<p>Hello. I'm an international student (from Bulgaria) and I am applying to some great schools in mathematics and economics. Could you tell me some universities in which i could be accepted. I am applying for FULL NEED-BASED FINANCIAL AID, which makes my application weaker. So far I have chosen to apply to Brown (my fav university), Cornell and University of Chicago. I wanted to try my chance in NYU, but their essays are impossible (i am not a writter or a producer).</p>
<p>Here are my stats:</p>
<p>SAT I: 2090 (my first attempt) (CR:630;M:770;WR:690)</p>
<p>SAT II: Math I: 800 Math IIc: 800</p>
<p>TOEFL: 98</p>
<p>Awards: I have about 60 awards from mathematical competitions but they are from local competitions. The most important award is a 2nd place in a international mathematical festival in Kiev.
I have written 2 mathematical projects and one of them is with a special award from Ministry of Education.</p>
<p>GPA: 3.95 (I don't know exactly - 5.80 out of 6.00 in Bulgaria - we have 12 classes)</p>
<p>Other activities:
- One of the projects I mentioned above is economic.
- Part of a debate club.
- Part of a library club.
- Part of a mathematical club.
- Teaching mathematics to the mathematical team of my city and some younger students
- Play piano.
- A participation in a project of EU.</p>
<p>Sport: Football</p>
<p>Work:
- voluntary work in a hospital for 200h
- voluntary work in a library</p>
<p>If your stats were higher I’d say MIT, but I think you’ll do fine with Cornell and Brown. Although you need a higher TOEFL score, the Ivys and most selective colleges require 100+ on that.
As for NYU, I thought they didn’t have need-based FA for internationals? :/</p>
<p>I think you should retake your TOEFL score if it is possible. Most top caliber colleges in the U.S. requires a TOEFL score above 100. Re-seat for the nearest possible date (January probably) If this is not possible, try waiving your TOEFL requirement through your SAT CR score. Many colleges agree to waive it only if your CR score is 600+ (except for Columbia).</p>
<p>It is very rare for internationals to get a full aid from U.S. colleges. You must have a max. EFC (Estimated Family Contribution). Anything from $0 to $5000 is considered as a full ride. You would probably get waitlisted from many colleges due to your high financial requirements.</p>
<p>You may not be a good writer in academic environments, but try exemplifying your essay to the admissions committee, especially the ‘Why us?’ essay if they have one. </p>
<p>Your choices are very poor in terms of your high financial aid requirement. Brown, NYU, Cornell and U of Chicago have many students there who pay in full for everything. Try searching for better colleges with high international financial aid allotment.</p>
<p>Feel free to ask any questions you have. :)</p>
<p>thanks guys. The main problem is that I have a lot of work for my common app so i don’t have enought time to make a good research of universities. Could you tell me some with high international financial aid allotment? I know the need- based ones, any other ideas? My dream is to go into Brown and it is hard to make it true right now but anyway i will try. I am applying into UK too (really competitive schools again) so going to the USA is desired but not the only option. I really like UPenn but I think my stats are not enought for it and would be a pointless choice. I will definitely be thankful even if you tell me some good schools in math/economics so that I could look into their sites and make a research. Unfortunaly, as I said, I don’t have any source of information so it is hard to choose universities.</p>
<p>If you need very high financial aid, try out top liberal arts colleges. They are awesome! Liberal arts colleges are not as big as large universities but have similar resources, quality education, high diversity and outstanding placement for your future career.</p>
<p>Here is a list of LAC’s which you can apply to.</p>