Should I apply To US Colleges?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello CC Users. I'm a Lebanese Student who is Currently in 12th Grade and thinking whether to apply to US Colleges or not.</p>

<p>To begin with, studying abroad was my initial plan, my uncle had voluntarily taken all responsibility to pay for expenses and tuition. But then I had taken a personal decision to not take help from anyone in the family including from my parent (I wanted to stand on my own feet rather than rely on others). That decision had left me searching for colleges that offer Financial aid, but no sooner had I begun searching than i realized the colossal challenge internationals face in finding aid especially as undergraduates. </p>

<p>The only colleges that are need blind are Dartmouth College, Harvard University, MIT, Princeton University and Yale,and considering the fact that when applying to colleges that are need-aware to intl' I am asking for full ride,receiving admission would be exceedingly difficult.</p>

<p>So I stopped thinking about applying to US colleges for a while, but kept studying for the SAT since some local Universities mainly AUB (American University of Beirut), required it. At First I received a 1960 in the May Test but did it a second time after a lot of summer studying this October and I'm expecting a much better result. </p>

<p>So Here's my problem lies, Recently I started to reconsider whether to apply to those need-blind colleges and started preparing for my SAT subject Tests in Math Level 2 and Physics, most of the materials that are being tested are stuff that are yet to be taken this year, so I am forced to self-study those new lessons. Things are going fine but it's pretty time consuming.</p>

<p>In addition, The final year of High School in Lebanon is the most strenuous year of school since at the end of it every 12th grader is supposed to take the official exams so we can "Officially" graduate from high school. These exams require a lot of studying and hard work.I can easily pass, but my school wants me to be one of the top in the country. Currently I study from 5:00 pm to 12:00 am and then wake up at 4:00 am and study till 7:00 am.</p>

<p>This is not one of those Chance me threads, this is a simple question to see whether i should go through the tremendous trouble of tackling both studying for the official exams and applying to US colleges with all it's essays, Standardized testing , and recommendation letters at the same time.</p>

<p>As an International student fighting for a spot in some of the best and most competitive colleges in the world. Is it worth a shot with these Stats and Ecs?</p>

<p>1.School Grades: If they are to be converted , they would definitely equal an unweighted GPA of 4.0.</p>

<ol>
<li>Sat Scores: First was 1960 and the second is will come out next week. I'm expecting a 2200+ and if this isn't enough what score should i be aiming at?</li>
</ol>

<p>3.Sat II: Preparation for this is time-consuming but is moving along nicely, I should be done with everything when i do the tests in November test date.</p>

<ol>
<li>ECs : Well I once read on one of those MIT/Stanford/Caltech threads That for International Applicants to be at least competitive for admissions at these universities one must be an international Olympiad medalist. Well my country doesn't actually participate in these types of competitions.</li>
</ol>

<p>But I was wondering whether this would be a good alternative:</p>

<p>My school despite having very little ECs and funding decided to form a team for the FIRST ROBOTICS Competition. This was the first time my school was participating and the third year he country held a national competition. I was Chosen as Captain of the Team, and my team despite this being their first time ever encountering this type of competitions. Won 1st Place at the National Competition, then again 1st place at the Arab Competition and 1st place in the research section of the competition at the world robotics in Germany. The Research was my own that i was working on before i enlisted i the team. The solution I proposed was later patented and the research published in the </p>

<p>In addition to that I was in a kickboxing club for 6 years and worked at a construction site during two summer. among other things that i will not detail now.</p>

<p>4) Essays: These are which i hope will set me apart, because(and i'm not trying to brag). I've been through many unique personal experiences and hardships in my life (War; Extreme deformity in spine; Sickness through most of high school). I already looked at the essay questions given by the website and I always find a great story to answer those question</p>

<p>5) Letter of Recommendation: Even though I had to ask my teachers to learn how to write a letter of recommendation (No people from my school have ever applied to schools abroad). The teachers I asked to write me a letter of recommendation were very cooperative and said that they would say i was one of their favorite students they had ever taught. </p>

<p>So That's it, Any advice is appreciated. Do you think I should give it a shot at these top-tier colleges?</p>

2

<p>I don’t really have an opinion because it is up to you if it is worth your time to apply or not. But you are aware that your parents income will be a factor in your financial aid, right? You may be expected to have some contribution.</p>

