Trouble finding a "safety" college for an international student

College Search & Selection
1

Hey guys!

USA is the only country of my interest for studying, and that choice is pretty bold considering I’m an international student seeking aid.

I’m very aware of colleges that give out the most aid for students like me, but I also need a safety choice (which is not an Ivy school) that gives much aid.

So if you happen to know any, please write below! Any help is much appreciated.

My profile:

SAT : 1470 (new, CR+W 670, Math 800) – I’m thinking of retaking if my new scores don’t come above 1500
SAT II: Math L2 800, Physics 790 (I might take Biology E too)

TOEFL: 112/120

GPA: 3.8 (it’s kinda different in my country, we have a 5.0 scale and MUCH more subjects than US HS)
Class rank: 1/250 (student of the generation)

Recommendations: I have a great stand on that, whole HS faculty knows it’s my dream to move to USA so they fully support me. Also I have a recommendation from a friend who took my steps before, same school and sport, graduated from both Harvard (bachelor and masters) and Columbia (PHD) two years ago.

If you happen to know where could I get a 85-100% scholarship easier than in schools listed above, I’d love to know that! :smiley: (maybe NYU, Trinity idk)

I’d like to keep the costs of applying to a minimum…so if my choices are too above my reach, please help me to eliminate some.

[This post was edited for privacy.]

2

I believe Alabama offers their merit aid to international students.

3

Yes youre right. But it’s also only 1-5 scholarships…so it doesnt make it pretty safe. But I guess it’s with any school at this point. Its just pure luck.

Thank you a lot anyways!! :slight_smile:

4

@elliotalderson, It’s difficult for international students to navigate financial aid. The most accessible type of aid available to internationals is need-based aid. Need-based aid is totally income dependent. If you can demonstrate enough need to make a college affordable for you, then you have a good chance of getting that much if you are accepted to a school that guarantees to meet full need.

The catch is that your need is defined by what the colleges say you need (based on your family’s income information) which may be less than the 85 to 100% you believe you need.

Merit aid is usually based on your accomplishments and is not necessarily related to your family’s income.

Most of the schools on your list guarantee to meet full need for internationals. I’m not sure about Colgate and Trinity.
So the likelihood of your getting enough aid from these schools depends first on getting in, and second on your family’s income. As far as I know, the only school on your list that offers merit aid to internationals is Trinity.

This is a list of some of the schools that guarantee to meet full need for internationals. If yours is a low income family you should add some of the less selective schools.

GUARANTEE TO MEET FULL NEED
Amherst, Brown, Chicago, Colby, Dartmouth, Davidson, Duke, Grinnell, Hamilton, Harvard, JHU, MIT, Macalester, Middlebury, Penn, Pitzer, Pomona, Princeton, Richmond, Rhodes, Stanford, Swarthmore, Vanderbilt, Vassar, Wellesley, Wesleyan, Williams

This is a list of some of the schools that offer merit aid to internationals. Check the admit rates and choose some of the less selectives. Getting to 85 to 100% will be quite challenging.

MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS
Alabama, Babson, Bard, Carlton, Chicago, CMC, Clark, Davidson, Dickinson, Duke, Emory, Fordham, Grinnell, JHU, Harvey Mudd, Howard, Kenyon, Louisiana, Miami, Mt. Holyoke, North Carolina, Northeastern, Notre Dame, Rhodes, Rice, Richmond, Rochester, Scripps, Smith, Syracuse, Tulane, Trinity U, Vanderbilt, Wooster, W&L, WUSTL

You should also be aware that your profile and background will be an important factor in admissions. Think about what your life experience could contribute to the campus community both in and out of campus and make sure that shines through on your application.

5

I would definitely look into the University of Richmond. You sound like a very strong candidate and someone who has a good shot at merit scholarships from Richmond. Make sure to apply before December 1st though

6

<<<
youre right. But it’s also only 1-5 scholarships…s
<<<

What school are you talking about?

If you’re talking about Alabama, they give a LOT more than 1-5 scholarships to int’ls.

https://gobama.ua.edu/international/scholarships/

Any int’l (incoming Frosh) who meets the app deadline and has the required stats get the scholarships.

7

What do you want to study?

Check out these two lists:

http://thecollegematchmaker.com/65-colleges-give-generous-aid-international-students/

https://lendedu.com/blog/international-students-financial-aid-study

8

@mom2collegekids thank you, I thought (actually read somewhere) that it was limited to 5 people who apply first and meet the criterium :slight_smile:

@insanedreamer Math or CS or Business (preMBA), thank you for your links; definitely adding Reed College

9

I’d add Rice as well. Not a “safety” but easier to get into than MIT or Harvard (maybe on par with Cornell). Also USC. Also, RPI has a good CS program (with tech-oriented biz school) you’re sure to get into and get aid - though how much I couldn’t say.

