Let’s see what @DadTwoGirls says about the Canadian colleges.
I’m sorry, but I have not, even a tiny bit, underestimated my chances of being accepted to a university. I asked plenty of alumni what my grades can do, and they said it’s more than enough to be accepted. I think you are unfamiliar with the A levels of the British curriculum, as getting an A*AA is multitudes more impressive than a 1550-1600 SAT score (I’ve seen past SAT modules, and they’re trivial baby-work in my opinion), let alone accomplishing that in 6 months, without a tutor, while putting in minimal hours.
I know no one cares if I can get tasks done in a short period of time, but I want someone who can help me put this to use, to produce physical outcomes and achievements that will boost my chances, that’s 80% of what this post is requesting, the other being any information on some financial aid.
My downsides are that I lack letters of recommendation, the fact that I need at least half financial aid, and lack of strong ECs, which I am looking to improve here.
This right here is very overconfident:
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I don’t want to go to elite universities tho 
I know I can’t, especially when I lack ECs and strong letters of recommendation. I just want a medium level university in Canada, cuz most of them have co-op programs which really interests me, and that’s where I’m confident. I don’t see where I am overconfident.
This.
A number of international students have completed strong A levels in the British curriculum.
When you need money to attend a university, all bets are off.
You can’t work once you get to a university and expect to make half of your tuition payments. Expect to pay $60K to 80K in USD for a university education in the US per year.
So, you’re looking for a scholarship of $30-$40K per year and you’ll get another $40K in scholarships later? I’ve never seen that happen. Financial Aid budgets are set. There is a finite budget and once the scholarships have been set, they don’t get another pot of money. They are required to report to the government about accounts receivable and payable. I
These are the people you really need to ask about what you can do. If they’ve already been through the process and are saying you’ll be accepted, then they would know better than the people here on this site. They would know which schools, where the money is, and how to navigate the system. Seems like an easy way to handle your questions, since getting to Canada is your first and foremost goal, ask those alumni for help.
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You need 100% funding: the visa approval process requires that you demonstrate that you can cover your full costs (both Canada & the US). You can get student jobs, but they will only be for a few K- not a big % of your tuition & living expenses. Canadian scholarships for international students are mostly partial (eg 10K on a 50K tuition).
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By the way, the universities I’m shooting for do have work terms, they call it co-op.
The problem is, those alumni weren’t homeschooled like me, and they didn’t have that terrible of a financial situation (at least their living costs were set, mine are only partially set). They can’t really help me much when it comes to this issue.
My plan is to get a scholarship that covers me for the first 1-2 years, and hopefully through merit from my hard work and contributions, I can receive more financial aid to complete the funding. I plan to hopefully use the money from the work terms for my living expenses, and save some if I’m able to. Worst case scenario I also can take out some student loans, but no more than 30% of the total cost.
If you need to write an essay for your application please take a different tone. You are not coming off well. You might be a very nice person, but your posts sound very, well, overconfident is probably the nicest way I can put it.
Have you looked at Canadian universities and their scholarship offerings for international students? Every university has a website.
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Yes, I’m aware. Most Canadian unis have work terms, which I can use to my benefit in the visa approval, however I do plan to use that money for my living expenses, and instead cover the rest of the funding through merit and contributions.
Yeah I’m sorry, I may appear overconfident out of slight desperation; y’know it’s really perplexing when I’m the only one gathering information about this, and I’m trying to use everything in my arsenal to hopefully find the most adequate path.
I have looked at multiple websites displaying scholarship offerings, but they aren’t anywhere near enough. I need someone who knows the ways well and leads me to achieve a few goals in these months up to the application deadline to boost my chances of receiving a big scholarship.
Thank you for pointing out my tone, and I definitely am not like this usually lol.
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College Confidential is very US-centric and even though Canada is right next to us, most of the posters here don’t know that much about admission to Canadian universities or scholarships available.
What you are asking for would be a HUGE ask in the US. You might look at Berea College if you want to consider a US school. They offer tuition free education, but you do have to work and have to pay for room and board I think.
I hope that it is more feasible for you in Canada. Have you looked at the Canadian University in Dubai?
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Haha I guess i’mma just give up here, I got a lot of insight but I still don’t know then next step forward. I’ll try contacting more alumni to see someone who may had the same situation as me.
