@austinmshauri, a good number of schools in Europe are tuition-free (not full-ride) if you can get in and can study in their language, though they use a different admissions process.
There’s also University of London International Programmes, which are really cheap, though they’re essentially self-study.
@austinmshauri, there’s a thread somewhere on this website with Automatic Full Tuition/Full Ride scholarships and if you are truly interested, you might want to give it a look. It has some really good offers and the scores required for them are not always ridiculously high.
Also, a 1910 SAT score is not incredibly low. If a student has something specific that a university is looking for at the moment, they might get in. Lastly, if a student has indeed overcome significant obstacles and makes sure to include that on his/her applications, their scores/grades will be viewed in a different light by the Admission officers.
Btw, I forgot to mention QuestBridge, although I don’t know much about it, I’ve heard that it is very helpful to low income students.
@austinmshauri: actually, US students would get a very good deal at most European universities outside the English-speaking countries. Even if they had to pay for room&board (in some cases the costs can be very low, in others they’re higher, depends on the school/country), the highest I think it goes in France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, or Spain, is about $8,000 a year all included (tuition, room, board).
Excellent students interested in social sciences (IR, economics, finance, political science, history) can get full rides there:
http://college.sciences-po.fr/sitereims/
In Germany, they can study German for 1 year then have their BS in 3 years from any college, tuition-free.
They can also attend a CEGEP like Valleyfield or Trois-Rivières for $200 rent a month + $3,000 semester tuition and have a usable degree in 2 years (HS diploma +Dec technique) or continue on to university and complete their BA/BS in 2 years with merit-based financial aid (or transfer to their instate universities). At Baie Cormeau, (French speaking only) they can get a highly-reputable degree in forestry or fisheries, or get a scholarship if they do Arts/communications, and all students get a one-year scholarship toward room/board.
The difficulty is getting a high enough foreign language proficiency level, and being able to handle a different culture. In Europe, the programs are cheap (often zero tuition) but they’re bare-bones - no sports, school spirit, luxury dorms, super gyms, landscaped campus, etc.
@austinmshauri Keep in mind that its basically about the student’s M+CR composite and GPA. There are quite a good number of colleges giving full rides/full tuitions to low income students. I know of Troy University,Florida Atlantic,Howard and Florida A&M… I unfortunately can’t remmember the others.
@MYOS1634 I’m from Spain, and I can tell you that many universities (especially public ones) are tuition free. However, the problem is that professors are neither very “up-to-date” nor eager: they may use the same texbook for ten years. This is why I think that education in Spain has many aspects to improve, and if I am accepted in ANY American university I’ve applied to, I’d go there without hesitation! I don’t really recommend studying in Spain…
Same for Germany.
@PurpleTitan, @collegedreams11, @MYOS1634, @SalemN, Thank you for the information. I will read up on all of it. My point was that the majority of U.S. students who are low income AND have a ~1900 SAT are not going to get a FREE education. Is that incorrect?
I don’t know where this information is coming from, but international students are not the only ones who seem to believe that low income = free. I’ve seen quite a few posts recently from domestic students and their families who are surprised that they have to pay much (sometimes any) because they’re low income families. One thought being low income meant free tuition at the college of his choice. Where do these ideas come from?
@austinmshauri, generous fin aid policies by the elite privates & maybe because it was true back in the day (at least at more schools).
25 year ago, Pell grant + Stafford loan +Perkins loan + work-study was enough to cover all in-state costs at any public. Not true now.
Those are both good points, @PurpleTitan. I can understand families being shocked by the increases in the cost of a college education and surprised at how little money is available to pay for it compared to when we were young. I suppose I imagined that guidance counselors knew about the changes, but maybe they don’t. Or, if they do, maybe they aren’t passing the information on effectively.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/
Here is the link that was mentioned above. Some of these scholarships do apply to international applicants.
Update:
Trinity College: Rejected
F&M: Rejected
Skidmore: Rejected
Stanford University: Rejected
Colby College: Rejected
University of Chicago: Rejected
Grinnell College: Rejected
St. Lawrence University: Rejected
Bard College: Rejected because they don’t have enough money to fund me
If said student has a high enough GPA and that SAT has a reasonable CR+M, then there are likely some automatic full rides, according to http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ . Of course, many may not be available for international students.
Troy: 3.7, 1380 CR+M
Tuskegee: 3.7, 1300 CR+M
Alabama State: 3.51, 1120 CR+M
Howard: 3.5, 1400 CR+M
Louisiana Tech: 3.0, 1400 CR+M
Louisiana - Monroe: 3.0, 1360 CR+M
Prairie View A&M: 3.5, 1760 CR+M+W
However, many students never find out that such scholarships exist.
Update:
Bennington College: Waitlisted
Trinity College: Rejected
F&M: Rejected
Skidmore: Rejected
Stanford University: Rejected
Colby College: Rejected
University of Chicago: Rejected
Grinnell College: Rejected
St. Lawrence University: Rejected
Bard College: Rejected because they don’t have enough money to fund me
@ucbalumnus are these college’s deadlines over? Do you think I should take a gap year to increase my SATs and work to earn money to fund at least a part of the expenses. Or should I rather join one of the top colleges in my home country?
Take a gap year. Most internationals who need financial aid have to do that. The first time, they figure they’ll make it into at least one college since they’re basically the best student around. The second time, they have developed a strategy, have improved scores, have either worked or volunteered for a good number of hours, perhaps have added to their record by earning academic awards in national exams, etc.
Very sorry about your results. As for gap year v your home college depends on your goals and how much an us school will help. What about Europe or Canada? Also there are still schools with admissions in the US. Also if your first language is not English 1900 is a great score
It just amazes me that people actually think that 60k is a reasonable amount to pay for anyone no matter how rich. The 0 EFC are often better off than the 100k family at the top colleges, the process is frustrating for everyone. Yet we are all begging and pleading to get into Stanford. In state is no better at 20-30k. As for international with all due respect to the OP, all colleges except for those who discriminate based on race are getting federal funding so there really is no such thing as a private university, US tax dollars pay for some part of almost every US school most people just do not realize it
Don’t have your head down; there are some fantastic schools that may be interested in you; throw one or two of them in the mix… definitely look at Clark University and Ohio Wesleyan University
I agree with @Twelfthman, definitely look into Clark. It’s very generous with FA and scholarships.
Look at english universities in other countries, like Turkey for example. US universities ask for applications RIDICULOUSLY early so if you start looking at other countries you’ll notice they’re still accepting students for Fall admission. They’re way way cheaper too.
Also, if a low income american student went to a university abroad it would probably cost a lot less than it would at home. Its just not as common/socially acceptable in the US to leave the country for a good, affordable education. Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t american universities the most expensive in the world?
There many US colleges low income US students could attend that are less expensive than colleges in Turkey. Tuition for international students at [Bilkent University](http://www.bilkent.edu.tr/bilkent/admission/fees/int_admit.html), which is nearly $14k, + $2k round trip [airfair from NYC to Ankara](http://www.farecompare.com/flights/New_York-NYC/Turkey-TR/citycountry.html) in the fall and $2k round trip for the spring semester, + ~$5200 for [housing, food, books, & personal expenses](Bilkent University - Exchange Programs) = ~$23k.
Our in-state universities in NY are only $20k. US citizens can also attend college as out-of-state students more cheaply in Maine, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Mexico, Colorado, South Dakota, Georgia, Oklahoma, and probably many more as well.