<p>hey guys,,
it's my first time posting here though I've already seen quite a lot of stuffs...</p>
<p>Anyway, the title suggests everything
Where should I apply early for?? Penn or Columbia for ED?</p>
<p>Well I know that Penn and Columbia are pretty different..
I'd really love to visit them but I'm an international so..
I know I like Penn better for now, mainly because I am a bit overwhelmed even by the idea of living in New york. It's also the Core curriculum that's putting me off.</p>
<p>The main problem still is that I'll need to get FA for at least half of the entire COA to attend and you know I'm an international! It will probably be a difficult one and I wanna know which of them is more likely to give me a pretty good deal :)
Really, this is the most important part for me..</p>
<p>and i'll either major in economics or double major eco and some quantitative subject like math...
it would be a great help if you guys can tell which school seems to be stronger in those fields..</p>
<p>So please help me choose btw those 2 thinking of location, FA, strength for my major, and other relevant stuffs including getting good job and prestige...
Thanks :)</p>
<p>If you need FA, you shouldn’t apply ED since you have no way in knowing how much FA the college will offer you.</p>
<p>What cbreeze said.</p>
<p>Furthermore, decent financial aid for international applicants are ridiculously hard to get…also, I believe the fact that you need FA may decrease your ED chances because you are international.</p>
<p>thanks for the help,
i guess i’ll have to wait till RD =)</p>
<p>Definitely wait for RD. In most (all?) cases, colleges are not need-blind for internationals, even schools with comprehensive aid programs.</p>
<p>For the best shot at financial aid for an international student, I suggest you set your sights a rung (or a few rungs) below Penn and Columbia. Those schools are not hurting for very well qualified, very rich international applicants. If you do want to focus on the most selective schools, consider instead a small liberal arts college with a big endowment. Amherst or Wiilliams, for example. Though you may have a better shot at Grinnell, Macalester, or Oberlin (which are a little less selective but still excellent.) </p>
<p>Here are the number of internationals awarded financial aid in a recent year, and the average amounts, at a few of these schools:</p>
<p>Amherst (127, $47,881)
Grinnell (149, $31,315)
Oberlin (174, $31,039)</p>
<p>thanks so much help everyone :)</p>
<p>most definitely i’ll also be looking at liberal arts colleges in RD as tk21769 suggested.
again, thanks guys and this proved to be a much greater help than I’ve expected =)</p>