3

<p>I should have mentioned that my parent’s cannot will not allow them to contribute at all, so that is why I am forced to apply to those need-blind and maybe some need-aware colleges.</p>

4

<p>You are confused about financial aid. In your case, it doesn’t matter if the college is need blind or need aware. What matters is if they do offer full aid to international students. Some places offer only one or two such scholarships each year. Go find b@r!um in the international students forum. She has good advice about how to look for the aid you need.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>It may be a lot of work, but if you truly want to attend college abroad, you should go for it! Your scores and grades are high enough to make you a good candidate for admission. You should, however, look more into your financial aid opportunities, as I’m not the most knowledgeable on that topic.</p>

6

<p>I apologize for the mistake i did on my second post. What I meant was that my parents aren’t in a healthy or capable financial state to pay for college, all they can do is 1000$ a year, which doesn’t mount to much. Thanks for the replys Guys, any more advice is greatly appreciated.</p>

7

<p>OK, but realize that financial aid will be based on what the college thinks your parents should pay, not what they think or you think. If there is some amount over $1,000, perhaps you will reconsider allowing your uncle to help you, since he is willing.</p>

<p>Again, I don’t know what kind of advice you are wanting. How can someone else tell you if it is worth your trouble you think it is to apply? You defined that as your only question and that is entirely up to you. If you have other options that will be as amazing as going to a top school in the states, maybe you don’t want to work that hard for this alternative, it sounds like there is some kind of trade off you don’t want to make.</p>

8

<p>Would your uncle still accept to pay for your schooling? That would solve a lot of your problems. You could consider it a zero-interest loan, which you’d repay after you graduate, and you’d look for a job on campus to defray personal costs.
You have an amazing record but for the few schools you mentioned, so do most applicants. If your uncle can help financially, you’d have many more choices (Cal Tech, Cal Poly SLO, most top public universities such as UMichigan or Georgia Tech, etc).
An alternative for you is to apply to Harvey Mudd, Olin, Grinnell, Dickinson… schools that offer financial aid to internationals and have excellent science programs.
Finally, if you do score 2200 on your SAT, you can apply to UAlabama’s presidential scholarship which in the college of engineering is essentially a full ride (I think you even get a stipend to do research in the summer) that comes with many perks.</p>

9

<p>@BrownParent </p>

<p>Thanks for Posting and I understand What you mean. To be blunt my parent’s yearly income is less that 15000$, and sorry for being this difficult but I am pretty adamant about decision to not take help from my uncle. I should stand on my feet for once rather than constantly relying on others around me. My uncle still wants to help, but this is a personal decision. I hope you understand. </p>

<p>As for what kind of advice I am asking for: The question is whether it is worth a shot to apply to these Schools with these Stats and ECs ? That is all. Right now I’m looking for opportunities for financial aid. But for now, this is my question.</p>

<p>Again, Thanks BrownParent and MYOS1634 for replying to this thread.</p>

10

<p>aaah now you reveal that you really do want chances :slight_smile: . Of course it is worth a shot. It sounds like you do have a shot. It is a huge payoff for the relatively small work involved if you get an acceptance with aid. Where else can you get so much for doing so little? You’ve already done most of the hard work by excelling in your schooling. It is too bad that you have left the decision for so late, so that was really your choice to put yourself under pressure, but it really isn’t anything all that difficult.</p>

11

<p>i heard there are two colleges that does not have tuition or fees for international students. While it is highly competitive, I think you should try.
They are Berea College(LAC) and Cooper Union.</p>

12

<p>You haven’t said what you would like to study or what your post-college plans are. Without that, you wouldn’t seem to have any reason to go to a US college other than that you can (probably). So, no it’s not worth it. And for most people, it certainly wouldn’t be worth it to pass up a reputable ‘local’ university to come to Berea College or Cooper Union.
(BTW I am curious that while you are adamant about standing on your own two feet and not relying on others, you see no contradiction between that stance and accepting institutional funds from a college to subsidise your studies. Is it that you feel you will have somehow earned the college subsidy by your own efforts - though other posters have pointed out that it is largely you parents’ low income that is really ‘earning’ you this - but that you have not earned your uncle’s favour?)</p>