Recommend me colleges? (International looking to study in USA)

College Search & Selection
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<p>Looking for affordable STEM colleges. Hoping to take computer science major and chemistry minor. Or EECS. I'd appreciate general ed/electives in languages, history and psychology. Aid to international students is appreciated...
Some ones that I've seen are Northwestern Polytechnic University, University of Michigan and Georgia Tech, but Georgia Tech is $40,000+. I've used the CollegeBoard and the CC college searches, but I'm wondering if anyone had any ideas from their own experience (especially if you're an international student).</p>

<p>Please no competitive ones... meaning competitive admissions, not sports/academics.</p>

<p>SAT: Took the practice test online and got CR 730, W 720 and M 600. I know I can improve math. Goal: CR 750, W 750, M 700 (2200)</p>

<p>International Baccalaureate Diploma (Taking May 2014):
Higher Level Biology - 7 predicted
HL Chemistry - 6 predicted
HL German - 6 predicted
HL Psychology - 6 predicted
Standard Level English - 6 predicted
SL Mathemathics - 6 predicted</p>

<p>May self study AS level physics or AP physics BC. I've started, but IDK if I'll continue. (I wish I knew that physics was more than forces when I was choosing what to study...)</p>

<p>GCSE grades (I don't know why people posted these on the chance threads, but OK):
English Language - A*
English Literature - A*
Mathematics - A*
German - A*
Applied Business - A*
Chemistry - A*
Biology - A*
Physics - A*
Information Technology - A (A was highest grade possible in OCR)
Electronic Products - A</p>

<p>Extracurricular Activities: (Keep in mind, I don't live in the USA and there's a much larger emphasis on grades in the UK... some of these are hobbies, some are school, some are outside of school)
• Web development and programming - Working on two non-commercial specialized websites. 4 years experience. (Self-taught HTML, CSS, PHP/MySQL, JavaScript, not in school)
• Interest in 3D modeling (Blender) and foreign languages; enjoy writing and completed NaNoWriMo 3 times, but so does everyone else who tries
• My old school didn't have any ECs except for netball (for girls), but the school I'm in now has many more. Thinking of going to Chemistry Society regularly and finding out when things are actually on
• Volunteer in charity shop for 1.5 years (200+ hours); recently volunteer with my class teaching German in an elementary school; volunteer proofreading books in Distributed Proofreaders; signed up for Sportmakers, need to find opportunities to /volunteer/ here
• Applied for summer research placement, can only hope; in top 60 out of 1470 in UK 16-18 business competition, but would probably be kicked off standings before the final; planning in participating in International Biology Olympiad when the UK part starts (there isn't a UKBO like there is a USABO)
• No part-time job, but I've been looking
• Hopefully going to start learning the keyboard (or piano), but I'm going to have to figure out financing that...</p>

<p>I don't know why this is half chance half... I don't even... but are there any colleges (state, private, whatever) that would accept someone who doesn't have $20,000+ right now available to them (believe me, I'm looking for a job) and not a lot of ECs?
I've heard that Amherst in Massachusetts gives aid for international students... I'd be happy to do a work-study thing, which is what NPU offers.
I'm either going to study in the USA or Germany (Germany's looking more possible) so this isn't the "be all and end all."</p>

<p>I've also heard of "Global Student Loan Corporation" but I'm not sure if it's legit, seeing that there are no reviews, the website doesn't fully work, and you have to enter your personal details to see any real information about it. Are there any loans available that don't require an American co-signer?</p>

<p>Sorry for such a long post, I know it's terrible. If you read all this, thank you.</p>

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<p>[EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.state.gov%5DEducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.state.gov)</p>

<p>Read through the website, then make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to where you live. They will be able to tell you which colleges and universities here have admitted students like you recently, and whether or not those students received any financial aid.</p>

<p>You also need to read through the threads in the International Students Forum. Look for anything posted by b@r!um. She has good ideas about finding places that can offer you the aid that it appears you need.</p>

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<p>Thank you.
It seems like it’s Fulbright… I emailed them before and got some advice on scholarships, but I couldn’t really find any that would apply to me. (I’ve already read EducationUSA, Fulbright and CollegeBoard’s pages, but I don’t qualify for FASFA, still looking for scholarships [but have no “hooks”] and am looking at cheaper net-priced colleges.)
I’ll be going to London in March anyway, so I’ll see if I can arrange an appointment. Thank you. :slight_smile: (Do they know about all UK->USA admissions? I’d like to know how many people get accepted into USA colleges from the UK…)</p>