Also lmao, literally every single university in Dubai is bottom tier. They’re all so expensive and have mediocre facilities and resources. I want to study in Canada, not bring Canada here XD. Thanks for all your help, I appreciate it.
It looks like you could start at CUD and then transfer to a university in Canada. I just glanced at the website, so it might be more involved, but it could be a starting point for you.
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I think @Sweetgum had an excellent idea about contacting Canadian Univ in Dubai and wish you were not brushing it off. They should have the information you are looking for with your goal of attending uni in CA. And hopefully explain realistic options. I agree with your assertion you have many options for admission, but I do not believe you will receive the aid you need to afford it (and procure a visa). I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
It sounds like you are looking for some magical answers but with only 6 months I don’t know what that would be. Hopefully other resources will have better answers for you and get you on a realistic path. Did you see my earlier post directing you to the forum for International unis?
I’m sure it’s frustrating not having a support system, but I kindly remind you that when asking for help you will get better results with polite, respectful and appreciative written communication.
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Unfortunately, hope is not a plan.
When you apply for a student visa the consular officer needs to see proof that you can cover all costs through all 4 years of college. S/he needs to follow the law and cannot rely on your hope of getting scholarships or aid later.
Unless you are referring to loans in your home country, this is not feasible.
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That’s everyone’s plan, to get scholarships and not take out loans, to work and make enough for living expenses. I have two kids and for one this worked pretty well. She was able to do that but she’s a US citizen and has a SSN so she can work for private businesses and the government for her co-ops and summer jobs; not all international students can work at any internship or co-op posted (lots of international students at her school, many couldn’t work or take defense contractor co-ops).
For my other kid? Sorry, that whole ‘get scholarship’ thing didn’t work out for undergrad. It’s working better for grad school.
Most US students, even those with 4.0 gpas and 1600 SAT scores do not get half scholarships. Parents wish they did, but they don’t. Top ranked schools are the ones that give full funding based on need only (no merit aid at all at the Ivies, Stanford). You do have a much better chance of getting accepted to a lower ranked school, but those don’t meet the full financial need of US students, and even less for out of state or international.
You might find big scholarships for merit at large state schools like Arizona, Alabama, or at smaller private schools, but often those are tuition only and then you’d be responsible for living expenses, travel, insurance. You won’t be allowed to work to make that much money.
I don’t know if Canada will give you loans or let you work. You aren’t eligible for US loans or federal aid.
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You’re unlikely to get into a US U that will give you the fin aid that you need. I suggest that you focus on emigrating to Canada, any way that you can. Once you are there as a legal immigrant, you would be able to apply to and get into the best Canadian universities, which are much cheaper than US schools. Canada has a number of excellent universities.
Have you thought about the Indian universities? Esp IIT? They are among the most prestigious universities in the world and would recognize the British A levels.
Tuition for foreign nationals is 3 Lakh rupees or approx $3700 USD. They also have scholarships, but not sure if they are for internationals or not.
Only downside is that you’ll have to take an entrance exam (JEE), which is one of the most rigorous in the world.
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We did not have any experience with need based aid in Canada. The merit based aid that we did see was way short of covering the full cost of attendance (but was appreciated).
However, my understanding is that financial aid that covers the full cost of attending university is very rare in Canada. The only scholarship for international students on this level that I know of is the Lester B Pearson award at the University of Toronto. However, this is very competitive and there are only a tiny handful of scholarships handed out.
There is some merit based financial aid available, even to international students. I have heard that Memorial University of Newfoundland tends to be relatively affordable. It might be worth looking at. However, I would be very surprised if the cost were as low as $5k/year in US dollars. Several times that seems more likely. Miscellaneous expenses such as a laptop, flights, health insurance, and books might exceed this amount even without considering tuition or room and board.
I also would not expect a student to be able to get a visa to study in Canada unless they can show that they can afford to pay to full cost.
Admissions in Canada does depend a great deal on grades. Letters of reference will also be needed. Whether a student needs test scores appears to depend upon where the student comes from and which universities a student applies to. There are some very good test optional universities in Canada. Some of the better universities in Canada will not even ask about extracurricular activities.
Canada does have a consistently good university system. You could skip the top 3 or 4 or even the top 20 and you are still looking at very good universities.
In my mind the big problem here is financial.
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Where will these loans come from? You won’t be able to take loans out in the U.S. or Canada unless you have a qualified citizen of the specific country who can cosign for you. Who would that be?