I’ve applied Vassar ED 1 and i’ve got Wesleyan, Amherst, Carleton, bowdoin etc on my list for regular.
The only problem is that I’m an international who needs a lot of aid but still wants to go to some place he’d fit in 
which is why i applied to vassar.
Any other colleges that match the description? Liberal, politically active etc
What’s the “etc” stand for?
“etcetera”
^ I mean, what schools does it stand for?
oh, there are a few. But none of them set in stone. Like davison, lehigh, Duke, washlee and macalester.
Are the Woosters, Beloits, Earlhams, “etc” on your list, as well?
no, i have never heard of those do they give aid to internationals?
Check out their websites. We met international students at Wooster and Earlham who were very happy.
Washington and Lee is a very good school but not at all like Vassar or Wesleyan
The later two are very liberal where W&L is a more conservative southern school
Davidson also is more conservative than those two
My boys liked W&L more than the others for that reason but if you are looking for a more liberal feel then add Swarthmore to your search
Also good academics and a more liberal slant similar to Vassar and Wes
Good luck
Thank you! I didnt know Washlee was conservative. I like swarthmore and will defo apply in regular! Its just a bit needaware thats the only issue i have with it. But thanks for the input. Wooster and Earlham seem like nice schools but they have little recognition internationally, so i doubt my parents will pay a dime for me to attend. Thanks anyways. I’m a straight ‘A’ A-levels student with a 2130 SAT if that helps narrow the field.
Oberlin, Occidental, Pitzer, Bates.
@lolaandgee You are seriously overestimating your chances of getting in most these schools.
The trouble is, the most prestigious schools tend to be the most selective schools. They also tend to be the richest schools with the most money for financial aid … but that won’t help you if you cannot get in. If you have good affordable safeties in your own country, then fine, you can focus on the most selective US colleges. Otherwise, you should add a few colleges that are less selective, yet still have fairly generous aid to international students.
Possibilities:
Bates, Colorado College, Macalester
Hampshire, Occidental, Skidmore
@lolaandgee Here is the simple rule of thumb. The more selective the school is less the merit aid. But these school are rich and have money for need based aid. So If you are poor and have good grades to get into these school you will get some money if you can prove the need.
As you go down on the ranking such as Denison Univ in OH. Which is ranked like 50 in LAC gives merit aid for most of the students + need based aid.
So you need to decide on your priority and apply accordingly.
@tk21769 In which world are Bates, Colorado College and Macalester “less selective”. I would guess the chance for an international student in regular decision is no better than 1 in 10 in this case.
I would add Grinnell to your list if you are very academically competitive. 13% of the students are international, and Grinnell is one of the only top 20 LACs that provides merit as well as generous financial aid. How good do you have to be? Take a look at the common data set and assume you need to be in the top 25%ile academically:
http://web.grinnell.edu/institutionalresearch/webdocs/GC_CDS_1314.pdf
You can google the common data set for all the schools on your list, scroll down to Section C and compare your stats to those of the admitted students. Again, if you are looking for a lot of financial aid, you will need to be in the top 25% of admitted students academically.
I also suggest Grinnell because they, and some of the other midwestern LACs, consider Asians as URMs - not true for the coastal LACs. So if you are Asian, you get a boost. If you are male, it also helps because men tend to be underrepresented in the applicant pool since LACs don’t usually offer engineering or business majors (they do offer comp sci and economics.)
LACs are not well know abroad because they have no graduate schools. Most internationals have therefore not heard much about them. That doesn’t mean they are not well known and highly respected in the US. But if you are returning to your home country afterwards, it is something to keep in mind. An international friend of ours with a full ride at Amherst who did a year-long study abroad at the London School of Economics, was consistently introduced by her boss at a major consulting firm based in India as a grad of LSE even though she repeatedly told him she was an Amherst grad. He just decided it wasn’t sufficiently impressive even though in the US, Amherst is every bit as impressive as LSE (and more so in some places.)
@N’s Mom , yeah. I get what you’re saying. I looked up Grinnell and they took a few kids from our school last year, all with much lower stats than me, but didnt give any of them near full aid.
Thanks for the input about LAC’s and Amherst is amazing. I wouldnt give a flying crap if no one knew about it. Amherst is more well known than most liberal arts colleges so thats a good thing.
@TurnerT Well, people asking for more aid than me and with worse grades and essays have gotten into multiple ivy’s from my school so i wouldnt say im overestimating things. I know admissions arent sure shot, but thats pretty rude of you to say. My gpa and SAT score put me in/well above the 50th percentile for most top tier colleges and my essays arent terrible. My counsellor even thought i was a good candidate for dartmouth and washu but i thought vassar would be a better option for ED.
Anyways, @tk21769 , thanks for the list! and @circuitrider ! I’ll look into them. Oberlin? defo. Macalester is also pretty great, my cousin got in with a 1960 and B’s in his a levels on full aid so i think i have a decent shot. Then again, a friend with A’s and a 2280 got rejected.
Yale, Harvard and Princeton are need blind but i dont think I’ll apply. Except maybe Yale since i want a TRULY ‘reach’ school.
@lolaandgee If Vasser does not work, let’s hope it does, will your strategy change?
Probably not. I’m being urged by my principal and admin to aim even higher for bowdoin etc. I’ll keep the reach colleges to a minimum though and focus more on the match ones (4-5 max reach colleges). Match ones will be ones which are the least need aware and whose 50th percentile stats are similar to mine. These include Washlee, Davidson and Wesleyan.
I’m on a similar boat, @lolaandgee . “international”, some decent stats, looking to get into some LACs with a lot of financial aid. As most posters stated, the chances are highly against that, I can’t stress that enough. Be liberal with your safeties, I know I’ll be.
My choices include Vassar(usually 35-45 internationals with aid accepted each year.), Reed(approx. 25), Bates(a user told me that they’re looking for internationals so… Hi.), Hamilton(good financial aid, pretty hard to get into.).
Grinnell is fantastic for aid. Huge endowment for a rural school in the middle of Iowa. Macalester boasts a nice international community as you know. Occidental is one of my choices but I’m a bit iffy. They meet full need for internationals, but do you know how many got accepted last year?
- Four. Not too appealing. Sure, it has a high acceptance rate, but don't count on it.
Use your ED wisely and may the luck be with you.