<p>Hi.
The colleges are:
Columbia
Colgate
Vassar
Reed
Skidmore
Wesleyan University.
Intended major: Physics/Engineering Phyiscs.
Minor:Comp Sc/Astronomy/Music.
Annual Income:~13000 USD.
Int'l student.
Complete stats here:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/1377072-please-help-me-choose-8-colleges-list.html%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/1377072-please-help-me-choose-8-colleges-list.html</a>
I personally like Colgate and Vassar.
I am definitely applying to Cornell, so I think there's little Columbia has for me as compared to what Cornell has, as Cornell is known for engineering more than Columbia is, and Columbia's core curriculum is something I'm not too keen on (yet it's not a valid reason for not applying either). Since Cornell and Columbia are both very selective, I don't see the point in applying to both. I also get the feeling that Cornell is better for UGs. But I think Columbia might give me more aid than Cornell.
As for Vassar and Skidmore, they are great schools with a great reputation, but they both seem to have this artsy-hipster-pot-smoking-student-body impression on me and I'm not sure whether they are good schools for a physics major.
Please help.</p>
<p>Columbia makes sense (as would Cornell) but you I’m sure you know the odds of admission there…
I am not getting why you are looking at LAC’s when one potential major is Engineering Physics. They won’t have it. How big are their physics departments compared to a university?</p>
<p>Why not examine smaller or medium universities (if it is a size issue) that have engineering programs, such as University of Rochester or Case Western? Is it the issue with financial aid for internationals that is causing you to look at Wesleyan (and yes it has lots of hipsters mostly studying English, international relations, drama, music etc.)?</p>
<p>^Wesleyan has outstanding physics and astronomy. [It continually amazes me how may students are able to distill a university down to one stereotype, and then act as if that is all there is to that university.]</p>
<p>I don’t a lot about these colleges, but from looking at their websites I would cross out Reed and Skidmore. They don’t have engineering, besides a few dual degree programs.</p>
<p>Vassar doesn’t have engineering either, but they seem to have a pretty awesome Physics/Astronomy program :)</p>
<p>^ Reed has one of the BEST physics programs at a non research university in the country. They have the only student-run functioning small nuclear reactor on a liberal arts college campus. If a student wants a small college and wants to study physics, Reed is hard to beat.</p>
<p>I would knock off Skidmore… I looked at their physics department page… they have only 1 full tenured professor of physics, 2 assistant professors, and a few temporary “visiting” professors. For someone genuinely interested in physics and astronomy, the options for courses will be severely limited.</p>
<p>Sorry for the late reply folks.
It IS an aid issue. I can’t afford a college in the US unless I get around 90-95% aid.
I don’t mind the absence of an Engineering Dept. I’m okay with a good physics dept.( I know LACs don’t have Engg Depts for the most part).
I’ve heard Reed’s phy dept is good and Vassar is pretty decent, and I really like their astronomy program. Not sure about Skidmore, but it’s more of a safety.
And Wesleyan isn’t a hipster-type school. I was talking about Vassar, Reed and Skidmore as hipster schools, to be precise.
The problem with Wesleyan is that I’m not eligible for their Freeman Asian Scholarship(or some scholarship with a similar name for East Asians). Therefore, I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to afford Wesleyan. Any thoughts on that?</p>
<p>Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalp!</p>
<p>I don’t mean to be negative, but if you need full aid, I doubt that Skidmore is a safety for you. Here’s what the Skidmore website says:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If you look at this list, I think you will see that Skidmore only offered aid to slightly less than half of the international students attending in 2009-2010 and the average aid package left students with $15,000 per year in out of pocket costs. <a href=“http://infousa.state.gov/education/studyteach/docs/intfinaid.pdf[/url]”>http://infousa.state.gov/education/studyteach/docs/intfinaid.pdf</a></p>
<p>I would look at that list, look at the International Students Forum on this website and also take a look at this list of colleges that offer free applications (make sure to check the individual school websites to see if anything has changed) as a starting point [Free</a> College Applications](<a href=“http://www.porcelina.net/freeapps/general.html]Free”>Free College Applications) </p>
<p>If I were you, I would add a few slightly safer schools to your list (maybe take a look at St. Lawrence, Kenyon, Ursinus and Juniata which are excellent, but slightly less highly ranked schools and offer free applications). From everything I’ve read, you have to cast a wide net if you’re an international student who needs full financial aid.</p>
<p>But Skidmore is on this list:
