I’m so confused by your financial statements. Do you HAVE this money at the ready now to cover your out of pocket college costs? How will you fund your living expenses the first year or two which will be before you do any co-op terms?
You should directly email universities you are interested in applying to.
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That’s true, but I brushed it off cause it’s gonna be a while until I’m back in Dubai, so using it as a means to get information isn’t gonna be that feasible. I will consider it once I’m there tho.
I’m not looking for magical answers, it’s quite simple in my head actually. Right now all what I have is relatively excellent grades, which can only guarantee admission, and nothing more, maybe a 10% scholarship. If I can add a few things to my arsenal, like an olympiad win or high placement, create some sort of impressive project, participate in a stem challenge and place high, etc, I can definitely make myself look more desirable and impressive and up my chances for getting the aid I’m looking for.
I really don’t see where I’m lacking in social etiquette, I’m always thanking the people who give me answers or give an effort to, but I agree that I might have looked somewhat overconfident, which I mentioned is due to slight desperation. Thanks for throwing it all out there, it makes a bit more sense now.
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I see now that it looks hopeless to go to Canada, unless I manage to make 100k+ USD in these 6 months lol. I’m glad I came here and got the answers I needed. I’ll head for Germany where the financial situation is much more pleasant, or find another country to my preference where I have better chances at getting a big or a full scholarship.
Thanks man, I appreciate your help. I was barking up the wrong tree lol.
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That sounds realistic, but I don’t know how I can go about it. It looks simple and probably is, but I don’t know where to start or if I’m even eligible for it.
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Once more….you have nothing that will GUARANTEE admissions.
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Can we all agree that the OP does have the stats to guarantee admissions to certain universities. The challenge is that OP is not guaranteed admission to any university in the US/Canada that will offer a full ride. Horse is dead; let’s stop beating it.
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This is true. My son did a gap year program last year in Canada that qualified as a “school” for visa purposes. We had to provide extensive documentation that we could afford the tuition in order for him to get his visa. I was, in fact, somewhat surprised by how rigorous that process was (think letters from your parents’ employers verifying salary, bank statements, etc.).
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Again…how will you pay your living expenses before you can earn some money? Co-op usually doesn’t happen until at least after first year, sometimes second. So… you will need to know how you are going to pay up front.
And anticipated earnings do not count
(Sorry thumper1 didn’t mean to reply to you and not sure how to change it.)
Best of luck checking out Germany and some of the other European countries.
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You are looking for a magical means of getting the money you need to fund your education. You aren’t getting a cut and dry answer to your question and your responses reflect your frustration.
Trying to win awards and building a resume of achievements in the next six months isn’t likely to make the kind of impact you are hoping for. This plan has a better chance of success if you give yourself more time to work, save money and try to accomplish something at the same time. Should you somehow find this full finding you seek, you will still need cash.
With your excellent grades, a compelling story (is there one?), some concrete additions to your resume, and good letters of recommendation, you might be able to get some big scholarships to a US college, but it is still incredibly competitive. This forum has dozens of posts from international students seeking what you are looking for. Everyone wants a full ride. There are very few of those.
Did you look at the list I linked earlier? Here is another: What Is a Work College? | Work Colleges
You have had very good advice here. It’s in your best interest to really listen to what’s been said.
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Thank you once again. I have taken into account everything everyone has said, and decided it’s pretty much impossible to make Canada work unless I somehow immigrate there. If what you consider “magical means” is getting enough accomplishments in these 6 months, then having an organization recognize my work and sponsor me, or the university giving me a full ride, then yeah, it’s magical means. It works in my head, but it’s much easier said than done lol.
Yes I have checked at the links you sent, and I’m not exactly interested in a work college, and the other links are kinda US based; not interested either.
I guess money really is a bigger issue than I thought then. My only options are having an organization sponsor me if I manage to achieve something big enough, immigrating to Canada first, going to a country where education is almost free or very cheap, or going to a local university (not really an option, cough Syria).
Also I kinda disagree with you on the first statement. I’m always taking feedback, giving my thoughts, asking further questions and giving ideas. I see I may have had some overconfidence, but not frustration, I took every answer clean to the heart and responded with thought. Maybe it’s just my argumentative nature that made it seem that way? (I’m extremely argumentative lol)
You’re the mvp here dude, I’m very grateful you stuck around with this to the end, and didn’t just ditch me thinking “ugh leave this kid, he has no idea what he’s talking about and is full of himself”
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This doesn’t have to be the end. You can probably find a way to go to college. I don’t know if trying to get achievements and awards in the next six months is that realistic though. It certainly doesn’t hurt to try.
