is renewable annually for a maximum of eight semesters (or the equivalent) of full-time undergraduate enrollment, provided the recipient continues to pay the nonresident tuition surcharge, maintains a 2.5 or higher grade point average (earned by no later than the end of the second year), and makes satisfactory academic progress.</p>

<p>Criteria
The International Undergraduate Scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis to Columbus campus students. Those considered have ACT composite scores of 28 or higher or combined SAT Critical Reading and Math scores of 1260 or higher.</p>

<p>Source: [International</a> scholarship](<a href=“http://undergrad.osu.edu/admissions/international/scholarship.html]International”>http://undergrad.osu.edu/admissions/international/scholarship.html)</p>

<p>National Buckeye Scholarship for non-Ohio residents</p>

<p>Award amount</p>

<p>$10,000 ($40,000 four–year value)</p>

<p>Criteria</p>

<p>Ohio State is committed to enrolling a diverse and talented student population. The National Buckeye Scholarship is awarded on a competitive basis to non-Ohio students required to pay the out-of-state surcharge who are admitted to the Columbus campus for autumn semester. Those considered rank in the top 40 percent of their graduating classes and have ACT composite scores of 28 or higher or combined SAT Critical Reading and Math scores of 1260 or higher. </p>

<p>Source: [url=&lt;a href=“Merit-based scholarships - The Ohio State University”&gt;Merit-based scholarships - The Ohio State University]Scholarships[/url</a>]</p>

<p>Best of Luck to you! :)</p>