International student: Not sure on which colleges to apply to

College Search & Selection
1

Grad year - 2020

Major - Comp Sci (preferably a dual degree with econ or math)

GCSE (grade 9 and 10) grades - 6 A(Math, Physics, Chem, Bio, Comp Sci, Media Studies), 2 As (Design Technology and
English Language), 2 Bs (English Lit and German).
Likely A level (grade 11 and 12) predicted grades - A for Math, A for Economics, A for Physics, A for Further Maths (this is also one of the most rigorous options to choose)

SAT - First try: 1360 (640 EBRW, 720 Math), Second try: 1450 (730 EBRW, 720 Math). I’ll be doing it again in October to get my math score up (because as you can see from my stats above, I am capable of doing better at the math section)

SAT subject tests - 790 Math, and am doing Physics in August

ECs - President of LaunchX club
Founder and co-president of a Game Development club
Volunteered as the sound mixing and playback operator for a school play
Did a few online courses related to CS

Summer Activities - Business summer program in UPenn (had a 6.6% acceptance rate)

Work experience - Unpaid work experience in a technology company (specialises in electrical equipment and robotics) for one week and a company that produces parts for oil and gas plants.
Doing an internship in a large Indian CS company this summer.

Nationality - Indian
International Residency (living in the middle east)

EFC - 60,000 USD per year (but my parents won’t be won’t be willing to pay this much if I can only get into my safeties or the lower tier schools from my solids so I need to get scholarships or fin aid if eligible for those schools)

Non-academic preferences - a somewhat large city with large film communities. Also a region that doesn’t get cold during the winter because I have been living in the middle east for most of my life and I don’t think I can adapt to extreme cold.

What I want to do after Uni - Maybe Post-grad but most likely working in the VFX/Animation industry, a CS job in the film industry or financial industry.

Looking at right now - Georgia Tech, all the UCs, UT Austin, Northeastern, NYU, UIUC, UWash Seattle. I don’t know which ones of these are reaches and solids and which others ones I can look into. Also would like to know about any safety colleges (have Purdue and UT Dallas as the only two safeties atm).

2

You have picked a lot of the top schools for computer science. They are all reaches because CS is a competitive major. For example. Purdue accepts 60%+ of applicants on the whole, but they only accept around 10% of computer science applicants (more or less the same for UIUC). Still your stats are excellent, and you would likely be admitted to some, but the UCs, UIUC, UWash, and Purdue… they don’t give financial aid to international students. You have to check the web page of each college to see what help you may be eligible to receive. If you can afford $60,000 a year, you will have some excellent choices (that will cover UIUC cost of attendance, for example).

3

Thanks for the help. I heard from a friend that Purdue is safety for CS but it seems like it isn’t. Do you have any recommended colleges for these stats (regardless of my financial situation)? If most of these are considered reaches, do you know any solids I could look at?

4

I would have a plan with ED and Ea schools… Purdue if safety and they have EA then you should apply… you need to have a plan as Indian bucket is very competitive plus you need financial aid or scholarship …

Look at all universities that have EA and apply to them… also I think you need to get your SAT up a bit … although high for any other nationality for Indians might be tough especially that you need funding

5

I don’t need any financial aid for my solids and reaches. My parents won’t be willing to fully pay just for the safeties.

6

If you are full pay, what would be a safety for a US applicant, is a match for you and what would be a match for a US applicant is a reach for you. That makes what would be a reach for a US applicant a super reach for you.

There are plenty of decent places in the US that won’t run you USD 60k. Talk with your parents, and find out what they’d be willing to pay for a not-top institution. Would they prefer to send you back to India instead?

Also check the status of merit-based aid at U of Alabama, and U of Alabama Huntsville. In the past those universities offered automatic admission and aid for specific stats to both US and international applicants. If those policies are still in effect for fall 2019 admissions, you could have one admissions acceptance in your pocket by mid-September.

Are you also looking at Canada, Australia, the UK, etc.?

7

“I don’t need any financial aid for my solids and reaches. My parents won’t be willing to fully pay just for the safeties.”

You said in your first post your parents would pay $60k a year for these. Without aid, a number of the colleges you listed (the UCs, NYU, northeastern, not sure about the others) are going to cost more than that for full cost of attendance, even before traveling costs.

8

@happymomof1 I am very likely not going to India since I have resided outside of India for my whole life. I am also applying to the UK (because I am studying in a British school so the priority is applying to the UK) and Canada. I think my parents can afford more than 60,000 USD but since we aren’t financially restricted but it really has to do with the type of uni I get accepted to.

@SJ2727 I think my family will be able to afford more (we aren’t financially restricted in any way and my parents are willing to take loans for any extra costs if they need to). I need to talk more about this with my family since it really has to do with what they think of the universities I get accepted to.

9

Well, the UK will almost certainly end up being cheaper because the degrees are shorter. (If you are talking about taking loans if they have to, then your parents are financially restricted in some way).