Agreed!
I did, I think I might apply there ED2, but I prefer applying to multiple colleges EA instead of the yale SCEA, just need to get a decent list to apply to EA
You have a few issues to consider. I would suggest the following.
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Make sure you have a sure thing for admission in your home country. This will likely be affordable, right?
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Understand that admissions for you will be done alongside of others from your region. You havenāt told us where you are living but there are regions in this world where tons of extremely well qualified folks apply to US colleges for admission. If you live in one of these regions, admission will be even more competitive.
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The schools that meet full need for all accepted international students and are need blind for admissions are extremely competitive with very very low acceptance ratesā¦and even lower for international students. Please keep this is mind.
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None of the top schools would be considered a sure thing for any applicantā¦international or not. Please remember that also.
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Iām pretty unclear about your actual student strength. Are you in the top 1% at your school? How about in your country? Where exactly do you think you stand? The higher up, the better your chancesā¦but againā¦even with perfect stats there are no guarantees at the schools you sound like you want to target.
You are asking some college here in this country to fund your college education to the tune of about $80,000 a year.
I would ask alsoā¦what do you plan to do when you graduate from a U.S. collegeā¦if you do get accepted. You will get a student visa to study here, but once you graduate, you will most likely be expected to return to your home country. There are some employers here who can hire youā¦but I believe there is a limited duration even for that @MYOS1634 can explain that.
Soā¦have a plan for what you will do in the event that you are required to return to your native countryā¦because this could happen after you get a degree.
And lastlyā¦you can apply EA (not SCEA or REA) and rolling admissions, and regular admissions to as many schools as you can afford to apply to. There is an application cost to consider. Also many of these colleges require the Profile as you already know, and there is a cost to submit that too. I donāt believe there are cost waivers for international students for the Profile. And applicationsā¦.you probably need to check with each college. The cost of applying isnātā¦free.
I do have a sort of guaranteed admission in many universities in my home country yes, but the hope is that I donāt have to resort to that plan, but yea there is a backup
and no, I live in Egypt, and my area has like no one applying to any US colleges, Iād say 1 in every 2000 students even consider applying internationally from my area, usually in Egypt GPA is the only thing that matters for colleges, so GPA is the main factor in Egypt, hence itād be impossible for me to rank first and also do all of the other stuff, but Iāll give it my best shot, although I am currently ranking in around the top 1% of my class, in my country there is no āārankingāā except for the 12th grade, so I canāt answer that
I understand, I donāt take anything for granted, and in fact I plan on applying to manyā¦ regular schools, such as Colby, HarverFort, Wesleyan, Lafayette, Colgate, URoch, Washington Uni, UBC (canadian), Randolph, most of them are hard but some of which arenāt
my plan for after graduation is to get a Masters degree, and hopefully afterwards Iāll have a plan to get citizenship and find work
and if Iām forced to return, Iām sure Iāll be capable of finding work there with the degree earned, and if not itās still better than any Egyptian degree so thatās not an issue, I plan on getting the application fees waivered, but I do have the money to apply to around 15 colleges
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And I realize that even that most of them donāt have crazy acceptance rates, and have a good shot of getting in with my stats, I have a worse shot than many of the need blind (TOP universities) simply because of my need of financial aid, Itās just I believe itās worth trying with all that stacked against me
As for where I think I stand in my country, there are many education systems for highschool in Egypt, but in my own opinion, I believe my gpa isnāt in the top 1% (due to the fact that as I said, in Egypt only GPA matters) but my application as a whole is definitely in the top 1%, probably higher especially if I get the act score Iām looking for
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@Dolaring you canāt get accepted if you donāt applyā¦so apply. But Iām glad to hear you have an in country option.
Hoping others have some suggestions of some slightly less competitive schools for admission where you have a chance of acceptance and sufficient aid to attend.
Thank you so much! this is my current College list btw, MIT
Princeton
Dartmouth
Bowdoin
Colby
Harverfort
Union College
URoch
SkidMore
Pomona College
Williams College
Washington Univeristy in st. louis
LeHigh
Colgate
Lafayette
NorthWestern
Washington and lee
MiddleBury
Wesleyan
UBC (canadian)
Dartmouth
Drexel Uni
Furman uni
Randalph college
Cornell uni
I checked most of them, they seem to all offer financial aid (if not then good scholarships) but if you know any of which that arenāt good or perhaps Iāve mistakenly added one that doesnāt, I also forgot to mention that I applied to the YYGS Summer program at Yale, not sure if itāll help if I get accepted, but yeah, and Iāll post another thread to Chance/Match me once I have my act scores next month! Thanks again
I think you need to look at each college website.
For exampleā¦here is what Lehigh says:
Does Lehigh meet full financial need for non-US citizens? Lehigh University provides needābased financial assistance to a limited number of admitted non-US citizens who have applied for financial aid and who have demonstrated financial need.
āLimited Numberā
Then againā¦you could be one of the limited number who receive that aid. Itās not clear that they meet full need, however.
Due to your familyās income you wonāt have to pay for an application fee through commonapp but if you apply to public universities for their merit aid (like UT Dallas/McDermott) you would have to pay for your application.
CSS Profile will have a fee but you can request a fee waiver from the need-aware/meet need universities. (they may or may not agree to give you a code.)
Your odds are probably about the same at Yale and at MIT and since you like MIT better, apply EA to MIT.
