Hi all!
So far, I’ve been looking at the scholarship forum and almost all of these are just for Americans, or people at an American high school. Obviously, being a US centred forum, this makes sense, but if anyone knows of any good scholarships for international students (specifically Canadians) that would be great!
I’ve also been looking at unis in the UK and in Europe, so does anyone know of any opportunities there? TIA!
We are going to need to know more regarding what you are looking for. Your stats and what province you are from will also help.
There are a few of us on this site who have some connections to both the US and Canada.
Merit based financial aid for international students in the US is rare. A few top schools give need based aid for international students. These are all exceptionally competitive for admissions.
I’m from Alberta and I’m looking for something preferably T20 or (if this isn’t possible) T50 in the US, and Russell Group universities in the UK!
Academics wise, I’m a junior so I haven’t yet taken my SATs (I’ll be taking them in March but I think I can do pretty well based on my PSAT score) but my current predicted IB score is 44/45.
I also have a few ECs like interning with the Minister of Education + working in the Legislature, a few national positions with international NGOs (I’m not going to list them for anonymity’s sake but if I said them you would probably recognize them), organizing charity galas, president of a few clubs, etc.
Hopefully that helps a little bit!
Thanks so much by the way
Just as Canadian universities reserve all or most financial support for Canadians American universities reserve virtually all aid for Americans. A few well endowed universities and colleges offer aid to all, but the trick is getting in. Such schools are reaches for all even if you have perfect stats. Other top 50 schools in the US have nothing that isn’t available at UBC, UToronto or McGill. And you would likely be full pay there.
Until you have a SAT or ACT score, any answers here are a shot in the dark, because your acceptance chances are unknown.
But keep in mind that many of those top 20 schools have very low acceptance rates, and even lower ones for international students.
So…prep well and do the best you can on the ACT and SAT.
Are you looking for merit scholarships or need based aid? There are a large chunk of those top schools that don’t give merit aid…at all. To anyone.
What is your intended major, or possible majors that you are considering?
Why do you want to study at a “top 20” university in the US?
The top ranked universities in the US are not all the same. Some are stronger in some areas, some are stronger in different areas. The US has some highly ranked “liberal arts colleges” (ie small primarily undergraduate schools) which are very well regarded, very hard to get accepted to, but usually do not show up in the “top 20” university rankings. Smaller schools usually have smaller classes taught by full professors, but also have a smaller range of potential majors and not quite as wide a range of courses.
Given this, you should try to figure out which top schools you would prefer. This will both improve your chances of getting in, and improve the chances that once you are there you will actually like it.
As @TomSrOfBoston has said, it is hard to imagine anything that you are going to find as an undergraduate student at a top ranked US school that you couldn’t have found at 1/4 the cost at a very good university in Canada.
You might want to look at the “semester abroad” or “junior year abroad” options that are available for students at either the top schools in Alberta or the top schools in the rest of Canada.