Focus on schools where your academic abilities will be highly desirable. There’s no sense applying to a bunch of schools simply because they’re known for handing out money to internationals. Many of them will be need aware and very selective, so if they’re going to give you a ton of aid, it’s critical that they really want you based on your stats and other attributes.
–How much can you pay per year?
–Approximate family income?
–Give us some sense of your academic profile: GPA (unweighted & weighted), class rank, SAT/ACT, AP classes, ECs, etc.
I you have a permanent resident visa, then you are considered basically an American. If you don’t have a permanent resident visa nor citizenship, then I am pretty sure that you are correct that you are considered “international”.
Of course, if you are not a US citizen (and maybe even if you are), then you presumably have citizenship somewhere else. There are few places in the world where university is as expensive as in the US, and at least many “somewheres else” allow non-resident citizens to go to university at a reasonable price.
@JordanHarden,
In order to suggest schools we need the answers to the various questions that have been asked.
To summarize:
What is your visa status? Are you a permanent resident (green card holder) or are you in the process of obtaining a green card? Or, are you undocumented? Be very specific on your status as different colleges have different rules on what qualifies as a domestic applicant.
How much does your family earn (roughly) and how much do they want to pay toward your education?
What are your GPA and SAT/ACT scores?
What are you doing during your gap year? What do you want to study?
Are you male or female? What country are you originally from? Do you have any notable extracurricular activities, e.g., music, art, writing, sports?
What grades did you complete abroad and which in the US?
Your status as an international student isn’t dependent on where you go to school, but your visa status:
If you need a visa to study in the US, you’re an international applicant.
If you don’t need a visa, you’re a domestic applicant (if you studied abroad and are a US citizen, you’re a domestic applicant with international credentials).
Permanent residents, refugees, and American citizens are domestic applicants.
"Dreamers " are treated differently depending on state and even college so you’d need to check with each.
What is YOUR situation?
It is impossible to provide suggestions without knowing your statistics (GPA, standardized test scores, APs, ECs, etc). Merely throwing out names of schools is pointless. Are you a URM? What is your story? What brought you to the US? Are you a first generation applicant? You need to provide more information.
GPA 3.76 and SAT:1370(Will take it again if I'm taking a gap yr.) For TOEFL, studied for only 2 days and scored 97. I am very confident that I can score 110+.
Not sure if im taking gap yr or not. Comp sci or electrical engineering.
male. From Kyrgyzstan.Yes, I have some notable extracurricular activities:president of class, math club and team for many years (international, national, state champ etc..) and few clubs.
A full-ride with your GPA/SAT would be overly optimistic. You require need-based aid, but schools that claim to meet full need for internationals can be quite selective (and need-aware) so gaining admittance to such schools will be a problem. Furthermore, the less selective schools where you have a better chance of being admitted (with a sizable merit award) often won’t meet full need.
What is your approximate family income? If your family income is at a level where you’re expected to pay more than $2500 per year, you will have a tough time bridging that gap with merit aid – merit aid is often subtracted from need-based awards.
Can you elaborate on your math awards? What international team are you talking about? A high aptitude in a subject would be especially important in your case.
@JordanHarden I think your strongest possible hook would potentially be your life experience. Your essays and recommendations should reflect what you – due to your (presumably) unusual background and compelling story — could contribute to the campus community. Emphasize cultural contrasts and hardships overcome.
Engineering isn’t an undergraduate degree at all colleges, especially smaller ones, so check that when you do your research. My suggestion would be to start at the bottom of USNWR best colleges lists, both national universities and liberal arts colleges, and cross check each against the guarantee-to-meet list.
You might also post your details on the International Students board of this site.
I know you’re currently in the U.S., but I would still suggest that you contact Education USA in Kyrgyzstan. They may be able to point you in the right direction. http://americancouncils.kg/programs/education-usa/