Recommend some colleges for me pleaaaseee???? Pretty clueless right now!

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hey Guys! I need some help, but I guess I should start off by giving a little introduction of myself:
I am an international student taking a gap year. I applied to a few US colleges last year and got into two of them: Georgia Tech and American University at Paris. Unfortunately, because of the lack of any financial aid, I couldn't attend any of these Unis. (AUP did offer me a scholarship, but I don't know I....I just didn't want to go there for some reason :/ ) Any ways, I decided that I should apply to the universities in my home country. I waned to do medicine and for this I had to take a specific entry test. Through that entry test, which is called the MCAT (not the US one obviously), I could apply to all the medical colleges in my province. However, around three weeks before the test I caught Jaundice and...well...as you can guess, my MCAT got screwed up. So, I consulted with a few teachers, friends and ofcourse, my family members and decided to take a gap year and to reapply to US. However, I could not apply ED because of how late the whole MCAT cycle is. The admission process for medicine in my country starts very late: tests and interviews happen in the summer and continue till September and even, (in some cases) till October. So, by the time I received my test results, I had only one and a half week left till the ED deadline for most Unis.</p>

<p>This is pretty much everything about me. I am very clueless as to where I should apply. Last year, my list was very hastily and superficially researched. This year though, I want to make sure that I have a sensible, well thought out list. Can you guys help me with that? My stats are:</p>

<p>Academics: I was an O levels and A levels student. Basically, O levels and A levels are examination system that are organised by CIE (Cambridge International Examinations) UK. O levels is equivalent to 9th and 10th grade while A levels is equivalent to 11th and 12th. You study their syllabus for two years (Generally, I mean. Technically, there is nor limit. You just study the syllabus and take the exam whenever it fits you.) and then at the end you take the official CIE exam, prepared, organised and marked by the examiners of University of Cambridge. In O levels I studied 10 subjects and my grades were 9A* (that's kind of like an A+) and 1A. In A levels, I studied 5 subjects and my grades were 3A* and 2As. Apart from that, my internal grades or the high school transcripts were ok-ish. There are occasional Bs, but mostly there are As.</p>

<p>SAT: 2100 (CR: 670, Maths: 760, Writing: 670)
SAT 2: (2 subjects) 1500. 730 chem, 770 maths 2</p>

<p>Academic interests: My subjects in A levels were Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and History. So, although I am mostly a science guy, I have interests in social sciences as well. I am, therefore, looking for a college which has a good science and engineering programme. </p>

<p>E.Cs: Volunteer Work, Science Projects/Competitions, Theatre (I mostly directed the technicals of the play but acted a few times as well). These are the major ones; apart from these, I've participated in sports and written for my school magazine.)</p>

<p>I would be very grateful if you guys could help me decide a sensible college list. I am looking for those kind of Unis which are generous when it comes to internationals. And sorry for the long post, but If you read all of it then I am extremely grateful! Thank you so much. :)</p>

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<p>I am very confused…are you an undergraduate student? Or an incoming Freshmen student?</p>

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<p>Are you taking a gap year?
Can you list all universities you applied to and didn’t get into / didn’t wish to attend?</p>

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<p>@paul2752 @MYOS1634‌ I am high school graduate taking a gap year. Not enrolled in any University.
Here’s the university list from last year:
Bates (Waitlisted)
Bowdoin (Rejected)
Duke (Rejected)
Georgia Tech (Accepted)
Vanderbilt (Rejected)
American University of Paris (Accepted)</p>

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<p>It sounds like financial aid is your number one criteria. Check out merit scholarships at University of Alabama and University of Texas-Dallas – I believe they both have full ride scholarships available to international students, with deadlines rapidly approaching.</p>

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<p>Also LSU.</p>

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<p>@paul2752‌ LSU is public. I don’t think it will give aid/scholarships to internationals. </p>

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<p>It says international studwnts with US HIGH SCHOOL with sat or act are also considered for merit scholarship.</p>

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<p>hmm…well unfortunately, I am not from a US high school. </p>

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<p>call admissionoffice if they still can consider you with sat or act</p>

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<p>@Marstatic, an important factor in the amount of aid you receive will be whether you are eligible for NEED based aid. Quite a few colleges offer need-based aid to internationals, though the percentage of demonstrated need that they cover varies. Merit aid, which is different from need-based aid, is hard to come by for internationals.</p>

<p>Have you used the net price calculators to get an idea of your estimated family contribution? </p>

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<p>@momrath Yeah, I asked my dad and after some calculations, he said that he can pay within like, 8k to 10k per year. </p>

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<p>Did you run the net price calculators? If no, you have to do that first before you can put together a sensible list. </p>

<p>If yes, was your estimated family contribution $8 to $10K?</p>

<p>The number of US colleges that grant all or part of demonstrated need to internationals, is far, far greater than the number that grant merit aid to internationals. So first you have to see if the maximum demonstrated need works. You may not get all of your demonstrated need, but for sure you won’t get more.</p>

<p>Asking your dad what he needs is not the same thing. Your demonstrated need is what the college thinks you need as indicated by its net price calculator.</p>