It’s not so much about applying to lesser known colleges, but about applying to the right colleges. You need to apply to schools which give merit aid (aid based on things other than income), and not only income-based (financial) aid, and which give it to international students. So that’s going to take some research. And even then, it’s likely most schools won’t meet 100% of what you need. It would be wise of you to also apply to some universities in Bangladesh, to act as backups should the aid at the foreign unis you like not turn out as you need it to.
My rich custodial father is unwilling to pay anything for college. So, can I not include him in CSS?
If you’re Bangladeshi, your options are very limited.
Basically, you must get a full ride. Those are very, very rare and hard to get.
Your best bet is to try and get a perfect score on the SAT or ACT.
Have you been a junior since March 2019 or since September 2018? ie., in October 2019, will you still be a junior?
What subjects are you preparing (are you in a British patterned system: IGCSEs+ALevels? Or IB?)
Merit aid depends on stats. High scores get more aid but not universities have full tuition scholarships for stats and even fewer full rides… and even fewer of those are open to internationals.
Would your dad think European universities (England, Scotland, Ireland? Germany? France?) would be more acceptable?
Just so you know, 115k would not be considered “rich” in the US. It’s solidly middle class: Cost of living is about 10 times higher than in Bangladesh. So, you would be considered to have financial need and if you got into a college (university) that meets full need, you may well end up having to pay something around 15 to 20K out of 70K, which is very little considering the total. However, because so many internationals have financial need, figuring out where you can get in and get sufficient aid is impossible AND it’d be impossible for you to pay that amount on your own.
If I get a perfect score, on a scale of 1-10, how hard would it be for me yo get a full-ride?
Well, I’ve been a junior since March 2019, I’ll still be a junior in September 2019 ( Why do u need this though? ).
I’m following the national curriculum.
“…High scores get more aid…”, high SAT scores or high scores on the high school exams?
I think there’s a typo in your 5th paragraph.
My dad just doesn’t want me to leave Bangladesh. He wants me to become a doctor. After I graduate high school, he’ll force me into a med school. But I want to study computer science and have no interest in being a doctor. So if I flee to the US, I won’t have to study medicine. But if I stay in Bangladesh, he won’t let me study computer science. He’ll force me into medicine and I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life.
I didn’t get the last sentence of yours.
Btw, THANK YOU for interacting with me and helping me! I’ll be ever grateful!
If your dad refuses to complete the financial aid forms all 4 years you won’t get aid.
Do you apply directly to med school after high school in Bangladesh? In the US students attend college first. Students can major in computer science then apply to med school.
Can you choose a college that does not require CSS profile and use your mom as the custodial parent?
The OP can’t use his mom as the custodial parent if she’s not the custodial parent.
“If I get a perfect score, on a scale of 1-10, how hard would it be for me yo get a full-ride?”
It’s very hard to discuss your chances since we don’t know your grade average (all of your grades for all of your high school) we don’t have your SAT scores (many selective schools demand the SAT and a series of SAT subject tests) and we don’t know what you do for extra curriculars.
I will say this: your chances are very low. Maybe a 1, but probably less. If you read the international students threads posted by students needing full rides – they happen very, very rarely.
Lets start with your plan to “flee Bangladesh”. It’s flawed.
Your parent income total is about $123,000. IF you had tippy tippy top grades and tippy tippy top SAT or ACT scores, you might be in the under 10% of students who get accepted to schools that meet full need for all international students. Actually, the acceptance rate is more like 5% at those colleges for international students.
You will have to show that you have the cash on hand to pay for your studies, and this can include awarded aid. Without this…no visa to study here.
Also, your ability to pay will be considered by all but 5 of the colleges that meet full need for all international students. This means that your ability to pay will be considered when your admissions application is reviewed.
My opinion…you have some discussion to have with your father. If he really won’t pay a dime for you to study in the United States, than in my opinion, it’s not likely you will be able to attend college here. Full FREE rides are not very plentiful for any student…and the are less plentiful for international students.
Regarding your parents…are they married? If so…BOTH are considered your custodial parents. Please clarify this for us. If married, both parent incomes…and assets are required on the Profile. No exceptions. It is considered fraud (that’s a crime) to falsify financial aid applications and receive aid due to providing false info.
