Coursework
IB
English A(first language) SL 6
Chinese B(second language) HL 7
Math Analytics and Approach(AA) HL 7
Physics SL 7
Computer Science HL 7
Economics SL 6
Total 40
Awards
Robotics competition 4th in my country
Extracurriculars
One year exchange program to Netherlands
Basketball Team
American Football Team
Enterprise Club
Robotics Team - Lead Builder (in local school)
Vex Robotics Club - Coach
House Sports Captain - leadership
Web Design Internship
Volunteer
Ambassador for culture exchange program
project to build community in poverty
Beach Cleanup
Community Service - food angel
Primary School English Tutor
Cost Constraints / Budget
Need financial aid
Help needed: Don’t know what is consider reach, target, safety **SPECIFICALLY FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS WELCOME SUGGESTION for reach, target and safety.
Every US college is a reach for an international student needing financial aid. The colleges on your list are all very competitive in terms of admissions. Apply and give it your all but also seek out affordable safety schools in your home country.
My opinion….These schools will be questionable for you. Either they are need aware for admissions (meaning your financial need will be considered when your application for admission is reviewed), don’t guarantee to meet full need for all international accepted students….or both.
And they are all competitive schools for admission.
To be honest, the US may not be the ideal place for college with somebody with your scores (high IB, medium-high SAT). Your IB scores are excellent, like Oxford/Toronto/Waterloo level. Your SAT would make many meets-need schools very tough reaches.
And if you choose to go somewhere outside of the US for college, you can always apply for graduate school in the US.
A lot depends on how much aid you need. Saying I need financial aid doesn’t mean much.
For example, U of Alabama is $53,000 estimated. I don’t understand your GPA but here is their merit table so you would deduct this much and it’s the same merit table as US students. The 1340 SAT, if your GPA computes to a 3.5, would get you $15,000 - so make your cost about $38,000. If you had a 1360 SAT, that scholarship would go up to $24,000 - making your cost $29,000 or so.
What is your budget? But they are very aggressive.
Another OP on here negotiated a deal with Kalamazoo College in the $40,000 range. Others, like Trinity University in San Antonio Texas, are willing to work with students above $35,000 - per the webpage.
How much are you able to pay? Based on your budget there may be some schools that you have a strong chance of acceptance and provide enough merit aid to make them affordable. These could be targets.
But if you need a full ride or close to it, then as @happy1 said…
@jazzy321:
your budget is going to be essential. There’s a difference between families that can’t afford 80K a year but can afford 45K a year, families that can afford 12K a year, and families that can afford 0. As you can imagine, international boys who want to study CS in the US are in the hundreds of thousands. So, if the college has 120K in scholarships, it’s better for them to pick 3 excellent students who need 40K than to pick one who needs 80K and one who needs 40K. And if the college has 80K? If they can get 3 excellent students or one excellent student for that amount in scholarship, what do you think they’ll do? So, HOW MUCH you need will matter.
Your IB score is outstanding so I’m assuming you’re applying to Oxbridge and all top CS schools in Europe as well as in your own country.
And of course your EC profile does indicate a good fit for the American philosophy of education.
GTech, UVA, UCs, Purdue will not offer FA. Are they affordable w/o scholarships?
Case Western expects internationals to be full pay, though they do offer scholarships, meaning it’ll depend on how much you need.
Why Claremont McKenna rather than HarveyMudd? (HarveyMudd is the STEM college in the consortium. Very hard but with your IB results you’d fit right in and graduates do very, very well.)
If I were you, I’d apply ED to a college that offers sufficient financial aid and is test optional.
If your SAT score can improve, you may try for merit aid at public universities (such as Alabama) but for internationals reaching 650+ in English is extremely hard and without at least 680-700 on the English portion of the test these test-based scholarships aren’t accessible.
Keep in mind that many schools are need aware for international students…meaning your level of financial need could be considered when your application for admission is reviewed. So…check policies on that at your colleges of interest.
They don’t.
I assumed you needed financial aid (scholarships based on your parents’ income, typically 125k and under) and didn’t realize your parents’EFC would be higher than 40k so you need merit.
Ivies etc. Dont offer merit scholarships. Like at HarveyMudd, all their students are the best of the best. They don’t need to reward some let alone “attract” them.
Yes if you ED and they don’t offer enough, you explain and don’t have to attend.