Please help in narrowing my college list to 8 colleges

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi.
My stats and ECs:
SAT I --> CR-740 W-740 M-720 (2200) :'(
AP Physics C: Mech: 5(could only afford one)
SAT-IIs--> Due in October.
ECs:
1. Founded this astronomy club in school. I think it is my strongest EC, as I have a lot of compelling stories to tell about it. Basically personal challenges, overcoming stage fright, lobbying school for funds/perseverance etc etc etc
2. Scored a perfect CGPA in this 10th grade national exam(CBSE board in India, if you've heard of it).
3. Was awarded one of the most prestigious scholarships of our school.
4. Regular member of the school quizzing team. Won a national and finished 3rd in a regional quiz.
5. Other small competitions blah blah blah.
6. Some research work in physics.
I haven't had a lot of opportunities come my way. I've made the most of which did. Giving IPhO in November, hoping for the best.
Percentile-5%(school doesn't rank- and class size is VERY small, about 60 kids only).</p>

<p>I need about 90-95% aid, so I have no real safeties. I made this elaborate point system according to which I awarded points to schools on the basis of the majors they offered(which I wanted), fin aid offered and the no to which it was offered. Apart from the 5 colleges listed right below, I graded others and now I am pretty confused.
These are the colleges that I am considering:</p>

<p>Definitely applying to:
MIT
Yale
Princeton
Dartmouth
Cornell</p>

<p>Considering as safeties:
Skidmore
Reed</p>

<p>Confused about applying to:
Trinity, UChicago, Wesleyan, Vassar, Colgate,Columbia.</p>

<p>I am confused because:
1. I can't decide whether I should apply to Columbia. My list already has 5 very selective schools, and further I have a feeling Columbia will reject me anyways because they are need aware and I feel I don't stand out.
2. I really like UChicago, and it really feels like "home", but again, I feel the same issues as stated above for Columbia. Also, it's as selective as Cornell, so I am not sure whether I should spend time on applying to yet another selective school or whether I should apply to a safety instead.
3. In case of Trinity, Wesleyan, Vassar, Colgate, Skidmore and Reed, which ones do I have the maximum chance of being admitted <em>and</em> receiving generous aid? My SAT scores are either on the higher side or higher than the upper limit of the SAT scores for these colleges.
4. I have a feeling I might be missing out on some college that could be a better safety+fit. Any suggestions on additions/deletions of colleges from this list are welcome. </p>

<p>Thanks for your time. I really appreciate the help awesome CC members offer for which education counsellors charge hundreds of dollars. Thanks again.</p>

2

<p>“Giving IPhO in November, hoping for the best.”</p>

<p>Are you an International Student? If so, will your family be full pay?</p>

3

<p>Skidmore and Reed probably aren’t the best safeties. Though you’re above the upper limits for those schools, they tend to be less scores-focused when evaluating applications. Especially as an international that needs almost full aid, you need to lower your sights a little when looking at safety schools.</p>

4

<p>Whoops, you ARE an international student.</p>

<p>And</p>

<p>You NEED massive aid.</p>

<p>This means that YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY SAFETIES IN THE US. EVERYTHING HERE IS A HIGH REACH. Your matches and safeties are in your own country.</p>

<p>Period. End of story.</p>

<p>Pop over to the International Students Forum, and track down b@r!um who is the resident expert on finding aid. One piece of advice that she has given others in your situation, is to identify places that fund very few international students, but do award those few students a lot of money. Most international applicants neglect to apply to those places.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>

5

<p>@happymomof1
I realized that some time ago. I have been looking at “relative safeties,” by that I mean colleges that aren’t as selective as HYPM, and at the same time offer a lot of financial aid. Skidmore and Reed are two such schools. Track down b@r!um. Okay.
@bruno14
I can’t find any schools that are less selective(say, about 40%) but at the same time give enough aid.</p>

6

<p>Look for schools that offer merit aid to internationals with your stats you should be able to find some</p>

7

<p>Merit aid doesn’t cover 90-95% of the fees, I think.</p>

8

<p>Some schools merit aid gives full rides</p>

9

<p>That’s not very specific. I personally haven’t found many.</p>

10

<p>Aid for international students is a completely different thing than aid for US candidates. International students will not get a visa if they cannot demonstrate that all of their cost of attendance is covered. They also have very strict work limitations in the US. This means that while a US student might be assigned a work-study job and expected to take out some student loans, an international student (who is ineligible for those) may well receive full funding from the college/university. Which of course is why international applicants who need significant aid face such strong competition for the few big scholarships out there.</p>

11

<p>Yes, but which “big(merit) scholarships” are you talking about? It would be immensely helpful if I was directed to some financial resources. And the OP’s question is still unanswered. :(</p>

12

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1348012-automatic-full-tuition-full-ride-scholarships.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>check which ones internationals can still qualify for</p>