Pls help me out (Chinese, WUstl,Columbia, Pr/Ya, LACs )

Paying for College
1

<p>Hi, this is Ben from China, I am currently studying in Singapore and want to get into a good university in the US with good financial aid(FA)in 2006. If the tread is too long to read, go to last part directly.</p>

<p>My intended areas of studying are: Engineering(industrial/electrical), Computer Science, Business. I am also pretty interested in taking courses in psychology/sociology/economics/political science/urban studies/public policy etc. I hope the university I am going to will allow me to studying one or more of the things above. </p>

<p>About my personality: Definitely not into drinks and excessive parties. I like intellectual discussions, friendly interaction among students regardless of nationality. I think the people is one of the biggest factor in college decision . I will be socially active and try to know different people who are serious about their passions.I hope people are also interested in knowing others.
I would like to travel and do new things and charter new areas. Mugging whole day is not my style. A bit altruistic, idealistic.</p>

<p>About my stats. I hate this part because I believe essentially it is what the person values and what he perceives himself and the world that matters most. Perfect SAT Score does not tell how great or successful the person will be 10 years or 20 years down the road. My scores are nothing spectacular but I believe I have the potential to make a difference on a large scale in future....</p>

<p>SATI M800/V710/W640
SATII (not taken yet)
TOEFL CBT 260-280
Extra Curriculum Activities:
class monitor
Boarding House blk chair
Involvement in community projects and a couple of other school events.
Harmonica Player/ some other clubs
A couple of national olympiad medals.No big deal. Did a science research project on Carbon nanotudes.</p>

<p>Because I am from the most competitive school in Singapore. My school transcript is average and above other than physics and maths for which I get high marks all along. Econs and chemistry always B. </p>

<p>About my choices( Most important! cause I need to integrate the FA factor)</p>

<p>Washington U in St Louis: its engineering not best but ok.WU covers my other interested majors too. have a few full scholarships so i can try my luck. Anyone knows how likely it is to get full FA or scholarship?</p>

<p>Lafayette: I took the interview, feels quite safe to get in. Offers Engineering. I take take business courses also. Just heard that the student body is a bit homogeneous. Int'l students don't mix well with locals. Any comment about this school?</p>

<p>Swarthmore: I missed its interview. From my research, it is excellent in all areas. offers engineering. very selective. Anyone can assess my chances? Do you think Swarthmore will like me? </p>

<p>Brandeis: A big school with graduate departments and business courses. But its ranking and rating seems to be average. One more thing. 2/3 of students are Jews. Will it make a difference? Are Jews any special in their beliefs and likes/dislikes? I have not known any Jews before and I don't want to feel wierd there.</p>

<p>Princeton: Reach school. I am not applying ED because I wanna EA Yale. Does it decrease my chance greatly? I have known a senior who is average but got in on ED. </p>

<p>Yale: Not very good in engineering. But I suppose if I get in, I can surely find some other subject I like. I believe the teaching quality and high student calibre is something worth looking for. Do you think I can get in?</p>

<p>MIT: every year 2 students from my school get there. I suppose there are many people having better portfolio than me. Should I try? Do I need it'l olympiad medals? </p>

<p>Stanford: I know it is hard to get full aid from Stanford. Can anyone give me some ideas? Like how spectacular a student should be to get there.</p>

<p>Columbia/ U Penn: Can anyone tell me if U Penn is more generous in giving out full FA to int'l students then Columbia? I will be happy to get in either. But I have to choose one of them. （Max 8 schools we can apply） </p>

<p>Among other LACs, I am also considering Oberlin, Macalester, Williams, Middlebury. Do you think they will make good match for me？Anyone of them is particularly generous?</p>

2

<p>Williams, MIT, Yale and Princeton are definitely need blind to international students.</p>