<p>I’ll take a look at b@r!um’s posts too, thank you. :)</p>

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<p>I am not personally familiar with the London office, but if the people there are like the ones I used to work with when I lived outside the US, they will be very helpful and will have ideas for you.</p>

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<p>Thank you. :slight_smile: I’ll take a look on the website to see if you can arrange an appointment.</p>

<ul>
<li>Correction to first post: The UK biology olympiad is the BBO, and only 16 people go to the IBO. So just disregard that point, please. (I’m not good enough at Biology for this)</li>
</ul>

<p>I’m still looking online to see if there would be any places I could realistically go to, but even $10,000/year is expensive…</p>

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<p>Room, board, books, materials, transportation, personal expense, etc. are likely to run an international student approximately $15,000 each year. If your family can only pay $10,000 you will need to find a place that will give you full tuition, fees, housing, and meals. Your GPA and test scores do put you in the range for merit money at some places. Read through the threads on that topic in the Financial Aid Forum. Please note that the good merit money will be at places none of your friends in the UK have ever heard of. Your stats also put you in the range for admission at famous-name institutions that award good need-based aid. However they will define your need as they see fit, and might want your family to pay more than your family truly is able to. Those institutions also are exceedingly difficult to get into - they are lotteries for everyone.</p>

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<p>Admissions are competitive at both the University of Michigan and GA Tech, especially for out of state students. Amherst is even more competitive. Your 600M is very low for Amherst and for the other two, I daresay. I would not be surprised if you could raise it significantly with some prep, though. </p>

<p>I think that happymom is generally correct, but your math score would have to rise very significantly for you to be in contention for admission to the kind of famous-name institution that she’s talking about. (I agree that those are the places most likely to give you the kind of $$ you would need to make studying here a realistic proposition.)</p>

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<p>Thank you for the help.</p>

<p>I did the ACT practice and got a composite of 32, with 33 reading, 33 writing, 34 science, and 28 math. It’s always the geometry; I’m fine with everything else…
While looking through the answers, I found five geometry questions that I didn’t know how to do (instead of mistakes, like not realizing 1:3 is basically 1/4 in context), so I’ll definitely try to improve geometry before April.</p>

<p>Would I have any chance of getting into Georgia Tech with a higher math score (e.g. 700 or 31)? I’m determined to improve math, but while I was looking through the online geometry resources, I couldn’t find any advice for the more difficult questions. (Questions 18, 42 (something with SOHCAHTOA?), 57, 58, 59 (how do you get M without the N?) here: <a href=“http://media.act.org/documents/preparing.pdf[/url]”>http://media.act.org/documents/preparing.pdf&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>I’m still looking for a part-time job, but still no success (not even receiving replies anymore).</p>

<p>Sorry to write all this.</p>

<p>I’ll look into LACs that also offer engineering/computer science (I’m not too good at the humanities or arts, but I’m happy to give them a try).</p>

<p>I don’t think I have enough ECs, achievements or experiences to apply to a “famous-name” institution (I assume you’re referring to top 50 colleges)… When colleges talk about leadership in applications, would running a school club count? Or do you have to make a change in the community, lead a team in a competition, or run a business?
I don’t want to become a politician or CEO in the future… I just want to work in a team for a boss in a field that I enjoy. Is that bad?</p>

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<p>Any advice?
Georgia Tech would be my “dream school”… but I doubt they’d offer merit scholarships (if I qualify; I don’t even know my GPA) to international students. I’m thinking of entering creative contests to try to earn some college fund (e.g. animation, writing) but I don’t know how good my writing is. Freelancing may be possible, but I need to find out about the legalities (websites don’t entirely help). Still searching for jobs…
I know I’d never be able to raise $40,000 in 1 1/2 years, but maybe $10,000 might be possible if I’m lucky enough to find a job and have other sources of income (e.g. freelancing, odd jobs, contests). That wouldn’t even be enough to afford community college, rent, food, and bills for a year. I don’t particularly want to take 1+ years off to earn money (if I could find a job) but it’s certainly looking this way. I just wish I could find a job then.
Do USA colleges accept applications for deferred entry, or do you have to apply for the year you hope to attend? (So applying in Jan 2014 → can start in Aug 2014 or Aug 2015?)</p>

