What are my chances for US universities? International Student

Unfortunately not

I just looked it up, I can apply ED1 in Bowdoin and also apply EA but withdraw in case of acceptance

@Dolaring if you apply ED1 to Bowdoin, you can apply EA, or regular decision to any number of other colleges.

BUT if you get accepted ED, you will be given a very short window to accept or decline the admissions offer. Make sure your financial aid application materials are also submitted on time. In that short window, you will need to decide yes or no.

Here is the rubā€¦if you accept Bowdoin you are required to withdraw all other applications and acceptances. You will never know if the net price at those other schools is a lower one.

I know you are trying to maximize your chances of acceptance, but I think you need to balance that with affordability.

Bowdoin does meet full needā€¦and is not need aware.

Even soā€¦meets full need colleges can have net costs that vary by many thousands of dollars because each college uses their own formula.

1 Like

I see, well Iā€™ll probably apply to many schools EA, Bowdoin ED1 and if accepted, Iā€™ll probably accept bowdoin and withdraw all other applications, I believe this is my best shot, everything considered

There is no ā€œprobably acceptā€. If you are apply ED itā€™s a binding commitment unless they donā€™t meet the anticipated need, and you are required to withdraw all other applications.

3 Likes

I see, well then Iā€™ll have to make sure the Physics/Engineering double major is what Iā€™d like to pursue before applying, but so far it does seem like the best option available

Yes! Continue to gather information now and really do a deep dive into these schools. ED shouldnā€™t be used unless you are absolutely sure the school is right for you on every level, not just financially.

2 Likes

Bowdoin does not have a physics/engineering major. @homerdog do you have any insights?

They do have 3-2 and 4-2 partnership programs but those likely donā€™t make sense for an international student with high financial need (the 2 schools donā€™t all guarantee to meet need for these students, and if they do itā€™s often in a far less generous way than Bowdoin).

there is the 3-2 and 4-2 which arenā€™t great for financial aid, but thereā€™s also the Dartmouth Twelve college exchange program, which is excellent for financial aid

I encourage you to speak with someone at Bowdoin and Dartmouth about that program. Not many students do these programs, for many reasons, including the fact students donā€™t want to leave their friends junior and/or senior year.

If you want to get an engineering degree go where you can do that in 4 years. There is little reason (and a large opportunity cost) to spend 5 years in school to qualify for the same jobs as students with 4 year degrees.

1 Like

Bowdoin has very few students choose to do the Dartmouth engineering program. Zero to one each year. Our son is a physics major there and doesnā€™t know anyone doing that program. Your preferred majors are engineering. I would not go to a school that doesnā€™t have an undergrad engineering major. I didnā€™t read through this whole thread carefully but I think you mentioned grad school. Yes, you could get a CS or Physics degree for undergrad and then get a masters in engineering somewhere but, if your interests lie in engineering, I donā€™t see why you would do that.

Physics majors and engineering majors actually take pretty different courses. Almost all of our sonā€™s physics classes are very theoretical. He doesnā€™t build anything. His friends at other schools who are engineers are focused on how to apply physics and math concepts. I urge you to check out the classes at each of the schools youā€™re considering to see if it makes sense to you to major in something other than engineering for undergrad.

4 Likes

Yeah Iā€™m currently researching trying to figure whether itā€™d be worth it, Iā€™m less interested in a physics degree than Iā€™m in an engineering degree, I feel like Iā€™d be much happier with a aerospace/electrical/mechanical engineering degree on its own, so thatā€™s the main thing Iā€™m trying to figure out right now

I would really want you to take this into the equation as this will be your cost & benefit consideration. Will you be able to recoup the costs of going to the US if you end up having to go back?

Also, the harsh reality is getting an H1 is difficult and it requires a stroke of luck. And weā€™re not talking about green card yet. Without getting that H1, unless you have a RICH family member who want to sponsor you for green card, you will have to go through the asylum route or employment route to get the citizenship.

This is an example of how difficult it is to find a job as an international student.

" If you cannot find a job within 90 days of the start of your OPT, then you must make plans to depart the US immediately or change to some other status in the US . Keep in mind that the 90 days of unemployment is for the entire OPT period."