<p>Penn states:</p>

<p>If you are a Non-Citizen
The University is able to offer financial assistance to very few students who are not citizens or permanent residents of the U.S., Canada or Mexico. Therefore, most non-citizens should plan to meet expenses for their entire schooling before applying for admission. </p>

<p>**Because the offer of admission for non-citizens is directly linked to their ability to meet these expenses, **candidates who can pay for their schooling are urged not to apply for Penn-sponsored assistance. </p>

<p>If You Require Financial Aid
Students who absolutely require such funding should submit Penn's Institutional Financial Aid Application, but they should also understand that they are in competition for very limited funds.
*Penn will not admit a financial aid candidate for whom we cannot provide aid. As a result, some candidates we would otherwise want to admit will be turned away. *</p>

<p>International applicants who anticipate the need for financial aid at any time during their four-year course of study must make this anticipated need known at the time of application. </p>

<p>Students who receive financial aid are assured of continued support for all of their undergraduate years, if they continue to demonstrate financial need.</p>

<p>Wash U states:</p>

<p>*Washington University provides a limited amount of financial assistance for a small number of freshman and transfer international students who have shown high levels of achievement. Financial assistance for qualified students is considered on a case-by-case basis. Although we do our best to provide competitive financial assistance packages, funding limitations prevent the University from providing financial support for all applicants who deserve it, nor is it always possible to meet every recipient’s requirements. Financial assistance is renewable for each year of undergraduate study, as long as the student is making normal progress toward the degree and maintaining a good academic record.</p>

<p>Financial assistance for qualified students is usually limited to awards that are substantially less than the full cost of tuition. You and your family will need to be able to pay the remaining portion of the total costs of attending Washington University. </p>

<p>Proof of Financial Support</p>

<p>In compliance with Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) regulations, Washington University requires all admitted international students to submit detailed financial information statements before a Form I-20 can be processed. These statements should include the amounts and sources of funds available for their educational expenses in the United States. Admitted students will receive the Declaration and Certification of Finances by mail.</p>

<p>Admitted students must submit (or have submitted for them) notarized letters from parents or sponsors and certified bank statements in English verifying that they have sufficient funds available to finance their first year’s tuition and living expenses and that a comparable amount of money will be available for every subsequent year of study. Financial assistance awards may be deducted from the amount to be certified. Students planning to enroll in summer courses are advised to budget an additional amount of money to cover their summer tuition expenses. </p>

<p>The cost estimate for living expenses covers only minimal essential expenditures. Expenses for clothing, recreation, and incidentals are variable, and the cost of travel outside St. Louis is not included.</p>

<p>It is very important that international students who wish to study at Washington University come prepared to financially support the cost of their education during the entire time that they expect to remain in the United States. *</p>

<p><a href="http://admissions.wustl.edu/admissions/ua.nsf/3rd%20Level%20Pages_SFS_FA_International.htm?OpenPage&charset=iso-8859-1%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://admissions.wustl.edu/admissions/ua.nsf/3rd%20Level%20Pages_SFS_FA_International.htm?OpenPage&charset=iso-8859-1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Columbia offers limited financial aid to international students so the ability to pay will be a factor.</p>

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<p>Thanks, Sybbie, for your timely reply. It is pretty daunting to read these notes again as they pretty much mean the same thing---FA is extremely competitive.</p>

<p>I know WU has 4 full engineering fellowship scholarship and a couple of partial scholarship every year for all students. Hope I can get one so I will rely less on FA.</p>

<p>I read somewhere that U Penn offers more FA packages than Columbia...maybe I should try Penn instead of Columbia.. Just that i have to write extra essays. Penn Admission Officer is coming to our school this friday, hope I can know a bit more from her.</p>

<p>BTW, I think this website is wonderful. A lot of knowledgeable people share their information here. I suppose you are a site staff right? Have a nice day!</p>

4

<p>You need to check the web sites of the colleges that you're interested in and see what their policies are regarding aid for internationals. That's the best way to get the info you need. Also e-mail financial aid officers if you need more information.</p>