Please help me.

College Search & Selection
1

Hey guys!
I have a small concern:
I am an international applicant (from California without green card), and these are the schools I am applying to:

  1. Georgia Tech
  2. Northeastern
  3. UIUC
  4. U Mich Ann Arbor
  5. Purdue
  6. SCU
  7. LMU
  8. UC Berkeley
  9. UCLA
  10. UCSD
  11. UC Davis
  12. UC Irvine
  13. UC Santa Cruz
  14. UC Santa Barbara
  15. Cornell
  16. Stanford
    17 Brown

Should I have more match/safety schools?
I am really concerned and doubtful if I can get into any university that I have applied, because of my international applicant status.
If I should have more safeties/matches, which colleges should I look more into.
Thanks for reading!

2

well… you should tell us your g.p.a, sat/act, subject tests, APs, schedules, EC…blah blah
For my perspective, you are applying too many schools, and range of the schools is too broad to estimate your academic level.

3

What are your stats?

4

Sorry about that!
Here are my stats:

UC GPA - 4.22
GPA Unweighted - 3.98
GPA Weighted - 4.16
ACT with writing - 33
English (35), Math (31), Reading (34), Science (30)
SAT Subjects - Results coming this 24th (expecting math 2- 720 and physics - 600)
Major Choice - Mechanical Engineering

EC:
I am multi-lingual.

150 + Volunteering Hours (Various Organizations, Library, Tutoring, etc…)

Played the piano for 8 years
Played the guitar for 4 years
Won certificates in both instruments
Performed in front of audiences ( Recitals, Ensembles, etc…)
Took ABRSM exam for Music Theory Grade 3 - passed
Took ABRSM exam for Guitar Practical Grade 3 - passed with Merit
Took 3 Guild Repertoire Piano Music Exams and passed all. (1 of them I earned a plaque) (3 of them with certification)

I played on the JV team for Basketball and Soccer in freshman year of high school.
I played tennis for about 4 - 5 years. I reached the sectionals tournament of USTA Norcal in the state of California with my team, Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC).

I also achieved recognition in the field of art, as I do all types of mediums: Oil Pastel, Pencil Shading, Pen & Ink, Watercolor Paintings, Acrylic Paintings, Oil Paintings, Fabric Paintings, as well as Graphic Design (Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator).
I won several medals and certificates in art contests.

I am also proficient with all of Microsoft Office and HTML.

Great letters of recommendation.

I flew to the country of Turkey and interned there at Gediz University with a professor in the area of Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering . As I shadowed him and aided him in his research, I learned the basics and the foundations of aerodynamics, college level.

Essays - 8/10

Course Rigor:
Freshman - No AP or Honors Courses (I took the hardest courses my school offered).

Sophomore - No AP Courses but 2 Honors Courses (I took the hardest courses my school offered).

Junior - 3 AP Courses (APUSH, AP Lit and Comp, AP Calc AB) and 1 Honors Course (I took the hardest courses my school offered).

Senior Schedule - VMC (Voices of Modern Culture), Men’s Choir, Gov/Econ, AP Stats, PE.

5

bump

6

bump

7

<<<
to:

  1. Georgia Tech
  2. Northeastern
  3. UIUC
  4. U Mich Ann Arbor
  5. Purdue
  6. SCU
  7. LMU
  8. UC Berkeley
  9. UCLA
  10. UCSD
  11. UC Davis
  12. UC Irvine
  13. UC Santa Cruz
  14. UC Santa Barbara
  15. Cornell
  16. Stanford
    17 Brown

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Did you attend a Calif high school for 3 years? If so, then you qualify for instate rates, but I don’t think you’ll qualify for aid.

What are your parents saying about paying OOS rates for schools like GT, UIUC, Purdue, UMich?

I don’t think LMU gives aid to int’ls…do they?

How much will they pay?

8

<<<
Parents are willing to pay 20k and I will pay 5k, and I need the rest from scholarships and financial aid.
I live in California.
<<<

Well, you probably should take off the OOS publics you have here.

Cornell, Stanford and Brown give aid to int’ls who show demonstated need.

I don’t think the other schools would give you what you need.

where does the $5k from you come from? Will you be allowed to work when your visa changes?

Will you have instate rate status for the UCs?? If not, those won’t be affordable.

What schools are your safeties?? I don’t see ANY.

9

@mom2collegekids I attended California schools my entire high school and middle school years, but GT, Purdue, SCU, NEU all consider me to be an international applicant. My parents will be able to take a loan and pay $5000 as only one parent works and he has an average pay.

10

What bank is going to qualify international parents to borrow $150k+ …especially with average pay??

