I’m an international student (South Korean) and I want to study either engineering or natural sciences. (still can’t decide)
I was originally looking at private research universities then LACs but not sure if going to a LAC is a good plan if I have some intention of doing engineering.
I’m looking for schools with a possible full ride or substantial merit scholarships. I don’t think I can pay more than $20000/year. (maybe bit more but definitely not the >$50000) Most are need sensitive for international students and I’m not sure which ones are likely/possible with my profile.
I currently have:
1510 SAT (710 EBRW, 800 Math, 20/24 essay) → retaking this August, aiming for mid-700s in EBRW
800 Math 2, 790 Physics, 780 Chemistry
GPA: my school doesn’t have GPA, but online conversion gives me either 3.53 or 4.00.
ECs are little bit all over the place, but they include music production (currently unsigned but I’m getting my music distributed across popular platforms like iTunes, Deezer and Spotify), teaching web programming (self-founded service project at a local public school), tutoring (volunteering/paid work), programming (not sure whether to put this on application because I do it just for fun), EDM club (founder/leader), robotics (3 years; captain in last year) and some recreational sports.
My first choice is MIT and will be applying EA, but I want to apply ED to somewhere I have a chance and that I won’t be super sad about having to go there in case I get in to both. (saying this just in case…)
As for RD schools, so far I’ve found USC, Duke, Swarthmore, W&M, Johns Hopkins and Colgate. Please suggest more schools that I should consider, I haven’t finished my schools list yet.
My Holyoke. Several significant merit scholarships and best of all they are available to international students which is not always the case. Also great natural sciences offerings and you could definitely try some engineering classes at the university of Massachusetts- Amherst or Smith college who both offer engineering at the highest levels. I don’t know how hard it is to get engineering classes though. So be sure to ask.
Unless you are 100 percent sure of an engineering path
The liberal arts mission of mt Holyoke will give you many options as your passions emerge over time.
You may change your mind. Many student do when exposed to new and exciting educational paths.
And your stats would make you very competitive for admission and merit consideration. It’s a beautiful and highly respected school with a lot of history.
Just to be clear William & Mary doesn’t offer engineering, but does offer a 3:2 program with Colombia where you spend three years at William & Mary and then get a joint engineering degree with Colombia. You should look into whether the other schools have engineering or similar programs – but it does not offer enough merit scholarships that would likely cover our cost of tuition. Also to be perfectly honest you may want to add some less selective schools on your list, not because that you aren’t a qualified or competitive candidate – but if merit scholarships are of a concern, you should aim for schools where you are at the very top or offer significant financial aid to make it possible for you to attend.
@shawnspencer I thought W&M has several merit scholarships that international students are qualified for, their website listed James Monroe and 1693 Scholars but I’m not sure how much they value at. And I do have safety schools I just don’t include them in my posts
The 1693 Scholarship is extraordinarily rare. About 10 students out of all the students apply each year get it. There is an essay and interview process. Also the James Monroe Scholarship only covers a 3,000 dollar research grant, not tuition or other fees and expenses.
“My first choice is MIT and will be applying EA, but I want to apply ED to somewhere”
If you get in ED somewhere, then you are required to go there unless you are financially unable to do so. Do you want to apply somewhere ED knowing that your MIT application would be cancelled?
Have you run the NPC on the schools that you are considering applying to?
How do your grades compare with others in your high school? Your SAT scores are quite good.
@DadTwoGirls Yes I’m aware of it, but I want to maximize my chances as much as possible. I know it will be sad if it happens, so I’m trying to find a school that I’ll be happy going to.
Since I’m international the NPC doesn’t work for me, I look at general stats and estimate it myself, but my family income is very very low so I think as long as I get in I’ll get a decent FA package if I apply FA. My only concern is the need sensitive policy…
My school doesn’t rank but I’m one of the top students. Probably not the 1st gradewise because I take hard courses, but colleges take account of courseload difficulty right?
@geekgurl: You really need to determine whether your GPA translates to a 3.53 (which I suspect is accurate) or a 4.0. Seems as though you would know whether or not you earned the top grade in every class that you have taken and, therefore, would convert to a 4.0. With a 3.53 you are unlikely to get substantial merit scholarship money as an applicant whether international or not.
