hmm, okay. seems like all colleges out of state, even if I had a chance with ED, would be too expensive because I wouldn’t know how much aid I would receive- so I guess that’s also something I shouldn’t consider? I think I’m going to cross out NYU because I don’t even know if they really give enough financial aid to international students (the NPC said it would be around 15k for me but I don’t know how true this is). The visa I have currently is H-4 )H-1B dependent). I am not undocumented so I am a NYS resident
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currently as h-4 I’m not allowed to work, but I will apply for a f-1 visa before I turn 21 (so during my freshman/sophomore year)
my calculated EFC from college board is about 21k! I am not sure exactly where that puts me, lol. It makes sense that it would be harder for acceptance when they’re need aware, though. Do you have any recommendations other than lehigh? also, for this route of applying, would I have to only consider in state schools? I was thinking I could also look at need aware OOS schools that would offer financial aid to international applicants.
oh nevermind looks like lehigh is OOS. i will look into some schools who aid international students
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Yep, Lehigh is in Pennsylvania.
There is some small advantage to NY schools in that you get to apply whatever state-level grants you’re eligible for, thereby costing the school a bit less to meet your need. But the guarantee of meeting need combined with an acceptable NPC result is the important part. You can, of course, apply to schools that don’t guarantee they’ll meet need, and just see what you get - the combination of merit and need-based aid might get you to your price point; you just can’t know until after you’ve been accepted. It’s just that schools like that aren’t good ED options.
I do think Lehigh deserves a look, though, if the NPC looks favorable. Their Bioengineering department offers both a BS in Bioengineering, and a new BS in Biocomputational Engineering. Lafayette, Lehigh’s crosstown rival, also meets need for internationals who apply for aid (need-aware, of course) and is worth a look also. Their Integrative Engineering major (ABET pending - first class graduating this year) has a bioengineering focus option.
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Where did you find a family contribution from the College Board? Is this their generic calculator? If so…buyer beware.
I believe OP was just responding to my remarks about need-aware schools, and how they’re not at as much of a disadvantage as a $0 EFC student. They’re offering the 21K number for comparison in that context, not assuming that will be their net price. (At least, if I understand correctly.)
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Okay, I get that you don’t want to attend a SUNY because of prestige-hunting, or whatever, in that you keep trying to grasp at straws for any other university. SUNY’s are great schools! Our EECS daughter graduated from UB and has done really well in SoCal.
SUNY is instate for you and will be your best bet because:
You have a limited budget.
Your GPA is NOT competitive for merit.
Your SAT still is not competitive for merit.
and you are full pay because of your international status.
Going out of state is going to be a LOT more expensive. Travel, living expenses, dorm costs, etc. do add up. There are no guarantees that you will be admitted to any very competitive meets-need schools.
Public OOS universities don’t have the funds to cover non-residents. These schools are funded by taxpayers. Their taxpayers are not going to foot the bill for a student who isn’t even a resident. Funds are limited and designated for instate residents.
Private OOS schools are expensive to begin with. You have to consider travel, health insurance costs for those states, flights/travel, etc. It’s not just about tuition and room and board.
Your parents don’t have the funds and most private schools, that provide scholarships, are looking for high GPA’s, SAT’s and unique skills sets.
It’s already been mentioned that you don’t qualify for the FEDERAL work study program, but even if you did, some schools “run out” of work study jobs.
There are no guarantees that you will be employed. It is a minimum wage job and acts as spending money for your coffee and pizza/entertainment budget. You wont make a dent in tuition, nor fees for a university. You can work a campus job that is less than 20 hours per week, but many students do NOT want to put their grades at risk by working 20 hours.
Apply to SUNY schools and don’t look back. They offer great opportunities if you’re willing to do the work.
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Okay, that’s more consistent with your not qualifying for EOP/HEOP.
If you can afford the SUNY application fees then you’re not as constrained, just apply to a lot of matches and safeties (New Paltz and Oswego, for engineering, are more match than safety. Nyit may be more of a safety and you should have an extra one.)
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Yes CB has an EFC calculator, actually the most thorough one there. But, it is not updated for the major FASFA changes coming for 2024-25 (which OP will complete in December when the new FAFSA is available).
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Thank you!
Your best bet is to apply to all SUNYs with Mechanical Engineering (and their Honors College, bc you never know). Add SUNY Alfred for Biomaterial engineering/Ceramics and some real safeties with Engineering (NYIT, City IT, Polytech/Tech).
Remember your application has a low GPA for Engineering so it adds uncertainty.
Once all of that is secure, ie, well done and sent, apply to a few private universities (for private universities, there’s no IS v.Oos distinction): Cooper union, Lehigh, Lafayette, Rochester, Union, Clarkson, even Tandon. If one of them seems a great fit& their NPC shows it’s within budget, apply ED, with the understanding that if it’s not affordable you WILL walk away (ED is only binding if the financial offer makes the college affordable.)
The most important thing will be getting into a SUNY.
(Keep in mind BING,SB, Buff, are all reaches and are EXCELLENT schools, so your goal should be to get into one of those).
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Hi- thank you so much for the reality check here 
I am totally fine with attending a SUNY school because my parents work there, I know professors and faculty from one, and they’re all very great. So there is no issue with that-my parents and I just want to see if there are any other possibilities for me. That is all, since my gpa has been on a drastic upward trend and my SAT score increased a lot too. But you’re right with the budget constraint and that would have existed regardless of any scores and gpa I could have gotten, and though I would have received merit I don’t even know if that would be enough for OOS.
My parents and I have not discovered most clubs, programs, and extracurriculars until the middle of 9th grade so until then I was just doing what I was interested in, and i guess you could say the same for now.
So my family and I are pretty much set on a SUNY school for me and that’s no issue, I’m happy to be in NYS where there are actually great state schools
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This response.
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I did not know that ED was only binding if the offer was affordable… 
ok that makes a lot more sense. As of right now my plan is to apply to all SUNYs and then figure out if I want to do ED at all, and which uni, and if I want to do EA, which unis. This I will discuss with my GC and make sure to figure out where ED/EA would be best.
Yes I totally understand those three are reaches, I am most looking into bing ! So my goal is to make sure I get into bing. I will visit soon
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lol, I can’t imagine if I was in a different western state where I’d have even less options. I can only imagine how difficult it must be for students in my situation in those states
If the EA applications are NOT REA or SCEA, you can apply to as many as you want to EA.
If you do apply ED and get accepted and accept the offer of admission, you will need to withdraw all other applications and acceptances.
Please please keep in mind that the FAFSA won’t be available for completion until December…so this could put a kink in the financial aid awarding timelines.
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h-4 students aren’t eligible for federal aid or fafsa I believe, so would I even fill this out?
edit: seems like the fafsa isn’t something that I am eligible to fill out, so I don’t think it’s something to take into consideration. for state schools link bing, sbu or buff, so I need to fill out fafsa in order to recieve their grants/scholarships ?
also, what is CSS?
edit: NYS Higher Education Services Corporation - The Excelsior Scholarship I am eligible for this (i think)
The CSS Profile is a financial aid application administered by the College Board. I don’t think any of the public colleges in NY require this.
@sybbie719 does this international student need to complete something to show eligibility for any state funded grant money? Are they even eligible for this?
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I think state grants and institutional grants are separate? Hopefully? Because I don’t qualify for state grants. It’s kinda crazy if I’m not eligible as a resident of NYS because my family pays taxes here for these same universities to operate.
@sybbie719 will know!
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