Need to start narrowing down my college list

College Search & Selection
1

Hello there I am a current sophomore looking for colleges that I should start thinking about.

Current grade: 10th
GPA: 4.7 Weighted 4.0 Weighted (Should go up as I only had the chance to take a single AP this year but I am planning on taking at least 4-5 for each of my next two years of high school.)
Race: Asian (Canadian citizen studying in the United States for 8 years.)
Gender: Male
State: NC
Income bracket: ~$80,000
SAT: 1970…(This was my recently received January score. Yes I know it isn’t very good but I plan on studying a lot more than I did for this one on my future tests so I think realistically I can raise it at least 200-300 points though the SAT is changing so I’m not too sure. I’ll probably try the ACT also because I feel like I’d probably do better considering the nature of the ACT compared to the SAT.)

ECs:

Science Olympiad Team Member
Member of musical outreach group that goes to underprivileged areas and schools to perform and teach.
Member of a group of young musicians that put on annual benefit concerts for charity.
Marching band and symphonic band member for 2 years.
Piano for 8 years (This is my biggest EC in my opinion. I have put thousands of hours of practice into it and I perform at very high levels and receive many awards and recognitions.
STRIDE (Gay Straight Alliance) Member
INTERACT (Community service group) Member
Mu Alpha Theta (Math Honor Society) Member
Math Team Member

Awards:

Many music related awards from both piano and band. Band consistently places/wins at the contests we go to. I have received many awards for my piano playing ranging from district level to state level awards.
School math team consistently wins our category every year.

If you can’t tell, music is my biggest passion outside of school.

Volunteer:

Camp counselor at church summer camp
Many community service projects with school volunteer group

Pros:

Kinda smart I guess
Pretty good at music
Not much else…
Currently extremely motivated to do greater things

Cons:

International student (Canada)
Asian male…
Lack of impressive awards and EC’s so far
Just a general lack of anything really impressive. I’m not even as impressive as the average Asian male.

I am interested in majoring in Finance and/or maybe Computer Science

Yes I know I still have a bit of time to get my stuff together but I’d like to look ahead and recognize what is realistic.

I’d like to go to college in or near a big city especially in the Northeast. Preferably I would stay in the United States but I have not completely ruled out Canadian schools (UofT and McGill mostly). I like big schools but wouldn’t mind going to a midsize school. I’d also like to avoid strongly conservative schools. My parents can afford to pay $12k-15k last time I asked.

2

The only US schools that give need based aid to internationals are some of the elite schools (Harvard, Stanford etc.). Your stats and limited EC’s would rule out acceptance to this group. While internationals can get merit aid at many US schools, your stats would make such aid unlikely at any top 50 university.

The cost of attendance at US schools is about $40,000 for tuition plus $14,000 for room and board per year.

3

Not even my state flagship? UNC-Chapel Hill. Would I not get the instate rate?

4

Are you a green card holder in the US? If so you are not an international student.

5

No my family doesn’t hold a green card. We have been in the process of applying for one in years. I have an H-4 while my father holds a H-1B.

6

@thatasiankid, many colleges/universities offer need-based aid to internationals. At a family income $80,000 you should be eligible for a good chunk, though what you actually get is variable. The colleges’ on line net price calculators may or many not work for internationals. I would pick a few and give it a try or communicate directly with the colleges’ financial aid offices to get an idea of what your family’s estimated financial contribution might be.

Your grades and ECs also make you a reasonable contender for merit aid, though it would help to get your scores up.

At some schools, especially those in the midwest and/or in rural locations Asians are considered URMs. So depending on the school, you may have a demographic advantage as well.

Music and math are good, solid ECs. You’ll want to submit a music performance supplement with your application, even if you don’t intend to major in music.

Finance isn’t offered as a major at many colleges, so be open to math, statistics, economics as well.

This is how financial aid for internationals works:
A handful of schools are need-blind and guarantee to meet full demonstrated need to internationals. These tend to be highly selective and tend to get a large number of international applications, so they are very competitive.

