Please help

Student Lounge International Students
1

I took the SAT twice . The last October (2016) I got 1330 ( 740 math + 590 English ) , the second time today . I don’t expect to get above 600 on the English section ( that s bad :’( ) . Now I am wondering what should be my next step and is there any chance to get financial aid with that score as an international student ?

Thanks for your help …

2

Your next step is to use a search engine such as princetonreview or collegeboard to look for American private schools where your SATs put you in the upper 25% of incoming freshmen. This information is available at each school’s website. Then research their financial aid policies & apply. Is there any chance to get financial aid with that score? Yes, but it’s a very small chance. Not because your score is terrible, but because it’s very hard for any international student to get significant money from an American school. Too many high-achieving international students, too little money to be given away.

3

How much can you afford?

4

I will need a lot :confused:
When shall I apply for aid : before or after being accepted into a college? And what is the criteria to be considered for financial aid ?

5

If a college offers financial aid to international students, you would apply for financial aid when you apply for admission.

6

What can you afford? “A lot” doesn’t tell us anything useful. Can your parents pay $30,000? 16,000? 10,000? Less?
What are your grades in your own system? Do you rank among the top students in your school? In your town? In the country ?
Are you involved in sports? Are you being recruited (or playing at a level that would allow you to be recruited)?
What region of the world are you from?

7

Less than $10000
I have a GPA of 3.56 and I the fourth in my class ( class of 25 ) , and on national level I am among the first 100 students who took the national (Tunisian) baccalaureate section Math .
I am not involved in sports but for the last 4 years I was a member of math club . Every year I participate in the regional and national math competition .Only last year , I was invited to participate on the international math Olympiad but I couldn’t go .

8

What’s your bac results? Overall score, mention, and for each subject (English, French, Arabic, calculus, CS, physics, etc)
If you got a 14+ that’s a 4.0.
Could you be invited to the international math competition this year?
Are you on a gap year?

9

You have good EC’s… if you’re a woman definitely look at women’s colleges (Smith, Mt. Holyoke) If you’re a man, look at schools with a gender imbalance with more women than men (Lewis and Clark, for example)

10

I got 17.58/20 overall score on the bac exam . The least score on philosophy (14.75/20)
Yes i am on a gap year

11

Ok, that’s good.
First, apply to Waterloo in Canada. McGill, UOttawa (bilingual program) and UBC too.
With a 17.58 you’re in at all of these, and quite competitive for a scholarship there.

Next, apply to universities with automatic scholarships and low Cost of Attendance. A good one
would be Truman State.

What major are you interested in?

Financial aid comes under two forms:

  • for your SAT scores. In your case, it means looking for scholarships that bring the total cost of attendance to less than 10K - look at UT Dallas, FAMU, UAlabama Huntsville, UMaine… The amount correlates with your test scores.
  • for financial need: the amount correlates with your family’s income. They look at your overall profile, what you bring to your school: those will mostly be LACs (google USNWR National LACs) - but they will often “sponsor” only one student per year with your financial need so it’ll be very very competitive for you. Universities you can look into include Amherst, Williams, Bowdoin, Reed, Carleton, Grinnell, Davidson…
12

I think I want to study something in between engineering and biology

13

Don’t apply for Biological Engineering as it’s one of the most difficult majors to get. And eveyrone and their brother says they’re interested in Biology, despite the lack of professional outcomes…
So, you can look into Biochemistry, Bioinformatics, Data Science (you can add a Biology minor).

14

does a 800 on sat 1 math + 760 on phy + 720 on math 2 rise my chances to be accepted in an engineering major ?

15

Yes it does but the issue is that you need funding.
There are fewer colleges that have both funding for internationals AND engineering! Perhaps Bucknell, Union, Lafayette. But odds are low. Then you have merit aid, which depends on your SAT test scores (cf. #10).

16

@MYOS1634 What if OP majored in Computer science? Would that be available at Post #10 schools. Or straight Bio or Chemistry.

17

Yes, all have CS.
Waterloo is very highly ranked and recruited in CS, and they’ll love the 17.58.

18

does waterloo require SAT scores ?

19

Look at the website :slight_smile:

20

how can I calculate my GPA ?
And how many colleges can I apply on Early Decision ?