I am a Bangladeshi rising senior. I would like to attend a selective LAC, but other prestigious universities also attract me. I have included Williams, Amherst, Northwestern and Uchicago on my college list thus far, but these are all reach schools for me. I intend major in economics and maths. I will need a lot of financial aid (almost full aid). Please suggest a few matches and safeties.
GPA: 3.95/4 unweighted
IB Classes:
Physics HL - 7
Chemistry HL - 7
Math HL - 6
Economics HL - 7
Bangla literature SL - 7
English Language and Literature SL - 7
SAT I: 1960 (650 CR, 600WS, 710 MR) [I know this is really low, but I am working hard on it and hope that I will achieve a 2250 next october]
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Physics, 730 Chemistry (should I retake physics and chemistry?)
EC’s
Debate and MUN (a few best speaker/debater awards)
Environmental club at school for two years
I work in an organisation that arranges campaigns to raise awareness about environmental issues
I teach English language at a local school for street children
I started a school newspaper that highlights students’ academic and extra-curricular achievements
I will serve as advisor in the student government in Senior year
Used to play cricket for a local team
Co-founded a voluntary organisation the teaches computing skills to underprivileged children
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest, I would rate my teacher recommendations 1 and my application essays 3.
Sorry for the big post. Thanks in advance!
At best a high match and probably a reach, but Carleton College in Minnesota may be one to look into - it’s a selective LAC, and one that offers six full rides (and another six half-tuition scholarships) every year specifically to qualified international students.
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I will need a lot of financial aid (almost full aid). Please suggest a few matches and safeties.
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Unless your family can pay for most/all of your costs, there are NO safeties for int’ls.
There are NO SAFETIES that provide most/all funds for int’ls.
Think about it…
Safeties are easy to get into, so would it make sense that they would also have a boat-load of money to hand out to int’ls (or anyone, for that matter).
If there were such things, those schools would soon get a gazillion apps from poor int’ls around the world and suddenly they wouldn’t be safeties. 
^^ Indeed. All schools that promise to meet need for international students are reaches. Exceptions are made for people who have won medals at an international olympiad or a good speaker rank at a competition like the World Schools Debating Championship.
You are an excellent student, but you need a lot more to convince admission readers that you are worthy of $65,000 every year. I would also recommend getting around a 700 at least in every part of the SAT. Writing an application essay worth only a 3 out of 5 will not help your case either. At this point you are just expecting luck to help you get through the process, which has worked for some people I know, but is hardly something to rely on.
Again, there is no such thing as a safety or ‘match’ school in the US, unless you are eligible for full ride merit scholarships. This is possible at schools like Howard or the University of New Orleans. But that’s it.
Safety schools for internationals seeking full rides are usually in their home towns or a country closeby, like India for you.
Your physics score is fine. Just submit math and physics; don’t submit chemistry.
The California UC’s are not safeties since they give little to no FA to International students. OP is trying to find a safety that meets full need. Not going to happen for US colleges.
Actually, there may be potential safeties for high stat international students. These may be any of the automatic full ride scholarship schools that offer them to international students (probably only a few of them do).
UT is highly unlikely for this applicant, also. It is a terrible suggestion. It has become exceedingly difficult for any non-Texans to get in, on account of their mandate to accept the top 7% from every high school in the state. The OP needs to cast a wide net for some small, liberal arts colleges that might like to expand their diversity. The only colleges that guarantee meeting 100% of need, and are need-blind for international applicants, are ones where the OP has little to no chance of admission. Whitman has a strong MUN/Debating tradition, and might offer a generous scholarship. Willamette can be very generous, as can Guilford, Eckerd, Earlham, College of Wooster, et al. Iowa State is known for being one of the more affordable colleges in the country.
OP, take a look at Grinnell and Macalester, two highly respected mid-western LACs known for generous financial aid to Internationals. About 12-14% of the student body is international at both schools (check the Common Data Set for each school for specifics. You can google this.) Your test scores are low for a full ride but it would be worth a try.
ucbalumnus Yep, that’s why I noted UNO and Howard, which many internationals have gone to with full tuition + room & board.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/howard-us-kathmandu-connection-nepal-emerges-as-top-source-of-foreign-students/2014/08/27/4cd70376-2a20-11e4-958c-268a320a60ce_story.html mentions Howard, Louisiana Tech, University of Texas - Arlington, University of North Texas, and St. Cloud State. Howard and Louisiana Tech are on the automatic scholarship list at http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/ (though a higher SAT or ACT score would get a better scholarship at Howard and is needed to get the big scholarship at Louisiana Tech; the Howard scholarships are also first come first served).
The OP should verify with each school on the eligibility of international students for the scholarships.
Full ride merit at various schools is not the same as full ride need based aid.
Getting Tuition, room and board and maybe even books is not a free ride to an int’l. An int’l would still have to pay for Int’l travel, insurance, personal expenses in order to get his visa. Those things can easily cost $8k per year.
This student says he needs almost full aid. That suggests that his family can’t really pay for anything. If he’s low income, they’re not going to be able to come up with that money.