<p>I would like to hear stories about such students here because I am narrowing my college list right now and I need to know which colleges to keep and which not to keep. </p>
<p>I need full financial aid (I will probably struggle a lot to even be able to pay for my plane tickets), my SAT scores are quite strong (2310 SAT1 and three 800 and one 770 on SAT 2) and I have some EC's that I am am very passionate about.
Which colleges do you recommend I add to my list?
I have already applied to some Ivies and Stanford and MIT so now I am looking for ..."smaller" colleges, to say to. Safety schools. :)</p>
<p>I doubt that there are ANY safety schools for int’ls that need full financial aid. </p>
<p>Safety schools generally do not give aid to int’ls.</p>
<p>however, some will give big scholarships to int’ls. But, they probably aren’t schools that interest you.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, that you’re going to have to show funds to get your visa in excess of what a school gives you.</p>
<p>So, if you got a tuition, fees, room, board and books scholarship, then you’d still have to show proof that you have the funds for “personal expenses and travel” once you’re in the US…which will be several thousand dollars.</p>
<p>OMG. I am officially screwed. For Stanford I had to send the Certification of Finances with the Financial Aid Forms. On the certification, I wrote that my parents can give me approximately $ 1200 a year. I simply wrote the truth. So according to that certificate, I can’t even pay my travel expenses to California. Will this lower my chances to be admitted? I mean, if Stanford pays for everything except my travel expenses, I WILL get 2000 or 3000 dollars at whatever cost to pay for my travel expenses. I will work in another country during the summer or something like that (because in Romania, where I live, it is very difficult to get a decent half-time job. It’s either full-time and permanent or you don’t get the job at all). But I couldn’t write all this on the certificate.</p>
<p>And that certificate will probably go to the visa department and they will not issue me a visa? Am I right. </p>
<p>Can I change the information on the certification of finances? I really had no idea what it would be used for.</p>
<p>As an international applicant who needs significant financial aid, you do not have any “safety” schools in the USA. You don’t even have any “matches”: all you have here are “reaches”.</p>
<p>Your “matches” and “safeties” are in your home country, or in another country whose universities will admit you and that your family can afford. Be certain to identify at least one such place. Do not count on being able to magically afford to study in the USA.</p>
<p>As for Stanford’s question about your family finances, they need to know that to work out a financial aid package if they do admit you. It has nothing to do with your possible Visa application. If indeed you are admitted somewhere, when you go for your Visa interview you will have to present evidence that you can pay for your education. The source of money for that can be personal funds, scholarships from the university, loans from your home government, etc.</p>
<p>My high school has a history of sending one or two students to Skidmore every year with a full scholarship. I am pretty sure I will get such a scholarship too so Skidmore is my safety school.
However, I would like to try to get admitted to other schools too, preferably somewhere in a mountainous area but oh well, now I’m just being pretentious.</p>
<p>*Skidmore College is also able to offer a very limited number of financial aid awards to students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States.
*</p>
<p>I would not consider Skidmore to be a financial safety. It might work out, but who knows. </p>
<p>Don’t forget…you need to QUALIFY for financial aid (after submitting CSS Profile. Schools may think your family can pay more than it is able to pay.</p>
<p>I thought a certificate of finances was an official detailed document showing bank balances, income etc? Not just a statement of what you are willing to pay.</p>
<p>I’ve done some pretty extensive research for a friend of mine who I desperately want to come to school in the states with me, and the two schools that I know meet full demonstrated need (outside of Ivy’s) are Amherst College and Swarthmore. Though most wouldn’t necessarily consider Swarthy a “safety,” your test scores seem in a good range for them!</p>
<p>its very hard to get aid as an international unless you’re the next Stephen Hawking or if you apply to a really mediocre program…im a currrent international student i would know…sorry.:(</p>
<p>Also, I just wanted to be a friendly face in the process. I see mom2collegekids has been riding on your goals pretty hard there. Throughout the process, I’ve come to realize just how difficult it is for international students who are any less than rich to study in the states, but it’s not impossible! Apply to where you want to go! Schools have a way of making it possible for exceptional students to attend their institutions, so don’t lose hope.</p>
<p>I think many times both International applicants & our own American applicants are guilty of “drinking the financial aid kool aid”, so to speak! The funds are supposed to appear quite magically without having done the necessary research to see if it is even remotely possible! </p>
<p>Also the applicants wanting a “full ride” are drinking the financial aid kool aid. There are probably some “full rides” out there but they won’t be at the prestigious university the applicant is drooling over! </p>
<p>Ultimately the cost of a college education is the family’s responsibility & if you are eligible for federal aid, that’s great! If you are an international student without a lot of financial backing from your own family, then you are indeed in a very tough position.</p>
<p>*I thought a certificate of finances was an official detailed document showing bank balances, income etc? Not just a statement of what you are willing to pay. *</p>
<p>I think many times both International applicants & our own American applicants are guilty of “drinking the financial aid kool aid”, so to speak! The funds are supposed to appear quite magically without having done the necessary research to see if it is even remotely possible!</p>
<p>Very true…</p>
<p>It is nearly impossible for a student whose family cannot contribute at least $6k-10k+ per year to go to school here unless the student gets accepted to one of the few schools that give FA to cover the entire COA…including int’l travel and personal expenses.</p>
<p>A simple “free ride” of tuition, room, board, and books isn’t going to cut it if you still need money for personal expenses, insurance, and int’l travel.</p>
<p>*Ultimately the cost of a college education is the family’s responsibility & if you are eligible for federal aid, that’s great! If you are an international student without a lot of financial backing from your own family, then you are indeed in a very tough position. *</p>
<p>very true. By far, most int’l students are full pay. I bet if someone added up all the low-income int’ls getting accepted each year with full COA financial aid, the number would be small.</p>
<p>An international school that has a history of sending one or two students to Skidmore on full scholarship, either has very strong ties to that particular college, or has an excellent college placement staff (or both). If your school’s situation is the latter, then you aren’t likely to learn anything useful from a bunch of strangers here at CC. If indeed your school’s contacts are with Skidmore, and only Skidmore, you need to run your list by the counselors at the advising center of [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/centers.php) that is closest to where you live. They will be able to tell you where students from your country have been admitted, and whether or not they received enough scholarships to attend those colleges/universities.</p>
<p>According to another post, it looks like the original poster ended up attending Princeton and wrote this:</p>
<p>“I am an international student accepted by a total of 11 colleges and universities. Most prestigious would be Princeton, Dartmouth, Cornell, Duke, NU, Amherst, Pomona.”</p>