Jan 15, strong math, great aid for intl's?

Student Lounge International Students
1

<p>Okay so I'm looking to apply to just one more school(if I find one that I like )
Please tell me if there are any schools which meet all of the following conditions:</p>

<ul>
<li>January 15(or even later) deadline</li>
<li>Strong(second or third tier) math department. First tier is Princeton, Harvard, MIT and such. Second tier is Duke, Northwestern and so on. Third tier is what falls immediately below second tier.</li>
<li>Acceptance rate between 18% and 30%</li>
<li>Full need met for accepted international students(that does not imply that the school has to be need-blind, or has to have a large number of internationals receiving aid)</li>
</ul>

2

<p>many schools fit that criteria:
amherst, williams, colgate, berea, etc</p>

3

<p>What do you want to use the math major for?</p>

<p>Most liberal arts colleges are no good for aspiring math PhDs. Take it from a math PhD candidate at Stanford who graduated from a liberal arts college but took most of her math classes at a nearby Ivy.</p>

<p>Liberal arts colleges are not a good choice for two major reasons. First, liberal arts colleges don’t teach graduate courses. Graduate school-bound math majors at research universities routinely take graduate courses in their junior and senior years. The stronger graduate programs in math are structured assuming that their incoming students have already had this coursework and simply cannot accomodate liberal arts graduates. (The number of graduate courses taken as an undergraduate is also often used as a proxy for the potential of an applicant. Liberal arts graduates fare rather poorly in this comparison…)</p>

<p>Second, many liberal arts colleges are striving to make their math major “accessible” to students who would not normally major in math. Even upper-level courses are much easier than the same courses at a research university of the same caliber. Graduate schools know this and will intentionally discriminate against liberal arts colleges in admissions. Unfortunately, that’s not just my opinion. Swarthmore College explicitly warns their math majors that applying to graduate school will be an “uphill battle”: <a href=“http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/academics/math/grad_GRE/MathGradSchool.pdf[/url]”>http://www.swarthmore.edu/Documents/academics/math/grad_GRE/MathGradSchool.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>FWIW, I only know three liberal arts colleges that do not water down their math curriculum (Haverford, Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd). However, their graduates are still facing an uphill battle in graduate admissions.</p>

4

<p>If you don’t care about graduate school, and you don’t care about doing applied math with a Bachelor’s degree either (not usually available at liberal arts colleges), what I just said isn’t relevant to you. In that case just ignore me and apply ahead!</p>

5

<p>Check this link. Be aware that applying for Berea College all the materials should be sent by post, they do not accept documents electronically from int’ls.
[Colleges</a> That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014]Colleges”>http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2013/09/18/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need-2014)</p>

6

<p>Thanks everyone.</p>

<p>@ moneyp: I have applied already to a few LAC’s, but, because of the information given by b@r!um as well as other considerations, I’m not interested in any others. Actually, before posting this, I did have an interest in Swarthmore, but the link given by b@r!um shows that Swarthmore is really not for me.</p>

<p>@ b@r!um: I do care a lot about graduate school, and want to become a PhD. The prospect of running out of courses at a LAC scares me.</p>

<p>Also, do you happen to have some knowledge about Wash U in StL’s math?</p>

<p>@ mimicore: Nice list, but does it apply to international students as well?</p>

<p>I’d like to hear more advice from people here. :)</p>

7

<p>disari21</p>

<p>Yes, those schools, if admitted, will meet the full demonstrated financial need of both domestic and international students. You should also note these ones are the most competitive. Spots are extremely limited and to gain admission a student has to be really outstanding. Or to have A+ scores.</p>

<p>Have you taken SAT/ACT? It would much broaden the specter of good schools with available full-rides. Also my advice is not to expect many full scholarships. Also, depending on your scores, there are other, less prestigious, mainly private colleges with good financial support to international students. I had an interesting list of those, even test-optional ones somewhere, but you should arrange own research due to GPA, TOEFL, etc and other requirements you meet. Consider female colleges, they tend to have nice acceptances and financial assistance.</p>

<p>So, here we have 2 sides of 1 medal: 1. High school rank, lower acceptance rate and strong academics & 2. quite good college/university still offering aid. It also doesn’t make those “2nd-hand” school look bad because it’s simply not Harvard, Yale or Princeton. They still shine well and worth effort. </p>

<p>Unis you wish to attend are (very)*n competitive and defer applicants with ideal stats. I even remember the time I called HYPS admissions. Now it’s a funny memory: Me, applying for Yale? Do not depend on those schools and also have a plan B. Share your achievements so that people here could better understand your situation, chances and advice more due to concrete circumstances.</p>