“colleges take account of courseload difficulty right”
Yes, colleges and universities do take account of the difficulty of your courseload.
My understanding is that it is very difficult if not impossible to compare GPA between different school systems in different countries. Admissions at various universities seem to know a lot about the grade scales in different countries. As such I am not sure if you can convert your GPA. However, you do need to know whether your grades, compared to other students from your school and from your country, would be at or near the top or if it would be “pretty good”. In the US, a GPA of 3.53 would be well above average for the country as a whole, or just above average for a typical very good very demanding suburban school system. A GPA of 4.0 would be way above average, and probably put you in the top 10% at nearly every high school. Some high schools would have no students at all with an unweighted GPA of 4.0, although nearly all high schools would have some students who are close to this. I think that if you know where your grades put you among the students in your school and your school system and your country, then this is pretty much the best that you can do in terms of guessing your chances.
“Please suggest more schools that I should consider”
I am wondering what criteria to use. Are you most interested in schools that are likely to provide good financial aid and that have strong engineering programs? Do you only want to consider schools in the US?
Given that you want to apply to MIT, are you interested in other schools that are also really top engineering schools? How good are the best schools that you have to choose from in South Korea?
I want to ask the obvious question - why wouldn’t you apply to KAIST? Outside of the really top schools like MIT and JH and Duke, KAIST is higher ranked than all of them and will probably open more doors than any other school here. Unless your goal is to permanently stay here, almost all the other schools mentioned are lower ranked and/or don’t have much of a name to it internationally. They also have a partnership with Carnegie Mellon and Georgia Tech that you can go to if you feel the need to study in the US.
@DadTwoGirls My main criteria is universities in US with strong programs in both engineering and natural sciences that I can have a good chance of either 1) apply FA and get in or 2) get significant merit scholarships. I decided not to go to a university in South Korea because I don’t like the system (the competitive part is in getting in and after that barely any students study even in the most competitive ones because they know they’ll get the degree anyway).
@geekgurl I am wondering: Given that you are from Korea, and finances are a potential issue, should you be looking only at schools in the US? There are very good schools in other countries which are less expensive unless you can get very good financial aid from somewhere in the US. Both Australia and Canada have many very good universities. If I were in your situation I think that I would probably at least look at schools in all four countries.
@DadTwoGirls I’m applying to the US to challenge myself (but considering real life situations, that’s why I’m concerned about the finances so I could attend if I get in), I have Canadian universities as my safeties.
Have you noticed that the “very good but not as well known” universities such as U.Victoria and Simon Fraser University and Dalhousie are significantly less expensive for international students than the more famous universities such as UBC, McGill, and Toronto? Macleans magazine has the best rankings of Canadian universities, although a great many of them are very good.
I think that the least expensive university in Canada for international students is Memorial University of Newfoundland. I have heard good things about the university, but the travel time from Korea and the winters would be much more amicable at U.Victoria and SFU.
One more thing to mention, I don’t know much about U.Alabama and U.Arizona. I have heard that they might have some good merit scholarships. Others will know better than I but I thought that I would mention them given that you haven’t had many suggestions on this thread.
I heard some good things about entrepreneur program at University of Dayton when we visited. Worth investigating! (No personal experience with it, though)
One of the careers I’m considering of is founding a small start-up company with a unique approach in computer manufacturing. Currently I’m considering going into either engineering (probably computer/electrical) or natural sciences (probably physics), but I haven’t decided between engineering and natural sciences yet. I think I’ll get a clearer idea when I get to college and take in-depth courses. Until then nothing is particularly decided, but I want to leave the start-up option open in case it turns out that’s what I want to do. I’m also considering doing MBA (if I end up choosing this) with undergrad in 5 years if the school offers it, but otherwise I’m okay spending another 2 years after a 4-year undergrad to get the MBA if necessary.
What school type (i.e. LAC, research U) and what major(s) are good for this? FYI my alternative career plans are research in STEM (again, either natural or applied sciences).
Thank you
I just don’t include them in my posts