How can your father force you major college choice even there…or will he not pay unless you become a doctor?
Agree with all of the previous responses. Plus, if you were, by some miracle to get accepted in a US school, what next?
Will you have sufficient monies to buy a plane ticket? Pay for incidentals like bedding, clothing, required medical insurance?
Plus, if you were to become educated in the US, after you finished your studies, you would be expected to return to Bangladesh. US immigration rules are strict and tough. You cannot be employed by a US company without a US company willing to sponsor you. By law, they can’t do that until all US applicants have been exhausted. That would be an issue since there are many US kids majoring in CS. Plus, these companies don’t want to fill out paperwork, pay fees and wait for limited work visas when there are many willing citizen applicants.
You need to speak with your father.
High scores on the SAT or ACT.
The reason why it matters is that taking test Fall junior year is fine, but if you’d started Fall 2018 as a junior you’d be a senior Fall 2019 and taking the tests in October would be too late.
What about telling your dad you can get a degree in CS then in medicine in the US? (ok, not really, because you’re not American and American med schools don’t admit internationals, but yes it’s true, you need a 4-year degree to get into a US med school. You can argue that US med schools are better than Bangladeshi med schools, unless it raises his patriotic hackles.) Or you could get a degree in Bioinformatics.
Can you copy what you don’t understand? I’ll try to explain.
All in all, it’d be better if your ‘escape plan’ were presented (marketed) to your father as a “best of both worlds” situation to your father, because without his support you’re unlikely to be able to go.
What about studying in Europe?
Is there a reason you’re not considering local schools?
Would dad agree to pay if you attended school in Bangladesh, but far enough away that you had to dorm? You could get your undergrad degree there. Then, in 4 years when you’re a bit older you could try for grad school in the US.
Can you take some computer science classes sling with a premed curriculum in your home country?
You live with your father, but he is your legally custodial parent ? (a judge ruled that just your father, not your mother has your custody?) or just is an agreement between your parents that you live with him?
Please clarify…do you live with both of your parents, and are they married to each other?
Seems like the real issue is a parental control one, where the OP’s father wants to choose the OP’s major that the OP does not want to do.
Do you actually have any chance of getting into med school in Bangladesh? This all sounds so far fetched. It isn’t cheap to do med school there, right? And it is selective beyond passing admission tests.
Just a note you will not be able to get an i20 visa without a bank statement showing he has the funds in the account … plus some universities will not consider you for admissions until you provide that statement (protect their yield)
Even if you get a full ride they will need you to provide for the extra expenses
OP, you wrote: “He’ll force me into medicine and I’ll be miserable for the rest of my life.”
I have a little story about a US friend of mine who had a similarly controlling father. My friend wanted to major in computer science and his father demanded he become a doctor. He felt he had no choice but comply. He went to medical school but spent all his free time on computers and built a website for fun in his spare time. He eventually became a doctor–a specialist, actually-- but kept his website going. He had incredible luck, though, with his website and it became extremely popular. At one point during the dotcom boom valued over $50 million and he was on CNN. When he was making more money from his website than from his medical practice he told his parents he was quitting medicine. They were, finally, ok with it. He’s been happily devoted to computer work for the last 15 years or so.
I know his story is extremely unusual and he was very lucky-- and it was likely easier to do in the US. But don’t let your father’s control of you extend to control of your life and happiness. You don’t have to be miserable for the rest of your life. It sounds like he will fund an education. In the worst case scenario, you could follow your father’s demands and find a way to combine it with your interests. The world can use medical doctors with CS interests and training, for innovating new medical products and improving patient safety.
An int’l student isn’t going to find a true free ride merit scholarship into a US school.
No school is going to provide you with a merit scholarship that covers tuition, room, board, fees, personal expenses, airfare, and health insurance.
And then you’d have the problem of housing, etc, during summers. You won’t be able to work. You may even be required to leave the country during summers.
Another great example: the writer Khaled Hosseini. A Urologist, who has written several very highly regarded bestsellers. The Kite Runner, A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I suspect the OP will have to suck it up and go to med school. I get it. I come from a family of middle eastern descent where almost everyone is a doctor (tho not me!).
Also, I suspect Med School, should OP be admitted, is free.