Need help with selecting colleges.

Parent Cafe
1

<p>I am an international student (first generation) with an unusual academic background. Kindly allow me to explain.</p>

<p>While I grew up in a small part of India, where a day without a power outage is a day of celebration, I believe my academic experience is important to note. While attending 8th grade, I was forced to leave school and help support myself by getting a job (my father being bed ridden and my mother having recently lost her business). I simply refused to become a burden on my parents. As a young girl who adored school, I was really affected by this. Fortunately, I was later able to join the 10th grade, where I completed the two-year O-Level course in only one year. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make the transition back into school, but I soon flourished academically. From the beginning of 10th grade through the end of 11th grade I earned and maintained a GPA of 4.0(UW), consistently stood 2nd (and 1st in my last term there) among 120 students and partook in an impressive number of extracurricular activities. Of course, I was once more made to face the stark reality of things. Again, I had to leave school in 11th grade (after having completed a few AS-level courses) - but this time, the decision was voluntary as I decided to assist my mother with re- established her business (which soon flourished). </p>

<p>I started my work ventures by taking up a job as a freelance reporter with N.I.E., Times of India. I soon discovered that I had a knack for journalism and writing. I even worked at a chartered accountant’s office as his assistant. In addition to helping me earn a decent living, these jobs helped expose me to other areas of life. From there I got heavily involved in social work. Additionally, I became the coordinator and member of the prestigious governing bodies of two NGOs—SCOHINI (Sohini Centre of Human Insight & National Integration) and Minzoku Forum of India (a philanthropic organization that supports art and culture as well as indigent, handicapped senior citizens), and the Vice President of a newly formed charitable trust (J.J. Lahiri Memorial Charitable Foundation). I found myself increasingly immersed in these three non-profit units as well as my various stints in the field of social work. Since these outlets do not typically pay participants, I began a distributorship business with Amway, India, and, of course, soon joined my mother’s business as the manager. As for my love of social work, I believe it is the effort and the willingness to make a difference that truly counts. I knew there would be numerous obstacles in my way, but I was equally sure that none of these could be strong enough to break my determination or shake the faith I had in myself.
I am glad that my principles and work ethics have eventually brought to me to a position where I, finally (after more than a year of full-time work), have enough time and experience to balance work and study, and to go on an ultimate quest to discover the true artist in me that had been hiding behind heavy curtains of distress and responsibility. I am presently preparing for the ACT & SAT II and the American AP exams (homeschooled-alongside work), completing my high school eduction, i.e., 12th grade, from the American School of Correspondence (IL) and conducting an independent research. I have also been able to rescue an extra three hours, from the same daily 24 hours, to dedicate to my passion for the arts. </p>

<p>My academic achievements:
Trustees Scholar/All-rounder award winner
John Maynard Keynes Scholarship for economics</p>

<p>My extra-curricular achievements-
Brown-belt in karate
Table Tennis
Chess
Badminton
Student Government/ School Leader
School magazine editor
School spirit (quizzes, debates, etc)
Theater
Photography
Creative Writing
Founder of theater, photography, film and art appreciation clubs
Co-founder of Debate Society
(On the verge of publishing a book)</p>

<p>The work and research details have been mentioned in the summary. I shall also be submitting an arts supplement.</p>

<p>I've also been accepted to IMACS (Institute for Mathematics and Computer Science for gifted and talented students), but I'm not sure if I'd enroll.</p>

<p>The biggest drawback of my application is the fact that I would need a lot of financial aid. I'm specifically looking at need blind colleges/universities, but I'm not sure if I'm qualified enough for them.</p>

<p>Please suggest colleges and universities I could apply to. I intend to double-major in art history/archaeology and theater. Also, how can I further improve my credentials?</p>

2

<p>Any suggestions?</p>

3

<p>Bump ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^</p>

4

<p>SATs???</p>

5

<p>I shall take the ACT and the SAT Subject Tests later this year (it’s impossible to predict scores right now). I’m simply looking for a few college/university suggestions just to have an idea.</p>

6

<p>if you need financial aid, aim for the ivies. If you get in, aid is pretty much guaranteed.</p>

7

<p>What kind of ACT and SAT II scores do the Ivies expect applicants to have?</p>

<p>Also, can you suggest some more universities or liberal arts colleges?</p>

8

<p>They expect at least 2250+ for internationals, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Without SAT scores, though, I have no idea what to recommend.</p>

9

<p>Which are the need blind/sensitive liberal arts colleges?</p>

10

<p>You are extremely impressive; no one would doubt that. You have already been very successful, and I believe you will continue to be successful no matter what your next educational step is.</p>

<p>Only a tiny number of U.S. colleges are both need-blind as to international applicants and guarantee that they will meet 100% of need for internationals. Harvard, Dartmouth, I believe Yale and Princeton, and I’m not certain who else, if anyone. And even with those colleges, whether they are really need-blind for internationals can be debated – probably they aren’t. I don’t think any claims to evaluate international applicants on equal footing with domestic applicants.</p>

<p>Those colleges attract scores of applications from poor, smart, successful international applicants like you. No one can tell you, “Yes, you will be admitted” to any of them (except, of course, the admissions staffs at those colleges themselves). You should apply, do the best you can, and hope.</p>

