I consider myself to be a decently competitive applicant. Grades are good, not superior, extra-curriculars involves a lot of entrepreneurship and involvement in startups, course load was decent but not extreme.
As you can tell by my username my aim school is Stanford. I love the entrepreneurial environment and community there, however, it is extremely difficult to get into.
My goal is to study in America, I need to be in America (don’t ask why - just trust me).
What are some good schools with provide international FA? Aside from the obvious Ivies.
Also despite being entrepreneurial and involved in startups, my future is going to be in fashion PR, so I will need to be in a city where there are lots of jobs and internships in fashion - this is crucial.
How much can you pay per year? If you can pay the lion’s share of the cost, you might be able to find some merit aid to cover the gap, depending on your stats. On the other hand, if you need a trolley full of money, with “good” grades, your prospects look more bleak because the few schools that meet need for internationals are some of the most selective.
Where are you from? If the school in question doesn’t have a student from your nation, it can work in your favor in terms of diversity stats.
I’m from Australia. I can pay up to $20,000AUD.
So about $15K USD. You need a satchel full. A full-tuition award, if not full-ride. Or scores/profile competitive for the schools that meet full need for internationals. What are your stats/scores?
Well, Stanford isn’t in a city with “lots of jobs and internships in fashion.” San Francisco isn’t far away, but I don’t think its fashion scene is terribly big or important.
Los Angeles is probably closer to what you’d want, but the obvious location would be NYC.
To answer your question, aside the Ivies, there are schools that offer international FA, but you have to cast a wide net when applying - and getting in with sufficient FA is often largely a matter of luck.
Your bigger problem is that you want not only FA, but also a metropolitan area that has lots of fashion-related opportunities. If that’s a crucial consideration, your options will be dramatically limited. You may have to decide what’s more important: an American education or access to fashion opportunities. You may not be able to have both.
You’d need a school in NYC - research merit awards (conditions for full tuition scholarships or full rides) at FIT, Fordham Lincoln Center, Marist, Suny Oneonta-FIT, perhaps Baruch (?) and Pace (?).
I agre with katliamom, places with lots of fashion opportunities are also likely to be the most costly, so you may have to choose between your need to be in the US and your need to study in Fashion PR.
What other major could you consider?
Have you taken the SAT/ACT yet? Any score?
I can’t remember my SAT score exactly as I took it last year and I was going through a rough patch. It was between a 2250-2350. I’m retaking it and doing the new SAT this December. I haven’t done the SAT IIs yet though!
Also my only choice is to go to America as I’m from a small city in Australia where there are virtually no opportunities. After highschool you only study in your home city, rarely do you move states and if you do, this will cost equivalent to an Ivy American college education.
For international students, only 5 institutions are need-blind in admissions and claim to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. They are: Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT. and Amherst. These are all super selective.
Another ~40 schools (including Stanford) are need-aware in admissions for international students, but still tend to offer generous aid to those students they do admit. Most of these schools also are very selective. One of them is Columbia (an Ivy League school in NYC), which might be a better choice than Stanford if you want internship opportunities in the fashion industry. If you are female, you also could apply to Barnard (a women’s college that is part of Columbia University, but which is a bit less selective than Columbia College.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Need-blind_admission#U.S._institutions_that_are_need-blind_and_meet_full_demonstrated_need_for_both_U.S._and_international_students
Note that many schools likely to have the best need-based aid for internationals are small liberal arts colleges. In the Northeast, these include Bryn Mawr (women only), Skidmore, and Wesleyan,
Many state universities do not offer need-based financial aid to international students. Some do, but if you can only afford ~$15K USD (total, all 4 years?), then you may not be able to afford any state universities unless you find one that offers very generous merit aid even to international students. I believe the University of Alabama offers full tuition merit scholarships to internationals … but then you’d still need to cover ~$10K-$15K/year for room, board, and other expenses.
You can check on aid policies and average amounts granted in each school’s Common Data Set, section H.
$15k USD per year.
I want to go to a large co-ed school and have the typical college experience. I realise I may not be able to get that in New York. Essentially, if I get accepted into an American school, there are two pathways I can take.
- Entrepreneurship - that is either a) creating my own startup b) joining a startup (this is likely if I am in California)
- Fashion - likely if I’m in New York of Los Angeles.
So essentially any colleges in New York or California. Someone told me that Texas is good for entrepreneurs? As an international we view Texas as a city with ‘hillbillies’ and ‘countryside’ - no opportunity. I realise that this view is biased since we only hear of NYC and LA.
Could someone please assist me in finding suitable colleges in cities other than NYC or LA?
I really appreciate everyones help on this forum. Thank you.
Have a look at the University of Southern California.
Texas has a booming economy. Austin should appeal to you.
The issue is that you need full tuition scholarships. Neither California nor NYC have any incentive in providing those.
Have you looked at the colleges listed so far ?
Yes I have. These are the colleges I’m interested in. They are competitive colleges and are unlikely to offer a lot of FA. Applying for FA will decrease my chances.
Stanford
Harvard
UPenn
NYU
USC
UCLA
Yale
Princeton
Columbia
Pomoa
UMiami
FIT
University of Texas - Austin
UMichigan
UChicago
rice university
I’m reluctant to study at FIT because I heard that its an awful college environment - it’s very ‘movie’ like and it’s not really like a normal college. Also, I’m going to major in Communications and at FIT this will of course have an emphasis on fashion, however, I need to keep my options open in case I want to pursue something else.
Most of the colleges above have basically no relationship to what you say you’re interested in.
Also, why aren’t you interested in marist or Oneonta ?
A lot of the liberal arts colleges offer need-blind FA.
Because I need good schools. I already said that I need to keep my options open. I’m a driven entrepreneur and I’m smart so I need to be in a good school where I am intellectually challenged. I don’t intend on pursuing a degree in fashion - I’m doing communications. iI just need to get internships
You’re going about this all wrong.
You listed all the usual big-name schools that every international student applies to. Your odds of getting into any of them with enough FA is very, very small.
If you’re serious about studying in the US you need to be smart in your application strategy. There are more than 4,000 colleges and universities in the US… and there are far more “good” ones than you listed! So you first need to EDUCATE yourself about the US and its schools. Texas may sound like a place with hillbillies to you - but the University of Texas is a world-class research university.
If you want a realistic chance of getting into an American university, with the financial aid you will need, you need to apply to a large variety of schools, including ones that aren’t on the radar for the most competitive international students.
Look in areas other than NY or CA, ares such as the American south (Alabama gives automatic scholarships to qualified international students) and mid-west (lots of LACs and Catholic schools to consider.) Are you female? Then consider single-sex schools. They can be generous and they are very, very respected.
Remember, you will be competing against some of the best students in the world for a shot at these schools. Specifically, your competition will be the best students in Australia. How do you compare academically and in terms of ECs. You talk a big game, but how do you stack up, on paper, against the best in Australia?
LACs (Liberal Arts Colleges) can be as elite as elite research universities. They’re a specific group of colleges.
What’s your projected ATAR?