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<p>What year in high school are you?</p>

<p>If you’ll be applying in the fall, then with your ACT and grades, Alabama would give you a full tuition scholarship IF YOU APPLY before Dec 1 and submit the scholarship app. </p>

<p>AND…as a CS major or EECs major (or any eng’g major) you’d get an additional 2500 per year.</p>

<p>GT doesn’t give aid to int’ls. </p>

<p>You can’t do work study, that’s a federal program.</p>

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<p>If you want to attend a school that’s not too competitive on admissions, Alabama would be a good choice. Honestly though, unless you can get into a top program in the U.S., would it really be helpful to go to college here instead of attending one in your own country?</p>

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<p>I’m a junior, and will graduate high school in 2014.</p>

<p>Is this the scholarship you mean?: [Fellows</a> Admission | Honors College](<a href=“http://honors.ua.edu/university-fellows-experience/university-fellows-admission/]Fellows”>http://honors.ua.edu/university-fellows-experience/university-fellows-admission/)
It looks good, but I don’t know if I have a 3.8 GPA.
I guess I’d be capable of getting 7,7,7,6,6,6 in IB, but there’s still the A in Electronics GCSE and IT (A was the highest grade for the OCR ICT course) that may lower it… On the basis of A* = A, A = B; 7 = A, 6 = B. I really don’t know what I’m doing with this.</p>

<p>It sounds really good, though, and generous that they’re giving so much away.</p>

<p>For these:
[Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)
Would international also come under “out of state,” or is this just for US residents?</p>

<p>I really like the idea of research too (why I applied for a summer research placement)… the “Emerging Scholars” program looks good.</p>

<p>I’ll look into applying to the University of Alabama… do you think UA would be a match if I improve ECs and do something in leadership? (I still don’t know what they mean by “leadership.”)</p>

<p>Thank you very much for the recommendation. :slight_smile: It looks to have an excellent CS course.</p>

<p>Rjkofnovi: Thank you for the advice.
There are various reasons why I’d prefer not to study in the UK. If working for one year/two years makes studying in the USA or Germany at all feasible, that’s what I would really prefer to do. I don’t really want to go into this on a forum, sorry.
But thanks for the Alabama recommendation. :)</p>

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<p>Michigan is not “affordable”. Tuition alone is $40,000. When you include other expenses, Michigan easily costs over $55k annually for international students…and Michigan does not offer aid or scholarships to international students. </p>

<p>Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Minnesota, Purdue and Virginia Tech would be good options.</p>

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<p>U of Alabama admits by formula. You don’t need any ECs at all. Just the grades and exam scores.</p>

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<p>I don’t see how Purdue would be affordable, sorry. It seems to be $44k/year and not offer scholarships to international applicants. And there I had thought it would be a good college to apply for…</p>

<p>Cal Poly looks good, but it doesn’t give the amount of award of its scholarships, nor does it say whether they’re just for US residents. But I’ll keep Cal Poly in mind, thank you. :)</p>

<p>University of Minnesota doesn’t offer financial aid to international applicants, and its “Global Excellence Scholarship” doesn’t cover as much as I’d need to attend… (With the addition that it’s already competitive.)</p>

<p>… I don’t want to ask this, but if I get a 34+ ACT and a 3.8 GPA (even if I get 42/42 in the IB, which is almost impossible, I can’t get a 4.0 due to GCSE grades, but 7,7,7,6,6,6 would just bring me to 3.9), look into affordable music/sport ECs (I’ve been doing this for a while), get into the research placement, and get a decent score in the BBO… would I have any chance at all if I apply to Brown?
I found out about Brown in August, but after reading College Confidential… I now know how competitive Ivy Leagues are. ._.’</p>

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<p>Brown and all the other Ivies do not grant merit-based scholarships, only need-based financial aids.</p>

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<p>I’m aware of that, but thanks anyway :slight_smile: (You’d need a whole lot of merit to just get in…)</p>

<p>All I can think about now is I just wish I could find a job. 12 hours per week in McDonald’s or a retail store would be perfect. But there aren’t vacancies right now, and I can’t afford to travel out of this town for a part-time job.</p>

<p>Sorry about this. It’s getting difficult to think for the future when for the last eleven months, you haven’t been able to find any means of preparing yourself for the future… i.e. making your goals at all vaguely possible. (Not talking about Ivy League, just any college that I’m interested in, Germany or USA.)</p>