Apply to as many āfull rideā merit programs and colleges with EA or Rolling admissions. (In fact, if youāre top 10% in your school you likely have a 4+ GPA and if you get a 36 you would have a shot at lots of scholarships, but not would be full rides. Look into possibilities at UAkron, UCincinnati, UYoungstown, UCleveland, Minnesota State universities - not UMN-ā¦)
If you donāt get into MIT EA, apply ED2 to Bowdoin, Physics&DCS Coordinate major.
After a STEM degree you can have an OPT, ie., a permit to work in a job related to your studies, for 2 1/2 years. After that, either you managed to find a job or to get into a Masterās or PHD program.
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Why would you advise to apply to full ride merit programs EA and then also advise to apply ED2 to Bowdoin if he doesnāt get into MIT EA? That doesnāt make any sense. If he then gets in ED2 at Bowdoin, he canāt take advantage of any of the full ride merit offers.
because Bowdoin meets full need, covering not just tuition, room, and board, but also helps with work study + cost of books and warm clothes - theirs is a full ride+, much better than a typical merit full ride.
In addition, the criteria arenāt the same: the full ride merit scholarships at places such as UAkron or UAH or UT McDermott emphasize test scores+GPA heavily , whereas top colleges look at a combination of factors and institutional need (hence my suggestion to apply to the Bowdoin Physics program after seeing the data). As a result, merit scholarships tend to use different criteria than āfull needā colleges, so the student would be maximizing his/her odds.
Berea is a bit in-between these 2 types of āfull ridesā - students work for their room&board but still get paid, and because most students are middle to low income there arenāt as many glaring income discrepancies as at places like MIT, Yale, or Bowdoin. So the full rides are in part from guaranteed earned income.
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These are all very different colleges with different vibes. Some are rural, some urban or suburban. Some are very large and some are very small. Some have actual college campuses and some donāt. Itās not that they arenāt good, itās that each campus attracts a different kind off student. What you may like in a school, might not be where you end up.
My point is that some wont match your personality, and youāll be selecting a school according to whether you get full funding, and not necessarily, what will fit you and your needs best.
Weāve had some international students, return to this site, asking about transferring out of a school that has funded them, because the school doesnāt āfitā. They are unhappy with the school, program, location, vibe, and weather, etc. They are then shocked that transfers get very limited funding, at most schools, and that they will need to pay full fees to go to another school. Every school is very different. No two are alike.
Getting a masters degree, wont guarantee youāre gaining citizenship in this country. There is a decades long list of people waiting to get a green card or citizenship. Also, a Masters degree will be on your expense.
Many companies, in engineering, have contracts with the federal government. The Feds often require US security clearances for their contracts. (Our son had to prove his citizenship by bringing in his US Passport. His position didnāt require a federal clearance.)
If you are not a citizen, your chances are not good because employers are required to fill any open positions with US candidates first. Sponsorship is a hassle and cost time and money.
Before you invest further time and money, in trying to eventually immigrate, do some research and see if you will qualify to be employed as a non-citizen.
Ok, I guess that plan could work, as long as āmeets full needā is fully understood. What Bowdoin considers full need might be different than what OP can realistically pay.
For anyone considering ED or ED2 at ANY school, the NPC needs to be a primary data point. I hear of too many families who thought their financial package would be much higher than they actually receive. Then they need to scramble to find a more affordable school.
For families with income 35K/year and under, colleges like MIT, HYP, Bowdoin, and Amherst will be the best offer imaginable. If they want the student, they really make it happen and they have deep pockets; the issue is getting in - itās likely Bowdoin will only admit ONE Egyptian student, for instance, and thereās no way of knowing whether thatāll be OP, or if that year theyāll take 2 but zero from a nearby countryā¦
They apply this philosophy to Questbridge applicants, too (these colleges not only offer a 4-year guaranteed full ride+, they also cover flights to campus and home for them).
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Iām going to sayā¦Bowdoin has very generous need based aid policies. They arenāt cheap in any wayā¦and as noted include some extras that others donāt.
If this student is truly very low incomeā¦and I mean very lowā¦Bowdoin could be very affordable.
But you never know until you apply and get an actual award from the college.
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I never considered that a school might not āāmatch meāā so thanks, Iāll double check all colleges and gather all of the info I can about them, you make a very good point, as for citizenship, I believe there is a way besides I have relatives living in the US, I canāt really research whether Iād be employed as a non citizen cause, simply put, thatās a problem for another day, even if Iām forced to return, the education and degree there is much better than universities in Egypt, so regardless of whether I find a way to stay, itās worth it.
Yeah that sounds like the best plan I can do, thanks so much, Iāll apply to MIT and Princeton a bunch of full ride merit scholarships/ colleges offering financial aid, will look into the colleges you mentioned, again thanks so much!
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if theyāll only take one perhaps I should apply ED1, Iāll have to look into it more and choose between applying ED2 or ED1, but the program sounds extremely good, especially considering that it takes care of other things which is really quite important, Itāll be a difficult decision, but Bowdoin seems like the perfect mix between chance, what I want, affordability so perhaps applying to it ED1 is the smartest move, does the program you referred to earlier have itās own portal? or just a regular application through the common app?
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Could you live with your relatives in the US and commute to a school nearby? That could save you a lot of money and if itās a school that offers merit for tuition you could have another option to attend school in the US. Any ABET certified engineering program will be solid training.
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