11

Besides scholarships, loans, and family payment are there any other financial aid available to me? Sorry I am new to this, as I am the first generation to go to a university here.

12

As an int’l? No.

US banks aren’t going to approve student loan applications from your parents…mainly because they’re int’ls, but also because of “average income”. The banks won’t approve them because they fear that they would leave the country and never pay the loans back…and the banks wouldn’t be able to “reach” them to get their money back.

You can apply to some schools that give large merit to int’ls, but those aren’t on your current list.

Your parents need to figure out how much THEY can pay each year w/o needing loans. Then you need to apply to schools that will give you enough merit for your stats, that your parents’ contribution can cover the rest.

You need a totally new list. Cornell, Stanford and Brown are the only schools on your list that would give you needed aid. And, your chances for admission are small.

@Salutation

If you applied RIGHT NOW to UAlabama and apply as an eng’g major, then you would be awarded a free tuition scholarship plus 2500 per year. The remaining cost for an int’l would be about $15k per year.

Your list needs to include schools that will give you HUGE merit as an int’l.

13

@mom2collegekids What if my parents take a loan to pay for 1 year and my green card comes in the next year? Wouldn’t that greatly benefit me? My green card in on the 3rd step (there are three steps) for the past 4 years. I believe it will come soon. Would banks grant a loan of 60k max for my 1 year?

And UAlabama isn’t a good fit for me. I really don’t want to go to Alabama and their eng’g doesn’t appeal to me. Lastly, I personally believe that Alabama as a state isn’t safe as it is in the top 5 states for worst gun violence.

Can you give me a few schools that have HUGE merit for int’ls.

14

Alabama’s eng’g doesn’t appeal to you? What does that mean? It has excellent eng’g and first class facilities.

Top 5 for gun violence? What? Tuscaloosa is a pretty safe city. I’ve lived in Alabama for many years now…it is very safe.’

I just checked…Calif has a much worse record for “gun violence”. Do you feel unsafe in Calif???
BTW…Alabama is #25…

But to answer your Q. No, a bank isn’t going to lend your parents $60k for a student loan w/o a green card.

And even after getting your green card, most of the schools on your list STILL won’t give you any free money…it would all be loans.

15

I have never been to Alabama, and don’t have any relatives/friends there. Most to all of the colleges I am applying are around my friends/relatives.

Compared to California, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama is not as safe: https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/AlabamaGunViolence1.pdf

Plus my family doesn’t want me to go out from their “reach,” as in family/friends/relatives. Overall, I don’t think UAlabama would work for me. Thank you for suggesting it to me.

16

Well…if you want other schools that will give you huge merit as an int’l, then you’ll likely have to go outside of your relatives reach.

Where are your relatives and friends? What states?

that link does not square with FBI reports. FBI reports show that Alabama is in the middle of all states for gun violence. I trust the FBI reports. And many of the states (and cities, such as ATLANTA) of schools that interest you are more dangerous.

Tell us the states where family and friends are. If they’re in the states where you’ve listed your app list, then getting large merit is unlikely.

You may have to start at a CC.

17

Mom2collegekids knows what she is talking about. You should pay serious attention when she gives advice.

18

@mom2collegekids My family/friends are in California, Georgia, Illinois, New York. I am really comfortable with Cali schools. Plus I am mainly going for the UCs (UCB,UCLA,UCSD,UCD,UCI,UCSC,UCSB) and if I don’t get into any of them, I will then look at OOS.

19

I don’t think there are any schools in those states with eng’g that will give you huge merit for your stats.

If you get into a UC, you’ll still have the funding problem. Since you won’t apply to schools that will give you huge merit that are located in states where you don’t have friends/family, I suspect that you’ll end up attending a CC for two years and then transferring to a UC after you get your green card.

Or you can apply to a CSU that is close to your home and commute. That might work. If not, then it will likely be a CC for you.

I don’t think you understand how hard it is for int’ls seeking an eng’g degree to get a good bit of aid in this country.

20

@mom2collegekids, this OP keeps asking the same question on different forums, to be chanced and hoping that the answers will change if he keeps posting.

He wants to go to Berkeley and has been told that his scores are not competitive and his visa status and OOS tuition are in question. But, if he keeps posting, he’s hoping that someone will give him the answer he wants.

On Nov. 14, 2015, @4kidsdad posted this information:
See http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/tuition-and-cost/ab540/

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/18956064#Comment_18956064

So this OP is grasping, but appears unwilling to defer for a gap year, and is unwilling to go to schools that are not top tier or Berkeley.

I think Alabama is a great choice for him, and p-uh- lease, safety issues! Give me a break! California is 20 times worse!!! He don’ wanna go to Alabama cause it’s not Berkeley. Oh well, more for other students!