<p>hey guys ,</p>
<p>i am an international student from India, applying to US this year. i have a gpa 8.3/10 in my 9th grade and a 8/10 in 10th grade and 6/10 in my 11th grade the system over here is really hard(almost the same as freshmen engineering), and the reason for drop in my gap in 11th grade was because of me shifting to a really bad hostel and a new school environment which i took time to adjust to. i have an act score of 32 and an 800 in sat math 2 and 750 in physics. </p>
<p>apart from all this i have co-founded a company called blue box(a social media platform), i have build my own electric engine not patented yet, and i have worked on many other projects which have failed, few of my researches have been recognised by national research institutes, i have also won the startup weekend of Bangalore (silicon city of India) which wasn't meant for my age group but of people with higher ends- making me one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the city (I have always valued practical learning more than, the class room)</p>
<p>i want to major in E&C and physics, with all this do i have any chance of getting in universities like MIT ,HARVARD, UPENN or UW MADISON. </p>
<p>any suggestion, status comment or thought would be appreciated and welcomed, thank you</p>
<p>Did you take the SAT I? What was the breakdown of your ACT/SAT?</p>
<p>How much financial aid do you require?</p>
<p>no i did not take the SAT I ,40 to 30% would be enough i guess if its not a lot.
Im sorry but what exactly do you mean by breakdown?</p>
<p>Meaning, how did you get the 32 - is it like 35 Math, 30 English, 30 Reading, 34 Science?</p>
<p>Rather than a percentage, give us an amount in dollars - since universities can cost anywhere from $30,000 to $60,000, “30%” is meaningless.</p>
<p>I got 30 in my english and reading, 36 in maths and 32 in science.</p>
<p>about the cost, my parents can afford upto 15,000$ and ill be taking a loan for about 20-30,000$ and i can add little by working on campus and sum revenue for my other works. so thats about 35-45,000$ i can pay with all that i have got, so any scholarship covering uphill or more can be of great help in reducing the burden. </p>
<p>Will the banks in your country lend YOU $80k-120k? That is crazy. That is a crazy amount to borrow. </p>
<p>Why don’t you go to school in your country and avoid all that debt?</p>
<p>That amount in loans is crazy. Odds are low you’ll be able to pay them back - unless your parents would (and would be able to)?
You probably have a shot at UWisconsin-Madison. Also apply to a few others that may be affordable - UMass, for instance. Don’t neglect LACs that offer FA. If you can afford 25-30k, you’d be favorably positioned at many LACs, especially in the Midwest and South.</p>
<p>Look into Boston College and Northeastern. </p>
<p>yea, about the loan actually; i know its a lot to take and is kind of the reason (as u all r telling a cheaper institute will be better) i should better look at other places as well; </p>
<p>can u please suggest me more places i might have good shot at with the profile </p>
<p>and </p>
<p>could you please tell me how much loan is actually worth taking for the colleges(as am pursuing research)</p>
<p>any thing on this matter would be really helpful and thanks a lot to every one for your suggestions.</p>
<p>You’re allowed $5,500 in federal loans for freshman year, then $6,500 sophomore year, then $7,500 junior and senior year. You should not go over that.</p>
<p>hey, but unlike you guys, international students don’t get any federal aid and is kind of the reason for such huge loans. but don’t you think if i take loan for the first year and work hard to pull out some scholarships for 2nd year its worth it, and i am doing engineering and physics and an average salary salary after graduation if i do kind of ok in college, is about 60 to 90,000$ and don’t you think a very high conservation policy for first 2 years of earning can pay of the loan.</p>
<p>so what do you think about that?</p>
<p>That’s not going to work out very well. Even American students who are aspiring engineers need to avoid that kind of debt. You’re also not taking into account traveling costs. By all means, go for Harvard, and hopefully they’ll give you significant financial aid. In any case, you still need to apply to safeties (financially safe as well), whether they are in your own country or in the USA. </p>
<p>ok… and thanks a lot for the suggestion. 
</p>
<p>There aren’t many scholarships for sophomores. The big scholarships are for freshmen. Try for the schools that award large amounts of aid, try for the schools where your scores would net you merit awards, and try for schools in your country.
Remember that it’s VERY VERY hard for an international to get a job in the US. Odds are low you’d be earning 60k on OPT and if such salaries were offered it’d likely to offset sky-high costs of living.
See if you can get a co-op at UWaterloo (tuition is lower and it’s got very very strong STEM programs.)</p>