<p>I am an international student applying for aid to US colleges. I wanted to know, what all should I look at while considering colleges? The campus, the courses, the ranking of the college in general or for a specific course, the teacher-student ratio, the acceptance rates and the aid they give. Anything else? Because my brother is saying something and my college mentor is saying something completely different. Whom do I trust?
Are the college rankings really important?
Please reply fast as i am already late in the application process.
Thanks.</p>
<p>“I am an international student applying for aid to US colleges.”</p>
<p>How much aid do you need? That is the critical question. </p>
<p>If the place cannot be made affordable, nothing else matters.</p>
<p>If you will not require financial aid, then you have thousands of four-year colleges to choose from. If you require aid, your choices will be quite limited. You will not qualify for in-state tuitions at any public colleges, and you are ineligible for government-subsidized loans. Only a tiny handful of colleges guarantee to meet financial need for international students, and they are - as you might guess - the most difficult to get into. Do not, under any circumstances, base your decisions on the superficial “rankings” you see published. Your criteria must include: realistic match with your grades, curricular rigor, and test scores; affordability; availability of classes in your desired field(s) of study; geographic desirability (both in terms of general region, and urban vs. suburban vs. local setting); size; other interests (e.g. access to cultural or other areas of interest; social scene and night-life; athletic prominence, etc.). </p>
<p>Thank you so much @woogzmama.
@happymomof1, I would say around 60%aid.
I am already looking at Dartmouth. So yeah, I would say my scores are alright.</p>
<p>60% aid is one thing at one university, and another thing entirely at another. How much can you afford to pay? Start with that figure in USD.</p>
<p>Is your brother currently studying in the US? If not, has he studied here as an undergraduate within the past five years? College admissions has changed quite a bit over the years, and his information might not be up-to-date. The same thing with your college mentor. If that person has helped a lot of students with grades and test scores like you from your high school (or at least from high schools like yours in your country), then that person probably has a good notion of where you might be admitted with the aid you need.</p>
<p>If you decide that both of them are clueless, get in touch with the counselors at the closest advising center of EducationUSA. They should have useful ideas for you: <a href=“https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php”>https://www.educationusa.info/centers.php</a></p>
<p>Lastly, remember that you do not have to try to get this whole thing done right now. There is nothing wrong with taking a Gap Year while you research your options.</p>
<p>Start with the money. Do you mean you need aid to pay for 60% of your costs? The first thing you should do is to use a net price calculator to determine how much need-based aid you might receive. Start with Dartmouth’s since you’re already interested and they are generous. If Dartmouth’s estimated family contribution works for your family, then, good, there’s one. After that you can check the NPCs of the other schools that guarantee to meet full need for internationals. </p>
<p>These six schools (Amherst, Dartmouth, Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Yale) are a good base – if you have the grades and scores to be in their range. They are highly selective – for everyone – so you have to expand your list.</p>
<p>Many schools give need-based financial aid to internationals. You have to try the NPCs one by one. This will give you the maximum amount that you will receive. You may, in actuality, get considerably less, or the aid package may include loans and work study.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if most EFCs don’t work for you, then you’ll have to research merit aid. Colleges that give merit aid are often different from need-only colleges. Merit aid for internationals is unpredictable, so you have to cast a wide net. Look at colleges in rural locations and in the Midwest and South which have fewer international applicant. Also consider moving a notch down academically.</p>
<p>After you fully understanding your likelihood of funding, you should look at other factors such as size (small, medium, large), location (urban, suburban, rural), personality (sporty, Greek, activist, art-y etc) and of course prospective major. Be aware, however, if you don’t qualify for need-based aid, you may have to make some trade-offs on your wish list in order to get merit aid.</p>
<p>I understand that prestige is important for internationals who want their alma maters to be recognized in their home countries; however, many of the best known colleges and universities do not give merit aid, period. So unless you’re in the need-based aid ballpark, name recognition may be the first criterion to go.</p>
<p>Give us more background on your family’s financial situation, your grades/scores, your extracurriculars/interests/talents, and any helpful diversity factors like race, religion, ethnicity. Then we can come up with some suggestions.</p>
Thanks a lot @momrath and @happymomof1 . Your suggestions make sense, though I am looking at them a bit too late, as I await the decision results. However, I am satisfied with my college shortlist, and though I did compromise a bit, academically, in order to get good aid options, it was not too bad. I did apply to quite a few ‘good’ colleges too.
Look at SIUC. If you have nice grades and SATs scores, theyll consider you immediately for the High Achievers Tuition rate, meaning you will pay only in state tuition. Then also you can apply for scholarships after. 