<p>Being an international, I must admit I am very uninformed regarding the whole process, though I would love to go to an american uni.</p>
<p>Wondering what full ride/half-ride+ merit scholarships are available at schools?</p>
<p>In a uni, I am after either:
- a great time/party school (please don't diss me for this - my future career doesn't require a degree and if I can do this on a full ride I would have an enjoyable 4 years)
- a good computer science degree
- mix of both (hence, Stanford is my first preference - though no scholarships available)</p>
<p>For example, I know that USC has a full ride scholarship available which I will be applying to!</p>
<p>My SAT score (1 sitting) was 2340, ECs pretty weak though I can spin it in my own way as I do a lot online (which links to my future career choice of affiliate marketing/web startups).</p>
<p>If you haven’t already done so, read through everything at [EducationUSA</a> | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/) Then make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center closest to you. There are several in Australia: [EducationUSA</a> - Find an Advising Center](<a href=“http://www.educationusa.info/Australia]EducationUSA”>http://www.educationusa.info/Australia) If you cannot visit in person, find out what kind of help they can give you by phone or email. These counselors are the experts on your situation. They will be able to tell you where students like you have been admitted in recent years, and whether or not those students received any financial aid.</p>
<p>Let me get this straight–you want help in finding a college that will spend its limited funds on someone who doesn’t need a degree and wants to come to the US just to party for 4 years? My advice–stay home and leave the scholarship money to someone who deserves it.</p>
<p>@happymomof1
I have read all of that and also been to their undergrad info session, and a few weeks ago had a consultation.
Sadly, they did not know much about my situation and just told me to look online - they are more knowledgable about graduate studies.
And thanks - I shall check out some of those posts! Very helpful advice :)</p>
<p>@MommaJ
Are you serious? When did I ever say that I wanted to party for 4 years? Please don’t jump to conclusions. All I was saying is that I would like to attend a school with a decent party scene, as I am sure many others would too.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids
Yes, sorry technicality by me there. What I am after is Uni’s who offer full tuition or more.
Also - thank you so much for the PM - will definitely look into that.</p>
<p>When the first item on a student’s college wish list is “a great time/party school” that is the first thing the reader will notice. For good or ill, many adults who participate in this forum equate “a great time/party school” with consuming excessive amounts of alcohol and controlled substances, pursuing sexual adventures, and cutting class - things that they simply can’t believe a parent (or scholarship committee) would be interested in shelling out a lot of money for. However, observation has taught the members of this forum that parents (and scholarship committees) often are willing to shell out for a college experience that will help a student achieve his/her professional goals. So, next time put something about academics at the top of your list, and if you absolutely feel that you must mention your social life, choose more parent-friendly verbiage such as “optimizing my personal growth and development” or “developing solid networking skills”.</p>
<p>*and if you absolutely feel that you must mention your social life, choose more parent-friendly verbiage such as “optimizing my personal growth and development” or “developing solid networking skills”. *</p>
<p>Or something like…a place where I can study hard, but have a good social life on the side.</p>
<p>Thanks, and I agree that in hindsight it was silly for me to not think about the order.
The order certainly wasn’t intended to be representative of the order of my priorities.</p>
<p>In fact, the #1 priority is being around other entrepreneurs and smart kids, hence why Stanford is #1.</p>
<p>*In fact, the #1 priority is being around other entrepreneurs and smart kids, hence why Stanford is #1. *</p>
<p>If you’re asking about merit scholarships, then schools like Stanford won’t give you any help. Stanford is a need-only school…and I think it is “need-aware” for int’ls.</p>
<p>What is your situation? Would you qualify for much need-based aid after a school looked at your family’s income and assets? Or would a school likely expect your family to contribute more than they will…hence the need for merit scholarships from the schools that give them.</p>
<p>Highly ranked schools don’t typically have to offer big merit scholarships because ALL of their students have awesome stats.</p>
<p>However, a few may offer a couple of competitive ones to get certain students that help with their diversity numbers or have certain “hooks”…but I don’t know if int’ls are eligible. </p>
<p>I know that WashU has some merit scholarships, but I’ve heard that those are awarded mostly to students who are URMs. Don’t know if they’re awarded to int’ls.</p>
<p>Large int’l merit scholarships are kind of rare…I think that’s because there are literally millions of int’ls out there with high stats.</p>