There must be some way to get involved in things outside of your home. Surely there are volunteer opportunities where you live? There are ways to volunteer online, not sure what your skills are, but have a look at this: Online Volunteering Opportunities – Points of Light
Don’t disregard volunteering and work, by the way. Those things can add to your résumé, even if you don’t see it now. Sometimes job offers can come from volunteering. I myself was offered a job due to volunteering. You appear to have given up the idea of college in the US, but most colleges like seeing work and volunteer experience.
There is a path for you, but it might be steep. Good luck.
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It’s not the end, it’s just a change of plans. I’m gonna work for these achievements regardless, and they do include volunteering. I checked out the link you sent, and I never thought online volunteering is held in as high regard as what’s considered conventional volunteering, so this is very interesting. Of course, while I work on these achievements, I shall also find some work to do… maybe I can display my talents there, and who knows where it takes me, after all I’ve never worked before lol. 6 months is a lot of time for me, so I hope I can find some sort of “magical” breakthrough after some discipline in that regard.
Thanks again :]
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It’s all about the effort you put into it. I worked with a student who attended HYP. He did an online archive volunteer position. He really loved it and was very invested in it. The crazy thing was that initially, he wasn’t even planning to list it on his application. He was unsure if it would be considered “legitimate” because it was online.
I guess it is possible that online volunteering might not be highly regarded by some colleges, but anything done with interest and dedication is going to be apparent. In this time of covid, people have learned to be creative. If your opportunities to be involved in things outside your home are very limited, doing anything is better than doing nothing, regardless of college applications or not.
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For my own knowledge (wasn’t clear from the website): can foreign citizens on student visas participate in these work programs?
Just adding my two cents that money is often a limiting factor for students going to college, even those here in the US.
Reading through this thread I see you as an intelligent future student, so I wish you all the best in figuring out how to make it work. Give yourself another year or two to work out the finances if necessary vs trying to “be there” in six months, but in the meantime, check various avenues that are out there - like asking your friends who made suggestions or various admissions offices what you can do with your background.
Definitely. Berea is a popular choice for foreign students. There are quite a few posts here from International students looking to study there. You do have to meet certain financial criteria, though (demonstrated need). Long thread from last year about international students at Berea.
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Thanks man, that lifted me up after facing that reality check lol.
I think the better course of action would just be to scrap Canada and just go somewhere where it’s super cheap, like Germany. I’d benefit more from gaining merit there rather than stalling for a year or two. I think my high school life was just thrown away cuz of finances and covid, along with tens of potential things I coulda done, and the connections I could’ve made with teachers and stuff, which would’ve definitely helped tons in this search for uni.
So I’ll just bite down on the cloth and move forward. It sucks, but the top priority right now is to just get involved in the uni community asap, and that’s the only way I can really know where I stand, and make progress as fast as possible.
There are a number of obstacles, and I think it is best to hit them head on.
- The OP is not extraordinarily competitive by US standards. A home GPA, no SAT/ACT, no ECs, no recommendations. He does have A-levels, but 44% of A-level grades are A or A*. I think this isn’t in dispute; I mention it for completeness.
2, The OP needs a full ride. $5000 won’t cover expenses for four years, much less tuition. This is going to be very, very tough. This influences what countries are most likely: EU university fees are much lower, but so is the available scholarship money.
Selection of country is critical: the US and India, for example, look at very different things. Building up an application to look good in one place is unlikely to help you in another. (This is also why I don’t recommend EC’s as “application padding” - this won’t help everywhere, and US AO’s are pretty savvy about telling what the student does just to make the application look good)
- The 800 pound gorilla. Syria. Syria has very few friends in the international community. The US considers Syria a State Sponsor of Terrorism ( a list with only 4 countries on it - and Syria has been there the longest). On lists of passport access, it is typically 3rd from the bottom: just above Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s below North Korea. It’s below Kosovo, which isn’t even recognized by dozens of countries.
I hate to say it, but if it came down to a Syrian or an equally qualified Swiss taking the last slot, the Swiss is going to get it every time.
I think the OP needs to work out a plan other than “some other person/institution/country will fund my college education with no strings attached”. (As said before “hope” and “plan” are not synonyms) That may require steps that the OP would rather not take, it may require deferring college, it may require learning another language and it may require picking a country that is not his first choice.
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