Literally Rejected Everywhere. Cheap Gap Year Ideas?

Applying to College
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<p>So my last decisions just arrived a few hours ago and I've officially been shut out of college. I'm a reasonably good student: straight A's (though I don't know if this counts as I'm homeschooled), unique ECs, and a good SAT score (2230). I'm not good enough for the Ivies (which was just proved by the mass rejections I received today), but I believe I am a competitive applicant for many good colleges out there. The only problem is that I'm an international student with high need. My family can't even contribute a penny to my college education. We barely earn enough to eat.</p>

<p>Now that I've been shut out of all the schools that I've applied to, I'm wondering what I can do for my gap year. Obviously, with my family's income, I can't travel or anything. Are there any EXCELLENT gap year options for poor students like me? I want to do something worthwhile so that I'll get accepted to a school when I apply next year.</p>

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<p>If you are an international student with high need, there is little you could do in a gap year that will improve your chances for next year. I think you need to honestly figure out how to attend college in your home country. Sorry… not trying to pop your bubble, but the admissions decisions you received are very unlikely to change next year from the few schools that are need blind and meet need for international students. You need to find another path.</p>

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<p>You can still submit applications to other schools and even apply for financial aid. Odds of getting aid are low at this point in the process but the only guarantee is no aid if you dont apply. You need to look at where you applied already and try to choose schools that you have a better chance at. You can also go to a local school for the next year and then reapply to US schools. Good luck. Sorry you are off track but dont give up. You have a lot to offer.</p>

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<p>DO NOT attend a local college or you will be considered a transfer and as an international transfer you won’t have access to financial aid. You can, however, take non-credit classes, such as foreign language, first aid…
Can you list the schools you applied to? For next year, you probably need to diversify your list. If you have high need, did you apply to Berea College? Did you include universities with automatic scholarships for stats?
Your counselor can email admissions to ask how you should improve your application. Many international students need two attempts before they can get into their chosen schools (however, if after 2 attempts it doesn’t work, change your plans.)
If your family’s poor, two simple solutions are (1) working or /and (2) volunteering. If jobs are scarce where you live, or if some conditions make it hard for you to find a job (ie., age, gender…) volunteering is easier to find since all kinds of organizations need volunteer. If you country has “civil service” programs, you could even get recognition for it.</p>

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<p>I’m an international student who needs aid and applied to US schools after a gap year. My message is: Don’t listen to Americans who have little idea what the process is like for international applicants.</p>

<p>You don’t have to apply to need-blind schools. In fact your chances for admission and financial aid may be much higher at other places. For example, if you’re a girl, Mount Holyoke accepts and supports a huge number of international students every year. Vassar does as well.</p>

<p>Because I’m on break and have nothing better to do with my time at the moment (except read for history, which I will get to… tomorrow…), I ran your stats through my international school’s Naviance to see where people with similar numbers have been accepted (and they would have all been aid-seeking internationals, as that’s what the majority of the students at my school are for US colleges’ purposes).</p>

<p>The college match engine returned Bates, Bowdoin, Brown, UChicago, Duke, George Washington University, Grinnell, Kenyon, Lafayette, Lehigh, Mount Holyoke, UPenn, Pomona, Rice, URichmond, Trinity College, Tufts, Vassar, Williams, WUSTL and WPI, among others.</p>

<p>Some of these schools you may already have been rejected from, and surely as a homeschooled applicant from a different country you’ll be viewed differently from applicants from my school. There may be other schools that would look at your application more favourably than these ones, which have forged a relationship with my school’s college counselling office. However, the point remains: Your numbers did not disqualify you. I’d say the reason you didn’t get into any college was most likely a combination of poor college choice, bad luck and possibly lacklustre essays. Two of these three you can work on over the next year.</p>

<p>So yeah. I don’t think you should give up.</p>

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<p>This site has good gap year ideas:
<a href=“Gap year programs - selected offers from approved providers”>http://www.yearoutgroup.org/programs/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I think you should probably work part-time and volunteer. Not really sure what you should do, but best of luck to you next year! Stay positive! :)</p>