10

Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland gives limited aid to international students. International students are also considered for some scholarships. CWRU is not usually a safety but you would be competitive for merit scholarships.

http://financialaid.case.edu/undergraduate/int/

11

About Reed:

https://www.reed.edu/apply/guide-to-applying/international/international-guide.html

12

Folks…this student is looking for safeties. Many suggestions here are NOT safeties.

do not add Reed as a safety. It’s a reach and aid is iffy.

Get your app in ASAP with Alabama. Int’l apps take longer to process, so apply NOW and get your stuff sent to them. Culverhouse is a very good B-school. You’d get free tuition. Campus is gorgeous! Everything is remodeled or new, and immaculately kept.

13

How much can you afford to pay? If you can’t afford to pay anything other than your plane ticket to get here, then there are no safeties here for you except for the very small number of places that guarantee full ride scholarships for students with certain grades and test scores. There are a few more places (like Alabama) that guarantee full tuition and fees for certain grades and test scores, but you would need to come up with about USD 12,000 each year for housing, meals, books, and other expenses. Check this list carefully to find out which of these scholarships still exist, and which of them are available for international students.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com/

DO NOT TELL PEOPLE THAT IT IS YOUR DREAM TO MOVE TO THE US!!! Tell them that it is your dream to study in the US. If the visa officer who interviews you for the student visa thinks that you have the intent to stay in the US permanently, you will be denied your visa. You must be able to convince that person that you intend to return to your home country after you complete your education and the one or two years of work permitted after graduation.

14

Thanks everyone for your insightful comments and suggestions!

@happymomof1 I know that, only saying that to CC to understand me better.

I like U of Alabama (from pics) very much. It might not seem that their CS program is notable, but maybe I could ignite it! :slight_smile: Also thanks for your link…awesome info!

Of course I understand that an international student (not exactly a top one by SAT - although I am sure I can prove that I’m on par with those who get into MIT etc) shouldn’t be expecting full scholarships at any school than those which aren’t need blind…But I find these costs of applying insignificant if I do get a scholarship! :slight_smile:

15

@elliotalderson, Need-blind isn’t the critical factor. The critical factor in getting need-based aid is whether or no the school guarantees to meet full demonstrated need for internationals. If you put together a balanced list of schools of different levels of selectivity (in other words reach/match/safety) that guarantee to meet full need for internationals, then your chance of getting admitted and getting the aid you need will increase dramatically.

Some colleges will waive application fees for low income students. Ask!

16

Of course whether a school is need-blind or not matters as an important factor… this is why Williams spends $5,609,349 on its international students while Amherst spends $9,297,880. If I were making a list and were choosing to apply to one of them, simply because both are highly selective and I have a limited number of schools I could apply to, I’d apply to Amherst.

17

@international95, I don’t entirely agree with you. International students compete against others in the same demographic for limited spaces.

Amherst spends more on international financial aid than Williams, but Amherst also gets more international applicants than Williams so competition is greater.

Both admit international students in the 6 to 7% range and both guarantee to meet full demonstrated need for internationals. So if you get in, your chance of getting enough aid to cover your expenses is good as long as you can demonstrate need to the college’s satisfaction.

I wouldn’t discourage anyone from applying to Amherst and I agree they are generous with aid to the internationals that they admit though again, this is need-based aid, not merit aid.

My observation over 10 years of watching high achieving applicants in my host country in Southeast Asia, is that the strategy of prioritizing need-blind schools is too narrow a focus. There are dozens of colleges in the US that guarantee to cover demonstrated need and only 5 that are need blind. And those 5 are insanely selective for internationals.

Often families assume that need-blind means that they will get the all the aid that they need, and fail to take into account the demonstrated need factor. In my opinion, international students are better served applying to a wide net of need-aware, full-need schools in locations that attract fewer internationals.

18

“do not add Reed as a safety. It’s a reach and aid is iffy.”

Reed looks to me like a match for this kid, though competition is high being international needing aid. Reed aid is excellent, meeting full need with comparatively low loans.

A school’s being need-blind should be irrelevant to applicants; NYU is need-blind, accepting scores of applicants who don’t have a chance of attending because NYU doesn’t meet need. Meeting full need is what’s important to a needy applicant.

19

About 60 schools claim to meet 100% of demonstrated need. That claim presumably applies to all students (including internationals), if I’m interpreting CDS section H correctly.
http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2016-09-19/colleges-that-claim-to-meet-full-financial-need

A need-aware policy by definition does reduce the admission chances of high-need applicants.
By how much? For what range of need? Hard to say, since good data isn’t available.

For an exceptionally well-qualified international applicant with very high need, it may make sense to choose one of the few need-blind alternatives (e.g. Amherst over Williams or Harvard over Stanford) if you’re on the fence between super-selective reach schools. Look farther afield for match schools, maybe among “full need” (but need-aware) LACs in the South or Midwest (such as Davidson, Grinnell, Kenyon, or Richmond).

You may not have any true admission + financial safeties unless you can find a school you like with guaranteed merit scholarships big enough to cover all your need.
http://automaticfulltuition.yolasite.com

20

@vonlost NYU is only need blind for US applicants. It is need aware for internationals.