<p>The other thing, too, is not to ignore colleges that aren’t need-blind, but that meet 100% of need. Sure, they will not admit many full-need international applicants, but each of them will admit SOME full-need international applicants. If your standardized test scores are strong, you will be perfectly competitive in that pool. There are no guarantees, but it wouldn’t surprise me if someone admitted you. You don’t really care if a college is need-blind; you just care that if they admit you they give you the funding, too. And, in fact, you should be willing to apply to some colleges that don’t even guarantee that, as long as you can compete for “merit” scholarships that would fill in the gap between your financial aid and your ability to pay.</p>

<p>Also, look beyond the biggest names: The U.S. has a number of very high-quality smaller liberal arts colleges, that offer an educational experience quite comparable to Harvard et al. (some would even say it’s better, some would disagree with that, but it’s clearly comparable). None of them is need-blind for internationals, but all of them are hungry for great international students, and they get far fewer international applications than the big-name schools. No matter how strong your application is, you would have a much better chance of being one of three or four internationals admitted with full aid at one of these than of getting admitted to Harvard or Dartmouth.</p>

11

<p>US Schools That Offer Need-Blind Admission to International Students - under a need-blind admissions policy, a college or university will admit students regardless of their ability to pay, and for any students that cannot afford the pricetag, the university awards scholarships and other institutional aid to make up the difference. There are now eight US schools that offer need-blind admissions to international students - Amherst College is the most recent to join this elite group, for school year 2008/2009. Basically, if you can get in, you can afford to go - they are:</p>

<ol>
<li>MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Massachusetts</li>
<li>Harvard University in Massachusetts</li>
<li>Princeton University in New Jersey</li>
<li>Yale University in Connecticut</li>
<li>Williams College in Massachusetts</li>
<li>Middlebury College in Vermont</li>
<li>Dartmouth College in New Hampshire</li>
<li>Amherst College in Massachusetts</li>
</ol>

<p>If you need aid, make sure you apply to these schools. There is a good chance you won’t get in any of these though, these are some of the toughest colleges to get into.</p>

12

<p>[Colleges</a> that offer money for international students](<a href=“http://www.internationalcounselor.org/College%20program/the%20list.htm]Colleges”>http://www.internationalcounselor.org/College%20program/the%20list.htm)
[Need</a> Blind Admissions for International Applicants to US Colleges](<a href=“http://www.universitylanguage.com/blog/20/need-blind-admissions/]Need”>http://www.universitylanguage.com/blog/20/need-blind-admissions/)</p>

13

<p>Thank you very much JHS & BuddyMcAwesome :)!</p>

<p>@JHS: Could you please name some of the very high-quality smaller liberal arts colleges (other than the 3 BuddyMcAwesome mentioned)?</p>

14

<p>Thanks nngmm !</p>

15

<p>Some other good schools you should definitely check out that offer very good aid to internationals (but aren’t need blind) are:</p>

<p>Rice, Northwestern, Chicago, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, and Colgate… I’m sure there are many more.</p>

16

<p>Thanks :)! I shall add them to my list!</p>

17

<p>intstud – lots of them are on the various lists you have. A few seem to be missing: Carleton and Macalaster in Minnesota, the Claremont Colleges in Southern California (Pomona, Harvey Mudd, Claremont-McKenna, Pitzer, Scripps), women’s colleges Bryn Mawr, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, Wellesley. Grinnell is well-endowed, off the beaten path, and anxious to establish itself as an international institution. Oberlin, Davidson. And then the whole mass of northeastern LACs, including Hamilton, Haverford, Skidmore, Bard, Sarah Lawrence, Wesleyan, Trinity, Connecticut College.</p>

18

<p>Thank you sooooo much :slight_smile: !
Do you think I should take a chance and apply to any school under the ED program? I might actually apply through QuestBridge.</p>

19

<p>Always check if you are eligible for a program or awards as an international student. There are often restrictions. </p>

<p>I don’t recommend that you apply ED. If you don’t get aid, and you may well not, you are going to be complicating your life even more. Even if you think you need a lot of financial aid, once the colleges look at your family’s financial situation, they may not agree. I’ve known a number of kids surprised that way. If you are absolutely sure that there are no such surprises, you may want to select a school that does guarantee 100% of need to be met. </p>

<p>You should apply to a wide array of colleges. The competition for spots for foreign students is fierce, and India is a way overrepresented country. You won’t get any diversity points for that. MOney at most schools is also scarce for internationals. </p>

<p>If you are really set on coming here, look at MomfromTexas’s thread on full ride scholarships. There are many schools that are not at all well known, that have some good scholarships where you would have a good chance of getting something. Getting into the top name schools here, is a lottery ticket, to get a full ride is even more difficult, especially for the prestigious merit awards, and for an international student from India, it’s really a shoot for the stars effort. Throw in some safeties where you have a decent chance and even a good chance of not only getting accepted, but getting sizeable aid.</p>

20

<p>I would recommend looking at women’s colleges. You have a fascinating story about following your education under circumstances that would have stopped most people. and women’s colleges are very interested in helping young women with such experiences and background succeed. The problem is going to be financial aid, they have limited financial aid budgets for international studetns and some of those are strained by the need to provide lots of aid to students from high-need areas like Afghanistan. And they also have a lot of applicants from India. But, your unusual background and personal story could be a huge factor in them deciding to divert siginficant funds towards you, so I would keep them in the mix.</p>