Some advice on admissions for US colleges... after acceptance into Oxford

Applying to College
1

Hi guys I’m an international student and I’ve just been given an unconditional offer to read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Brasenose College, Oxford.

I’m super duper thrilled about this prospect, besides the fact that I don’t think my parents are going to be able to fund my 35k-pounds-a-year education in the UK.

So I would like to ask for advice on application into American colleges. I’ve already applied to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst and Chicago but my question is if I were to send the admissions office at these schools my letter from Oxford, would my chances of getting into any one of them(or my chances of getting financial aid offers) change in any meaningful way?

2

None whatsoever. If anything, you might get a reply wishing you well at Oxford :slight_smile:

3

Oxford could take American student loans.

4

Absolutely not. If you decide to go elsewhere, they may wish you well when you notify them of that.

What makes you think any of those American colleges would be cheaper than the cost you list for Oxford.

5

@rhandco‌ Those colleges are need-blind and meets full need. Unless OP’s parents have a very high income odds are that his tuition/costs will be a lot less than 52k/yr.

6

Well, I guess one must trust Wikipedia.

As for “very high”, anything above 200K US dollars family income per year would be too much.

I have no idea why they would have applied to Oxford in the first place if FA was an issue.

But did you check this out, just in case any apply to you?
http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/fees-and-funding/oxford-support

There is specifically one about “low-income countries”.

7

@rhandco‌ well im SO sorry that my parents cant afford 50k a year maybe kids like me shud never look for a good education.

and no they don’t apply to me

8

sb6713 - There are plenty of places in the US where students can get a good education for a lot less than USD 50k each year. However, you would have to be willing to look at colleges and universities that don’t necessarily have the international name recognition of Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth, Amherst and Chicago.

9

Don’t be infantile. Of course you should look for a good education but you won’t find one at a uni you can’t afford to attend, whether you get in or not. Oxford is a perfect school for a kid like my daughter, and because they look for kids who have a fair amount of expertise in their intended concentration and disregard the rest, she would probably have a better chance of being admitted there than at US elites. But she didn’t consider it. Why?

There’s no way we could afford it so it might as well not exist.

Forget about Oxford if it’s not financially viable and good luck with the schools that would be affordable.

10

And I like a good steak, but I’ve got the sense not to book a reservation at a restaurant I clearly can’t afford, when there are PLENTY of good restaurants in town to enjoy a juicy rib-eye.

11

So right now, you don’t have a place to go to uni, do you?

What is your plan if you don’t get in to one of the American universities that you named?

12

It really depends on how much you would need to borrow as to whether it is financially viable. I would recommend trying everything you can to do Oxford, PPE is a unique program and you would benefit hugely from the experience. Do they offer Americans bursaries for tuition?

My d, who is American and British, is at Cam, fortunately she met the residency requirements for EU students. Her tuition is 9K £ and she receives full bursary. To put it mildly, it is a phenomenal jewel of a learning environment and absolutely perfect for her.

13

Oxford PPE is an exceptional program, and congratulations on your admission; however, you should look at state schools within your country.

14

Some LACs are pretty generous with fin aid to internationals. Some (like Clark) have scholarships that target internationals. In general, the ones that do (like UMinnesota and MiamiU) aren’t on the same tier as Oxford.

15

@PurpleTitan‌ UMinnesota and MiamiU aren’t LACs…

16

@lbad96, true, I switched topics from saying that some LACs may be generous with fin aid to internationals to pointing out that some schools (universities or LACs) have merit scholarships targetting internationals. Sorry about the confusion.

17

The OP appears to think that the only place to get a “good education” is a place that (he thinks that) his family can’t afford and a college that is unwilling to give him financial aid unless he qualifies for any of the programs I posted a link to. (assumption is that the OP is not an EU citizen)

The OP’s family will need to provide detailed financial information in order to get grants or loans for their college education for the schools listed.

IMHO, based on others who said it is very prestigious for the OP to get into the program that he was accepted to, the OP should flat out ask his parents if they can afford the cost of attending Oxford or not. One source of money for parents that students don’t always think about is home equity. If the OP’s parents own their home and do not pay a mortgage, they should be able to access that home equity to pay for his college, and most colleges will expect families to be able to access home equity to pay for college.

The OP said:
“besides the fact that I don’t think my parents are going to be able to fund my 35k-pounds-a-year education in the UK”

Note the words “I don’t think” - did the OP even contact his parents about this, or confirm what they can actually afford?

Many students post about affordability, and the most common post seems to be “my family’s EFC is much higher than what my parents can pay” whether the EFC be 10K or full pay at any college. This OP doesn’t even indicate his parents can’t pay it, he says he thinks they can’t.

OP, talk to your parents, see what they can afford to pay. Then run Net Price Calculators (NPCs) for the colleges of your choice. Do not reject Oxford’s offer until you find out what each of the schools would offer you. It is possible that if your parents give you their financial info and fill out the NPCs (or they do the NPCs themselves), you may get a surprise about how much you could expect from each school.

Dartmouth for example uses a NPC that the College Board has set up:
http://studentnpc.collegeboard.org/participating-schools

https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/dartmouth

And the beauty of the NPCs available through the College Board is that the info is passed through to each school that uses College Board NPCs.

What is needed is a realistic picture of what your family can contribute - your parents, you from your savings and/or working, and loans that you or your parents can take out. Otherwise, Oxford is being turned down for no reason, or rather, because the OP “thinks” his parents can’t afford it.

We will be paying most of my son’s college costs, and in previous years, we NEVER EVER spent anything like what the cost will be. According to the college and other colleges, we can afford to pay it. But our only big expenses in the past have been a 2K vacation each year. Compare that to 40K each year. I would say nothing would have clued my son into that we could afford to send him to his college of choice, but things will change and we will take out home equity loans so he can go.

The OP’s question is easy - doubtful it will help to show your acceptance to Oxford, and it might hurt as some schools might wonder why you are bothering to apply to them. But the OP’s limited financial info and the word “think” make this really a larger question about FA.

Also wondering if the OP’s country has free college tuition, as some countries do. That might be a reason parents don’t want to pay.

18

It doesn’t matter whether or not “most colleges…expect” families to tap into their home equity to pay for college. They don’t seem to mind allowing families to take on high 5 or even 6 figure debt for school either. Just because colleges “expect” something doesn’t make it a good idea.

19

OP:
Congratulations on getting into PPE at Oxford. Wow, that’s an amazing program and achievement. In other words, if your family is lower-income, you may well qualify for bursaries/scholarships. Have you applied? If not, do so, very quickly.
Second, talk to your parents. What can they afford to pay? (Do you know what their EFC is?)
Third, when is your decision due? If it’s not due until April-May, there’s no hurry. Wait till you get your decisions in.