<p>Hey guys. I'm an international student thinking of applying to the US. Now I have already been accepted to a number of UK universities but my dream has always been to come to the US. I have taken the SAT I with a composite score of 1380/1600 and two SAT subject tests in Maths Level 1 and Chemistry scoring in the 700 range. I was ranked first in my class of about 100 students but I don't have spectacular ECs that I understand most top colleges in the US look for (see Princeton, Yale etc.) </p>
<p>Now I want to apply to about 6 colleges and I've narrowed my list down to about 15 unis. These are: UPenn, Rhodes College, Stanford U, UMichigan, Trinity University (TX), Pomona College, Rice U, UCLA, USC, Duke U, Vanderbilt, UT-Austin, Bowdoin, Davidson and Carleton.</p>
<p>I want to major in econ and I understand that most of these unis have good econ departments. Can any of you help me pick the unis that think I have a realistic chance of getting in and which ones are friendly to international students? Can you also recommend any other unis apart from the ones I've listed? The 3 major things I'm looking for except a friendly campus is reasonably good social life, good academics and a relatively warm climate or at least not an extremely cold one cause I come from a country where its warm year-round.</p>
<p>Bowdoin and Carleton are going to be cold and snowy. Other cold and snowy colleges known to be friendly to internationals are Grinnell, Macalester, and Middlebury.</p>
<p>Did you read up on Claremont Mckenna? It is across the street from Pomona.</p>
<p>Many of these schools are going to be looking at ECs as well. In my opinion, they do not have to be "spectacular". The colleges want to see what you do with your spare time and what you might participate in on their campus.</p>
<p>A big issue will be whether or not you will need financial aid. Many colleges/universities are not "need blind" for international students. They will take into consideration your ability to pay.</p>
<p>Michigan has rolling admissions, so you are better off applying as early as possible. Michigan does not consider SAT IIs, so do not wait for those. As soon as you get back to school after the summer break, send your application in. Michigan's Econ department is awesome by the way.</p>
<p>This is the 6 that I narrowed it down to that I think represent a good mix of schools that you have different chances of getting into. State colleges are hard for out of state students to get into so I don't know how hard it is for an international student to get into them. </p>
<p>Stanford U
Rice U
USC
Vanderbilt
Bowdoin
Davidson</p>
<p>I would definitely look into Vanderbilt. Great School. USC is a good option too.</p>
<p>The one school I would cross off your list, though, is Carlton. It is in the middle of nowhere. I live in St. Paul, and honestly no one that doesn't sit on CC has ever heard of it. I really wouldn't think it would be a good representation of living in the US.</p>
<p>And I would really look at Wisconsin-Madison. Although it is hard to get into state schools for internationals, I would say your stats are definitely good enough, and it has a great economics department.</p>
<p>@ twomules: I actually did read up on Claremont McKenna but I felt I had to choose between it and Pomona and I felt Pomona edged the competition even though I have a greater chance of being accepted at CMC. I will also consider Macalester from the other colleges you listed. Grinnell suffers from an isolated location and Middlebury is also quite cold and snowy.</p>
<p>@ Alexandre: Thanks for the advice. I did consider those unis but because of the climate in Illinois I opted not to include UChicago and Northwestern in my list. I never considered Cornell due to it being another reach for me. I might look into UWisconsin-Madison.</p>
<p>@ cnaut: Thanks for trying to narrow my list. I agree with you on the list except perhaps Davidson. I prefer Pomona but my concern would be its very high selectivity which would make it another reach for me.</p>
<p>@ RonPaul: My main concern with Carleton was it's isolated location but I heard so many good things about it that I decided to keep it in the list. However, perhaps I should reconsider it and remove it entirely.</p>
<p>I would choose Macalester over Carlton if you wanted to come here to Minnesota, but really I would aim for a larger school like Vanderbilt or Madison or USC.</p>
<p>If you don't want a cold climate though, Carlton, Macalester, and Madison are not for you. It's cold here in the upper midwest.</p>
<p>I wouldn't reject a school entirely based on the cold climate. However I would reject it if it combined a cold climate with an isolated location.</p>
<p>I think you have a nice mix of schools there. My D attends TU in San Antonio. I can tell you it is very friendly to intels. She holds dual citizenship, but was born and raised in the Midwest, but couldn't wait to get away from our winters. Her winter wardrobe is two hoodies. She finds the school to be academically challenging, and the students and profs very good/accessible. She turned down several very highly thought of schools to attennd Trinity, and it is several thousand less expensive than many on your list.</p>
<p>Claremont McKenna and Pomona have separate admissions systems. There is no need to feel that you have to choose between them unless you want to. One college won't know if you have applied to the other.</p>
<p>Did you look at Tufts, which is outside of Boston?</p>
<p>Are you done taking the SATs or are you planning to retake in a few months?</p>
<p>bdude, Northwester and the University of Chicago are not colder than many of the schools you are considering and, being in Chicago (or within 20 KM in the case of NW), are certainly not isolated. Bowdoin and Carleton are two schools that definitely do not fit your criteria whatsoever. Cornell is also isolated, so if that's an issue, cross them out.</p>
<p>Rice has been really trying to increase its international student population, so that might help you out a bit when it comes to admissions. The residential college system makes the environment very accepting for students from all imaginable backgrounds.</p>
<p>I guess at this point I would email the international student representative at the colleges and see if they can give you any data as to the acceptance rate for internationals and the average SAT scores, etc. You are below 1400 CR and M and for some of the top colleges that may be an issue. Let them know your credentials from your countries education system. Also find out the number of applications from your country and geographic region to get a handle on what the typical student profile from there is. </p>
<p>Many of the universities on your list have very low acceptance rates. I am assuming that you are hanging on to a British university as a "safety". If you are not, you will need to find a couple more safeties in the US. If you do not need financial aid, it will be much easier.</p>
<p>Have you asked any questions on the international student forum here on CC? Some of the posters are very well informed.</p>