too many schools ... :(

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am, simply put, LOST :( There are way too many good schools out there.</p>

<p>So I'm an international student (yes, from Asia) and my only deal breaker is cost. I'm trying to cap it off at around $4o,ooo a year (and I can only pay around $2o,ooo a year, the rest would be in loans). I know some schools offer good merit/need based aid, though naturally that's never a sure thing. Can anyone please give me suggestions of said schools? Oh and I'm thinking of majoring in ChemE or BiomedE (engineering in general).</p>

<p>Ideally, I'd prefer a school that:</p>

<p>Weather - doesn't have harsh winters (Minnesota and Wisconsin comes to mind ... am I correct to assume this?)</p>

<p>Location - urban city but hopefully with a low crime rate; somewhere with a lot of companies I can get internship/co-op/research opportunities from (in line with my major)</p>

<p>Co-op etc - VERY important for me :) so I want a school where most of the students actually do participate in these kinds of programs, or at least services readily available to help students get one (I know some schools already require some sort of job experience to be able to graduate)</p>

<p>Academics - hopefully class sizes won't be too big and not much TAs </p>

<p>THANKS :)</p>

2

<p>Well Cornell comes to mind when you mention financial aid and Engineering. The weather is not like Minn. but it gets pretty bad at times. Not that many internship opportunities nearby except it’s close proximity to a few cities like Albany, Buffalo, and NYC. </p>

<p>I can also recommend Purdue’s Engineering program, but the tuition and expenses exceed your $20K. You would probably need around $38-39k for dorm., tuition and other general expenses. Probably an additional $5k-$8k a year for your personal expenses, depending on how much money you use. You could also get a job too. I do know that Purdue has a great co-op program for the Eng. students. The weather can get quite bad in West Lafayette too but not to the extremity of Wisconsin’s. ALOT of internship opp. in Indiana actually, esp. for ChemE since there are a lot of factories nearby and BP has HQ in Chicago.</p>

3

<p>Georgia Tech is a great fit. There have been some crime issues recently, but they are working diligently to assure safety.</p>

4

<p>^^^
Georgia Tech doesn’t give any money to int’ls, so that wouldn’t work with a $20k budget, unless the OPs willing to borrow the $20k needed (that would end up being too much to borrow and then pay back - unless the parents were going to repay the loans).</p>

<p>* I know some schools offer good merit/need based aid, though naturally that’s never a sure thing. Can anyone please give me suggestions of said schools? *</p>

<p>If you want merit scholarships, then what are your stats? </p>

<p>What schools are on your current list?</p>

<p>Your budget excludes many private schools, and mostly includes publics. Publics generally don’t give $$ to int’ls. A few will give some merit money. </p>

<p>Auburn is around $33k, it is strong in engineering, and has good weather.</p>

5

<p>Sorry for not clearing it up … My budget is $4o,ooo/yr. For the first year, I can cough up $35K~. For all succeeding years, I can only pay $20K~, maybe $30K if I push it. I will be taking out loans for whatever I can’t cover. </p>

<p>Let’s say I meet my cost limit, so for the first year I take out $5K in loans, then $15K for all succeeding years. That would be a total of $50K in loans after four years, assuming there won’t be a drastic increase in tuition. I think I can come up with $10K within those four years through jobs and whatever I save from co-ops. How much of a burden would $40K in loans be? </p>

<p>I’m hoping for a scholarship (that would be the ideal situation) but realistically I need to apply to schools that are at least within my financial reach just in case I don’t get any FA. I’m trying to come up with a list that includes both financial matches and reaches (a reach in the sense that I’m hoping for FA $$$). </p>

<p>According to my parents (and I agree), if I’m going to spend $4o,ooo a year then it better be worth it (they depend on US News rankings … yes I know the rankings are debatable but come on, we’re Asians :D). </p>

