<p>I'm an Indian, in my senior year right now. I started my college hunt around five months ago and since I've discovered Reed, I haven't looked any further. </p>
<p>I'm planning on applying ED for Reed, but I'm confused about whether I do stand a chance. I scored a 1920 on my SAT I but I'm giving it again in October to give that a pull up. I'll be giving three subject tests in October. In India, we have a 10 point grading scale and I got a 9.8 in tenth and have pretty much got around an 81 percent in tenth. </p>
<p>My ECAs include lots of debating, a lot of writing, an exchange program with Germany, community service, involvement in NGOs. </p>
<p>I'm banking on my essays a lot, I'm a strong writer and a very passionate future Reedie (hopefully)! So my Why Reed essay will reflect that. </p>
<p>I'm also worried about financing the four undergrad years, what are my chances of getting an exorbitant amount of aid from reed? US is expensive, and we can't afford much when it comes down to dollars. </p>
<p>What are things I could do to improve my chances at Reed? I can't articulate how MUCH I want to be there. </p>
<p>Thanks, for anything at all you could tell me :D</p>
<p>If you need a lot of financial aid, it may be unwise to apply to an expensive private school on a binding early decision program. Many schools do not give much–or any–aid to foreign students. Check Reed’s website, and if it isn’t clear, send an email to the admissions department to get clear on their policies for applicants like you.</p>
<p>Even if you love Reed, you should also be looking at safety schools–both financial safeties and academic safeties. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.</p>
<p>Reed gives great aid to internationals. My package includes over $50,000/year in grants, a small loan, and the expectation that I’ll find an on-campus job to pay for my books.</p>
<p>If you apply ED, get in, and receive insufficient aid, you will be within your rights to back out of the ED agreement. That, however, seems to be a problem mainly for middle-class families as it is harder to determine how much money they can afford to spare, and some schools take advantage of that/simply calculate their EFCs differently. If your family makes very little money and cannot contribute more than $5,000-10,000/year to your education, it is very unlikely that Reed will give you a bad fin aid package. Reed meets full need, which means that it won’t admit you unless the adcom wants you to attend. If it cannot afford to give you enough aid, you’ll simply be rejected. You can see the basic info here:</p>
<p>I remember seeing another chart that showed that Reed’s average fin aid package for internationals is the third most generous in the country, after those of Yale and one other college. I don’t know which source is more reliable, but in any case, Reed doesn’t hand out dud packages to internationals.</p>
<p>The essays are very important, especially Why Reed, so yep, make sure they’re good.</p>
<p>Other schools that share aspects of Reed’s vibe (although, admittedly, Reed is in a class by itself) would be Grinnell, Macalester (both generous with internationals - 12% of the student body is international at both schools), Hampshire and Oberlin.</p>