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<p>‘Obviously, with my family’s income, I can’t travel or anything.’</p>

<p>-about 70% of my friends are doing a gap year (I’m in Australia, its much more common here than in the US it seems). None of them have their families paying for it- they are all working for half the year (or already worked through high school and saved up) and will be travelling on their own dollars. If you really want to travel, you can work and earn the money to do it. My brother spent a year travelling through the US and Brazil without using a penny of my parents’ money. </p>

<p>Alternatively you could work and save up to help pay for college next year, and get really involved in any EC activities you are very passionate about (dancing, writing) etc, that will not only help your application if you make any new accomplishments, but will also just be a nice chance to immerse yourself in a passion outside of the academic realm</p>

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<p>Only 6 institutions are need-blind for internationals. They are all super selective: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, MIT, Amherst. So yeah, forget about those. </p>

<p>Mt. Holyoke and Vassar are examples of the many small liberal arts colleges (LACs) with generous financial aid for international students. Others are listed on the following page:
<a href=“http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware”>http://www.desperateguide.com/us/top-25-financial-aid-colleges-in-us-for-international-students-need-aware&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>LACs are not as well-known to many internationals as the Ivies or top public flagships. That can work to your advantage if you want to try again next year.</p>

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<p>I am from the US, but I am considering taking a gap year and applying to different colleges (I was accepted to some high quality schools, but for various reasons I am unhappy with my options). I am also a low-income student, and I would use the year to work a job or two and do some volunteer work. What you do over a gap year doesn’t have to be amazing or mind-blowing. Especially considering that you’re also a low-income student, I’d honestly recommend just getting a job to help your family and to help pay for college. Colleges that support gap years generally say that it doesn’t matter what you do over your gap year as long as you do something, but it volunteering, getting a job, or travelling. Because admissions will be able to see your financial information, they’ll understand that you may not have been able to afford a travel experience, which would allow them to better understand your choice.</p>

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<p>Truly, as long as you aren’t studying at a college or university (which would almost certainly cause you to lose your freshman applicant status), you can do whatever you feel like in a gap year. If money is an issue for your family, then a job probably is in order.</p>

<p>With your SAT scores and your grades, you would have qualified for automatic merit aid at some of the places discussed in this thread - yes, some of these scholarships are open to international students. Take a look at them, and see if any could work for you, then check with the admissions and aid offices next fall to see which of these scholarships still exist.</p>

<p><a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums;

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<p>I’d agree that the best course of action would be to get a job and research schools where you would be more likely to get the aid you need to attend.</p>

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<p>Sure, these colleges will give financial aids to needy internationals, but no where near a full ride plus travel expenses and stipend for books and others. Please note OP is penniless and cannot afford any thing to go to school. There might be a slim chance that SOME school like Harvard will give that, but the student must be from a rare country like Mali or Central Africa or some exotic places. In addition, in order for a school go out like that, the applicant must have some unique background that has contributed some major causes in that country and has been focus of the world.</p>

<p>I’d say next year OP should not only look at schools in the United States, he should also look at schools in his home country, as that is where he will get the most support. When he finished his college, come to the US for Phd and that is where all the monetary support comes. </p>

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<p>I myself am receiving around $60k in aid this year from my liberal arts college, including for the stuff you mentioned, and I’m not from “a rare country like Mali or Central Africa [sic].” If a school pledges to meet students’ full financial need and accepts you, you will get as much money as you need, regardless of citizenship.</p>

<p>Please don’t sow misinformation by claiming only the likes of Harvard provide good financial aid to internationals. The list of schools tk21769 posted above is much closer to the truth.</p>

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<p>Ghost, I was referring to these colleges, the list tk21769 had is the “Harvad” like.</p>

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<p>Here’s my advice to you: Apply to lower schools. You can almost certainly get a full-ride + stipend somewhere, start there, excel (your SAT seems to show you’re bright), apply for grad school or transfer somewhere of higher prestige. There is very little that you can probably do to change their decision over the course of a year. Start somewhere lower and then once you’re in the US work your way up. Many people have done this. Good luck. </p>