I’m an international student who’s just about to start applying to US colleges. I’m pursuing the IB Diploma Program and am looking for a full ride scholarship. I want to study Business/Econ at the undergrad level and eventually get an MBA. I’m stuck on deciding between Lehigh, Richmond and W and Lee for my Early Decision. Here are my stats:
GPA: around 3.9 (unweighted)
Extra-curriculars, jobs etc:
MUN, awarded ‘Best Delegate’ two times
Student Council President and Class Representative
Volleyball, local and school team
English Teacher for about 3 years, I give classes to kids at a local NGO and a couple of kindergartens
Choir (performed at the parliament and various local celebrations)
Used to play the piano, have 3 national awards, self taught guitar player now
Editor of school’s newspaper and yearbook
College Competitive Club member. It’s a club organized by EducationUSA all over the world, only the top 10% of students can join.
Over the summer, I had an internship/volunteering experience (somewhere in between) at my old school where I worked both in the admission’s office and with the school’s counselor. I also took a college-level intensive writing class for a couple of weeks.
TOEFL ibt: 117
I’m retaking the SAT in October, I got a really low score (1250).
I’m taking these classes:
English HL
Econ HL
Global Politics HL
Math SL
Spanish ab initio
ESS
I got awards for being the best in all of my IB classes except for Math.
I have great recommendations and a very creative essay.
What would be my best bet out of these three colleges? I’m looking for a very rigorous program which has a great business reputation and will give me plenty of internship and study abroad opportunities. Financial aid is definitely a big factor in the decision-making process as well.
Hey, thanks for replying! I’ve already done that. For Richmond, if you apply for financial aid, the acceptance rate is 10%. Lehigh is need aware but meets all demonstrated need if you get in - same for Washington and Lee. Any thoughts now?
Odds of you getting in anywhere if you can’t raise that score are very low, since they won’t admit you unless they can provide you with sufficient scholarships.
Also, I doubt the acceptance rate is 10%at any of them for internationals who need a full ride . I’d divide those odds in two and consider odds equal anywhere.
Note that you don’t need to major in Business in order to get an MBA, you can apply for anything.
W&Lee: excellent if you’re very conservative (all types: movement, economic, evangelical Christian, Trumpist) but not so much if you’re not (in the same way Oberlin wouldn’t be comfortable if you are conservative). Known for its fashion sense - students who like to dress conservatively (suit&tie, dress&necklace). Reportedly not super comfortable if you’re darker-skinned or Muslim or gay. Fraternities/Sororities have a great influence on social life, as does drinking. It’d be my favored pick if you are conservative because your odds are probably best but not if you’re not.
Lehigh: very hilly so you must enjoy your exercise and not have challenges wrt walking. Issues with drinking although the administration is trying to control them. Excellent for STEM and business. They may have an issue with your math results if the SAT math scores are low.
URichmond: Good mix of majors and your IB preparation would make you well-suited for the PPEL major.
Are you looking for merit scholarship, awarded based on the strength of a student’s application? Or for generous financial aid to international students?
@Midwestmomofboys Hey! I’m mainly looking for generous financial aid to international students.
@MYOS1634 Hi, thank you for your response! I know that I need to get my SAT score up and am working on that. On the latest practice tests I took I scored above 1400, so I think I should be fine. It seems like W and Lee wouldn’t be a good fit for me since I’m very liberal. Would you say that Lehigh or Richmond would be a better choice for a future business student? I want to go into international business eventually but definitely want to study business/econ on the undergrad level as well. Also, if you have any experience with either of them, which would be my best bet for getting in and getting a really good scholarship? Thanks again!
Roll the dice, the odds are low at either. If you can score close to 800 in math, Lehigh, if you’re stronger in EBR URichmond?
Really, the odds are really low so it doesn’t matter. Do your best for ED then focus on merit scholarships then add more “meet need” RD schools (deadlines are likeky to be nov1, dec1, jan1).
If you score 1400+ you have a shot at merit scholarships. 1490 is needed for automatic merit (close to full tuition) at UAlabama and competitive scholarships at UTD Dallas or Appalachian State for instance.
Just to be sure that you understand that if you are accepted to a “meets full need” college/university that is NOT the same thing as a “full-ride scholarship”. It means that they will evaluate you/your parents resources and tell you how much they think you need, and you will have to provide the rest. You may not agree with their calculations: this is expected enough that the one reason that you are allowed to break the ED commitment is if the financial aid is insufficient. Also, they will recalculate the amount you have to pay each year, to account for changes in your family circumstances- so you could get more OR less in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th year.
The better MBA programs expect you to have worked for several years before applying, and your undergraduate major subject is largely irrelevant in the admissions process (there is no bonus for having been a business or econ major, for example).
@MYOS1634 Again, thanks for replying. I think I’ll go with that - I’ll see what I’ll get on the SAT’s in November and then decide between those two. I still don’t think that the chances are that low as I know around 5-10 people from my school who went there and got a 100% scholarship, with their SAT scores being in the 1300 range. But thanks, it was very helpful to hear about the UAlabama and UTD Dallas opportunities!
@collegemom3717 Yes, I completely understand that. I’ve already filled out the CSS profile with my parents and we’ve contacted both colleges and asked them about their ability to meet our financial needs. Fingers crossed now!
Also, I know that an MBA doesn’t require me to be a business major at the undergrad level, but I’m someone who’s genuinely interested in it. I’ll probably combine it with computer programming or something similar and then go on to grad school
Hi guys, just a small update: I had my interview with Lehigh and I’ve decided to apply for ED. I had a really long conversation with my counselor and she sent me a very encouraging email this morning. So, fingers crossed! Thank you for all of your responses
Prepare well for your SAT. It takes time to improve.
Time a practice test to understand whether there are sections you are not completing within the time limit.
Prioritize practicing and getting faster at any sections you are not completing.
Spend time learning how to solve every question that you miss, and doing it quickly.
I was wondering if you could share any information about the social scene at Richmond?
Your description of W&L was spot on and mentions a lot of factors that I am trying to steer clear of in the college search (too conservative, intolerance for Muslims and gays, heavy influence of Fraternities/Sororitiesand drinking)
@Much2learn Hi! Thank you so much for your advice. Sorry for not replying sooner - I don’t check my profile on here that much, especially since I got a couple of replies regarding the original topic. I have the SATs this Saturday and have practiced a lot over the summer and in the last month, so hopefully, everything will turn out ok.
@collegemom3717@MYOS1634
Hey guys! So the SAT results are out. I got 1460, with a 740 on the Math section and 720 on the ER & W. Do you think my odds are any better at Lehigh right now? I’ve been talking to my admissions counselor for the past month now, contacting faculty members, other counselors, and current students. I’ve submitted my ED1 agreement a couple of days ago, so fingers crossed! Sorry for just dropping in like this - it’s just that I reaaaaally want to get accepted to this school.
Super improvement, @Lana426. That puts you at the very top of the middle 50% in M (so at the edge of top 25%) and well in the top 25% for CR+W. Well done & good luck- let us know when you hear!
@MYOS1634@collegemom3717 Thank you very much! It was definitely great to see the score after months of preparation. I’ll keep you posted - the decision should come in around mid-December
@citymama9 Of course! I bought the Princeton Review SAT prep book and went through that over summer (in great detail, memorizing all the formulas for Math etc.). I started practicing on Khan Academy at least for 45min-1 hour per day around August 20 and continued doing so until the test. Also, I tried to have a relaxing evening before the exam and was really calm during the test. I reckon it improved my concentration quite a lot! If you need any more tips, feel free to message me!