<p>Current list:</p>

<p>MIT (they’re need blind, so I might as well)
Stanford (I have relatives nearby so I don’t need to pay for housing/food)
UCSD (pushing the $40K limit, but I love the place)
Rice (same as UCSD)
Georgia Tech (love their co-op program)
Purdue (I heard there wasn’t much of a city life there so I might cross it out)
UWash
UW Madison (would’ve been perfect … but the weather :frowning: still weighing the pros and cons)
UMinn Twin Cities (again, the weather)</p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>Rank: Top 5% (class size is around 250)
SAT: 2150
SAT II: Bio - 760, Chem - 740, Math II – 780</p>

<p>I need a list with both publics and privates. Publics for financial matches ($40K or less). Privates for financial reaches (as defined above, so the school need not necessarily cost less than $40K).</p>

<p>mom2collegekids – which publics give out merit money?</p>

6

<p>I think Columbia might be a good school, do you qualify for need based financial aid, as in do your parents earn less than ~$150,000 per year? If they do earn less than this and especially if they earn less than 100,000 then you would qualify for a good amount of aid at all these schools. Applying for aid as an international at Columbia hurts your chances, but not by a huge amount. Columbia takes like ~60-70 international kids on aid each year and the average aid package is like 30,000 per year. </p>

<p>Columbia’s urban, weather is cold, but not as bad as cornell or mit. NYC has the lowest crime rate of any big city in the US (Columbia is in Morningside heights which is one of the safest precincts in the city). As an engineering student here, I’ve had 2-3 TA-taught classes out of ~40 that I’ve taken, they were the better than most profs imo. There is a ton of research on campus that you can get involved in. there are tons of internship opportunities in the city, but not sure about chem-e or bme related. Either way give it a look.</p>

<p>Upenn is also worth a look.</p>

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<p>You heard right about there not being much of a city life at West Lafayette. Purdue is located in the middle of cornfields but is situated in a pretty nice college town. The school revolves around sports, greek life, organizations, and a lot of off campus parties. It has the second biggest Greek system in the US, so yeah going GREEK is kind of a big deal. :stuck_out_tongue: If your interested in joining a sorority, then you should reconsider it. They also have an engineering sorority, which is getting their new house renovated too. We had a few functions with them and they are quite bad ass too, which was surprising.</p>

8

<p>*Let’s say I meet my cost limit, so for the first year I take out $5K in loans, then $15K for all succeeding years. **That would be a total of $50K in loans **after four years, assuming there won’t be a drastic increase in tuition. I think I can come up with $10K within those four years through jobs and whatever I save from co-ops. How much of a burden would $40K in loans be? *</p>

<p>I’m confused. At the beginning you say $50k in loans, and then you say $40k in loans.</p>

<p>Either amount will be burdensome. What loan rate will you get from your country? </p>

<p>It sounds like you’ll be borrowing at least $50k since ALL costs go up each year - tuition, fees, room, board, etc. Plus, the COA that you’re seeing on websites is for this current 2009-2010 school year. The COA will be higher when you enroll in the Fall '10.</p>

<p>Loan Calculator</p>

<p>Loan Balance: $50,000.00<br>
Adjusted Loan Balance: $50,000.00<br>
Loan Interest Rate: 9.00%
Loan Fees: 0.00%
Loan Term: 10 years
Minimum Payment: $50.00 </p>

<p>Monthly Loan Payment: $633.38<br>
Number of Payments: 120 </p>

<p>Cumulative Payments: $76,005.38<br>
Total Interest Paid: $26,005.38 </p>

<p>Note: The monthly loan payment was calculated at 119 payments of $633.38 plus a final payment of $633.16.</p>

<p>It is estimated that you will need an annual salary of at least $76,005.60 to be able to afford to repay this loan. This estimate assumes that 10% of your gross monthly income will be devoted to repaying your student loans.</p>

<p>As for publics that give merit. Unfortunately, most deadlines have passed (Dec 1) for some publics that give scholarships to int’ls. :frowning: With your 2150, there are some that would have likely given you free tuition.</p>