[10</a> Colleges That Offer International Students Most Financial Aid - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2012/02/21/10-colleges-that-offer-international-students-most-financial-aid]10”>http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2012/02/21/10-colleges-that-offer-international-students-most-financial-aid)</p>
<p>I really don’t understand the discrepancy, except to say that maybe the US News numbers are more recent and Skidmore has vastly increased its aid to international students. </p>
<p>I should note that I tried to check the US News numbers on the Skidmore website and while the common data set (where Skidmore lays out important institutional data) says that Skidmore had 107 international students in 2011-2012 and 89 in 2010-2011, the US News list only refers to 56 enrolled students, so there are clearly some blips in the numbers here.</p>
<p>Given the more recent list, it seems that Skidmore might well be a good choice for financial aid for internationals. However, I still feel strongly that if you need full aid as an international student, you cannot assume that Skidmore is a relatively safe school for you because you are competing against all the other international students who also need full aid.</p>
<p>Good luck with your search and with the admissions process!</p>
<p>There is not necessarily a contradiction. It could very well be that even the “most generous aid to international students” schools in the US are still not that generous.</p>
<p>If you need substantial financial aid as a non-US citizen/resident, then there may be no safeties in the US (or very few, if any of the automatic-for-stats big merit scholarships are allowed for non-US citizens/residents).</p>
<p>My D is a chem major and she took Skidmore off her list after visiting it. It is an outstanding school, but she felt it was too “artsy” for her and after the campus tour took us to a child care center and a looming center, she was done. She does have two friends (both into the arts/English) who love it though, and if Skidmore is good with aid, that is certainly a consideration. Again, that was her opinion based on her observations that day so you should look and decide for your self. FYI, when we left Skidmore, we looked at Union College which is nearby and although she didn’t go to Union in the end, she felt it was a much better option.</p>
<p>And some LACs including Bucknell, Lafayette, Union do have strong engineering programs.</p>
<p>Thanks so much. I think Skidmore isn’t really the place for me. I guess I’ll knock it off.
I guess I’ll also knock off Vassar.
But should I knock off Columbia or Cornell? I feel this is turning into a Columbia vs Cornell thing now. Columbia seems to give more aid according to the data supplied by midatlmom.
@happy1 I’ve started to feel like your D about Skidmore. I guess it isn’t really a place for a physics major.</p>
<p>Do you really have to choose between Columbia and Cornell? They are both excellent and very difficult to get into. If I had to choose I would take Cornell, but if you prefer city life…</p>
<p>why do you need to knock cornell or columbia off the list? why not apply to both?</p>
<p>Well I definately suggest applying to both. Who knows if you get into 1 and not the other. Really if you use the Common App then its not much work to send another application. Also they great thing if you get accepted to both then Cornell will match Columbia’s aid because Cornell does lack on the aid side for an Ivy. I’d pick Cornell if you can work out the aid. Also much more accepting of APs (which you don’t have to worry about). So I would apply to Columbia, Cornell, Colgate, and if you feel up to it Vassar. I know thats 4 not 3 but you gave us 7 schools.</p>
<p>I’d knock off Colgate, Vassar, and Skidmore. Reed has an outstanding physics department. If you are looking for a top LAC with engineering and excellent FA, try Swarthmore. (No idea what their policy re internationals is, though, and the school is a very tough admit. Bucknell, Lafayette, and Union are good schools but easier admits. No idea about their FA for internationals, either.)</p>
<p>Do you have a backup plan if you do not get into a US school that offers sufficient aid?</p>
<p>Well, I was thinking of not applying to both because my college list is saturated with selective schools. I feel that if I apply to too many selective colleges, I might be left with too many rejections and no admissions.
@egelloc80: I know Cornell sucks aid-wise, but I hope I might get their Tata Scholarship for Indians.
@Consolation: I do have a backup plan: studying in my own country. Which would really suck, especially since people can’t even pick their major back here.</p>
<p>Don’t take Vassar off your list yet, their overall preparation in math and science is excellent.</p>
<ul>
<li>S1, a physics major at Vassar, took a 300 level engineering course at our local university over the summer and got the highest grade in the class. He took none of the engineering prerequisites - just the physics ‘equivalents’ at Vassar. He was able to not only survive but actually thrive. We all happy that it worked out so well.</li>
</ul>
<p>I would think that Wesleyan would also offer an excellent experience. Columbia has huge core requirements so check that out to see if it is what you really want.</p>