Many schools are not need-blind but guarantee to meet full demonstrated need. This means they will consider that you need financial aid, but if they admit you they will cover what you need to attend (according to their net price calculations).

There are others that offer merit aid to internationals. These are less predictable, but again, possible.

Here’s my list. Once you start researching, I’m sure you’ll find others. The key is to look for “meets full demonstrated need” then communicate with the financial aid office to determine what your estimated family contribution might be. If that works for your family, then you’ll have a lot of choices.

Just to get you started, look at Williams. Excellent academics. Interested in recruiting high achieving Asians. High value placed on music EC, lots of performance opportunities even for non-majors, beautiful pianos. Excellent math and economics. Solid CS.

Need blind and will meet full need
Amherst, Dartmouth, MIT, Harvard, Princeton, Yale

Need blind but may not meet full need
Cornell, Georgetown

Not need blind but will meet full need
Brown, Colby, Colgate, Davidson, Emory, Hamilton, Hendrix, Macalester, Middlebury, Pomona, Stanford, Swarthmore, U of Chicago, U of Pennsylvania, Vassar, Wellesley , Wesleyan, Williams, Wooster

Merit scholarships for internationals
Carlton, Davidson, Dickinson, Emory, Kenyon, Rhodes
UNC Chapel hill Robertson, Clark University LEEP scholarship, U of Alabama(main campus, Huntsville and Birmingham, main is the best in academics) merit scholarships based on GPA and SAT, Howard University(full ride merit scholarship), LSU merit scholarship, Fordham University merit scholarship(tuition+room).

7

@momrath has a great post.

I would also add Ohio Wesleyan University to the list of schools offering excellent aid to international students. You would also definitely get admitted.

Take a look at Case Western Reserve University too. You can specialize in finance at their Weatherhead School of Management.

By the way, 10th grade is not the time to start narrowing your list. You should keep exploring new options until at least the end of your junior year.

8

@NROTCgrad‌’s suggestions are excellent; please pay careful attention to them.

Further, please remember one thing, whether your financial aid is governed by an institution’s “US” or “international” policies is based on your citizenship status in (probably) 2017. If you are a permanent resident by then, you’ll be eligible for in-state, merit and need-based assistance on a basis identical with all US citizens.

9

@momrath‌

Thank you so much for your detailed post. How would top Canadian schools such as U of T and McGill compare to the schools you have listed? Obviously they are not comparable to the likes of Harvard, Yale, Stanford etc. but what about the other schools? Would it be better say to go to Case Western (Weatherhead) like @NROTCgrad‌ talked about or McGill(Desautels)? I intend to work in the US hopefully in somewhere like NYC, Chicago, or Boston so would going to a Canadian school hurt my recruitment prospects?

10

I’m not knowledgeable in the merits of Canadian colleges vs US colleges. In answer to your US recruitment question, you might contact the colleges’ career counseling centers and ask what type of summer internships their students secure. Most colleges will give you a list of the firms that recruit on campus.

11

If you want to major in business and work in the U.S. it seems to me that you would want to get your college education in the U.S.

Unless, perhaps you want to work in the U.S. for a Canadian company.

If you were majoring in math or science or the humanities, a Canadian degree would be fine. Approaches to business vary from country to country.

12

Momrath, add Grinnell to your list of schools that are need blind and will meet full need.

OP, your best option at present is a Canadian school. You don’t have the test scores right now for a full ride at the schools that meet your current criteria. Save your money for an MBA at a top US business school. They care much more about your level of professional achievement post graduation and your potential as a future business leader than they will about where you did your undergraduate degree. Just make sure you attend a program that will help you develop the skills you need to get the kinds of jobs you want - good quant skills, if you are finance bound. But also good business writing and presentation skills. And figure out which undergrad business programs in Canada have good career placement centers, attract the kinds of employers you are interested in, and have active alumni networks.

13

@N’s Mom, Grinnell is a good addition for guaranteed to meet demonstrated need but I don’t think they are need blind for internationals. (At least that’s what it says on their website. Sometimes these policies change, though, so you may be right.)

They also offer merit aid to internationals which is uncommon.