<p>Arizona St might still have some scholarships for int’ls. So would LSU and UMiami (private). Miss St might give you full tuition, but the school isn’t highly ranked EVEN though it has a very strong engineering program.
St. Louis U might give you a scholarship and it’s in a big city.</p>

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<p>Try Tulane. Has both ChemE and BME (only 2 engineering programs they retained, because they are strong. BME is ranked top 25 in country) and I think all the other factors you mentioned. They do have a fairly generous merit scholarship program. Ranked #50 by USNWR, but that is skewed by misconceptions following Hurricane Katrina from 2005. If you go strictly by average test scored the school would rank #30. Asians not heavily represented at Tulane compared to schools like Duke, so that might act in your favor. PM me if you have more questions.</p>

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<p>I think Tulane’s deadline for merit scholarships has passed. :(</p>

<p>The website says Dec 15th.</p>

<p>This is a common problem. Many of the best merit scholarships have deadlines that have passed. </p>

<p>I wish we had a good thread that listed the schools whose deadlines for merit scholarships haven’t passed.</p>

11

<p>SUNY Buffalo would work except for the harsh winters (lake effect…)</p>

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<p>wow, northeastern fits perfectly… engineering school, one of the best co-op programs (if not the best) in the country, located in boston, winters not unbearable but still cold, with your stats, you would most likely receive a 17k scholarship and be admitted into the honors program (will reduce the cost per year to about mid 30k. look into it!</p>

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<p>mom2college - I may be mistaken, but I think you are talking about the DHS only. That is the full tuition scholarship that must be applied for separately. And while the OP is clearly a fine student, her stats would have made her chances of winning the DHS very remote. However, Tulane has 4 scholarships ranging from $15K to $25K per year for which all students that are accepted are automatically considered. I believe those remain available until the overall application deadline of Jan 15. Perhaps her stats might put her in range of one of those, maybe the $20K, maybe even $22K. A lot depends, I think, in how much Tulane wants to increase its international diversity. There is also a smaller scholarship available, the Community Service Scholarship, that must be applied for separately and that deadline is Jan 15 also. It can be added to a merit scholarship. But I don’t think that scholarship is likely in her case. either.</p>

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<p>oops, I posted this in the wrong thread, in rseponse to another q from mom2college kids:
mom2-
You had posted a question about Tulane’s scholarship applications. Yes, too late for the DHS application, but the Community Service scholarship applications are due Jan 15. Not too late for that.</p>

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<p>Ny0rker - Agree with you that Northeastern is a potentially good fit, also. Very urban campus, larger school are two of the bigger contrasts with Tulane, for example. And the weather, of course. But NE does indeed have an outstanding co-op program, one of the best. Boston and New Orleans are both fantastic cities, just very different. Just a matter of taste there, I think. Would definitely recommend the OP look into it also. How is their BME program in particular?</p>

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<p>mom2collegekids: “I’m confused. At the beginning you say $50k in loans, and then you say $40k in loans.”</p>

<p>– I was thinking I could earn some money over summer and perhaps save a little from co-ops. As a rough guess, I think I can come up with $1o,ooo during my undergrad years. So that means my debt would be $10K less by graduation. But good point, tuition hikes and other incidentals will come up.</p>

<p>– $30K in interest?! Aren’t there some programs where interest rates come in only after graduation? And would it be awfully impossible to set aside more than 30% of my monthly income to pay off my debts? Assuming I get a job and am able to life off of what’s left. A monthly payment of $650 seems kinda low…</p>

<p>Jimgotkp: I really don’t get Greek life LOL. Care to enlighten me? What exactly happens if I’m part of a sorority?</p>

<p>Are the scholarships for Tulane and Northeastern available to international students too? How competitive are they? Just browsed through Northeastern’s website, it looks like a great fit :D</p>

<p>Also, I’m a junior so forget the deadlines for now :)</p>

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<p>Kaitlin - I have looked at the Tulane information and it clearly says “all freshman applicants” are considered for the awards. I believe they are available for international students as well. To be 100% sure, if you decide to pursue Tulane send an e-mail to the adcom that is responsible for international students. That would be Dave Seaver <a href=“mailto:dseaver@tulane.edu”>dseaver@tulane.edu</a></p>