=If%20you%20cannot%20find%20a,for%20the%20entire%20OPT%20period.

2 Likes

Thanks! itā€™s still a while before applying so I have time to figure out exactly what Iā€™ll do, Bowdoin just has very good chances and is need based which is why Iā€™m even considering it, but I might still not even apply, perhaps I can apply in RD simply because Iā€™m just not that interested in doing Physics

1 Like

I wouldnā€™t apply to any school where they donā€™t have the major you want.

7 Likes

I understand, the good thing is you do have time to do research and also benefit from the experienced CC posters on this thread. I also wanted to mention that as an international student, if you do choose aerospace, you will not qualify for most aerospace internships in the US (where one must generally be a US citizen/perm resident for those jobs).

4 Likes

This is spot on. A lot of government contractors in defense and aerospace industries require their employees to be US Citizen (even sometimes green card holders are not qualified).

Depending on where you live and your field, having H1 would limit you to probably 20% of the job market as companies do not want to deal with the paperwork and then having to process green card application. Once you have your greencard, it opens 80% of the job market except that specific industry.

to OP: I am telling these stories not to discourage you but to make sure you have a clear picture of being an international student in the United States. I know some who ended up going back to their own countries but also some who ended up staying here.

My friend for 3 years under H1 visa, expecting that her company would sponsor visa, In year 4 they said that they didnā€™t want to sponsor her a green card. Good thing she had friends in another state who happened to know a job opening - short story, 9 years later, she is preparing her US Citizen application!

3 Likes

Oh, well Iā€™m mainly interested in aerospace because of the industries, so that does change things, as I said thereā€™s still a lot to learn, Iā€™m in the fence between Aerospace, Mechatronics (Electrical/Mechanical) but that is not really the main issue for me, besides the Citizenship situation I feel is a bit too early to even think about, I do have a general idea but it feels like itā€™s still a bit early, but thanks! Iā€™ll be looking into the aerospace industry situation and if so, Iā€™ll go for what I initially intended (Mechanical & Electrical & Comp sci)

1 Like

The Darmouth program is very well thought-out: instead of junior year abroad, the selected Physics students do an ā€œEngineering year at Dartmouthā€. They keep the exact same FA as at Bowdoin. If they manage a C in their Dartmouth Engineering classes, theyā€™re eligible for the double degree program.
Only 25 Bowdoin students are ultimately selectedā€¦ but thatā€™s more than what Bowdoin currently has in terms of majors, and probably a reason for the program (guessing some quant students switched to CS, which has grown steadily.)
The students return to Bowdoin for senior year (and if they REALLY miss their friends, Bowdoin/Dartmouth is a 4 hour drive), graduate with their Physics major, and return to Dartmouth for their 5th year, still with financial aid.
That being said, OP needs to run the NPC to see what the FA looks like. THeyā€™ll have to pretend to the NPC (@dolaring: itā€™s a simulator, it is not ā€œrealā€ nor an application) theyā€™re American and then will have to remove any federal aid (Pell, in particular).
OP: youā€™ll need to run the NPC on many colleges to see if the results sound doable for your family.
That being said it is a Physics-based program.

Op: in the US ā€œengineeringā€ is practical, applied. You build and tinker in addition to learning&manipulating mathematical/physical concepts.
In other countries, ā€œengineeringā€ can be a highly conceptual curriculum with most classes in Physics and Math.
I donā€™t know what it is in Egypt.
https://eng.ox.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/your-degree/

Note: international students ONLY get a student visa if they come to study. Any thought of work (except for on-campus work study as provided by the college), staying, immigrating, etc, means theyā€™re not eligible for a student visa. So, OP, youā€™re in the right not thinking about it at all.

OP did say they ā€˜are just not that interested in doing physicsā€™. So why major in that?

I do agree that the Dartmouth 12 college exchange program is likely to be affordable at both Bowdoin and D. Still not a fan of these programs that take 5 years to put the student in the same position job prospect wise as they would have at the end of 4 years if they had chosen a school with undergrad engineeringā€¦especially for limited income students the opportunity cost is just too great. So, I agree with those who have said go to a school that has the major you want.