<p>Here are the links for Tulane engineering also.</p>

<p>BME: [Tulane</a> University Department of Biomedical Engineering - Undergraduate: Prospective Students; Distinctive Features](<a href=“http://www.bmen.tulane.edu/undergraduate/distinctive.php]Tulane”>Biomedical Engineering | tulane)</p>

<p>ChemE: [Tulane</a> University - Undergraduate Program](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/sse/cbe/undergrad.cfm]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/sse/cbe/undergrad.cfm)</p>

<p>I will add that being in Louisiana, there are quite a few oil companies and chemical companies in the region, leading to numerous co-op opportunities.</p>

<p>So I think Northeastern and Tulane are both viable choices for you. Northeastern has a stronger overall program and their co-op program is one of the top in the country. Tulane has the stronger BME program, and also good co-op placement. And better weather of course.</p>

<p>Good luck in your search!</p>

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<p>*$30K in interest?! **Aren’t there some programs where interest rates come in only after graduation? ** *</p>

<p>You’re an international student. You’re not eligible for the US loans that do that. Does your country have such loans for you? Any loans that you get, you’ll have to get from your own country or elsewhere. </p>

<p>US banks will not usually loan to int’l students UNLESS you can get an US resident/citizen to cosign your loans (that is hard to do). US banks are afraid that int’ls will return to their home countries after graduation and not pay the loans back. If you do find an American co-signer, those loans will still start accumulating interest immediately (so, yes, at LEAST $30k in interest since those loans will be at a higher rate). Only low-income US students have their loans subsidized while they are in school - and I don’t think they can borrow that much anyway.</p>

<p>* And would it be awfully impossible to set aside more than 30% of my monthly income to pay off my debts? Assuming I get a job and am able to life off of what’s left. A monthly payment of $650 seems kinda low…*</p>

<p>Uh, yes, it would be impossible to set aside more than 30% of your monthly income for school debts for 10 LONG years. It’s not like you’d have to only do this for a year; it would be during the time when you’d be 23 - 33. There will be other big things (like buying a home, getting married, etc) that will be done during those years. Remember, having such high school loan debts will likely interfere in your ability to get a home loan (at least at a decent rate) and maybe a car loan (at a decent rate). It will also be very difficult to save any money while paying back big loans.</p>

<p>How much do you think that you’ll be earning for the first few years after graduation? </p>

<p>You’d have to be making around $70k per year to comfortably pay back $650 per month in student loans - **WHILE **also paying for your own living expenses - rent, food, clothes, car, entertainment, etc, while also saving for a house, etc. Now, if you’re planning to live with your parents for 10 years after graduation, then $650 per month would be do-able. :wink: But, I doubt you’re going to want to live with your parents for 10 years. :slight_smile: $650 a month in student loans is like 2 EXTRA car payments each month, in addition to your own car payment. **Few newish grads easily afford one car payment, much less 3 car payments. **</p>

<p>So, yes, $650 per month (for 10 years) is a LOT. Believe me.</p>

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<p>^^^</p>

<p>But, on the BRIGHT side…</p>

<p>There’s no need for such big debts. Work on your SATs (and ACTs) and if they’re high enough, there are schools that will give int’l students generous merit scholarships for high stats.</p>

<p>What is the breakdown of your SAT? </p>

<p>Also take the ACT - some do better on that and colleges will take whichever one is higher.</p>

<p>If your Math + CR SAT are high, there are several schools that would give you free tuition. That would be a huge savings for you. Then all you’d have to pay for is your room, board, books, travel, and personal expenses. :)</p>

<p>You have what it takes to have a very high SAT or ACT. As a mid year junior, your score is already high, so if you take the tests again in the spring, they’ll likely be higher. :slight_smile: By senior year, your scores could be in 99th percentile. :)</p>