@mommdc $12k is okay with my parents. We also have $40k in cash in addition.
School of Mines is the easiest application but there aren’t any guaranteed scholarships. also being OOS doesn’t help with cost as it is a public school. .
So…doing simple arithmetic…you actuall have $22,000 a year from your parents.
So why is it that University of Alabama won’t work? You calculated your net cost to be $14,000 a year, didn’t you?
Yeah University of Alabama would work. I had forgotten about the $40k in cash when considering Alabama. UW Madison might fit in there too if we stretch the budget a bit.
The answer to your question is completely different when the parameters change to $22K/year and engineering not required.
There are even colleges that cost less than $22K/year without aid.
Have you run net price calculators? It is frequently the case that parents and the colleges do not agree on what your family can afford per year.
Yep. I’ve run the net price calculators on all my top choices and they’re under $12k. My top choices are:
Dartmouth
Amherst
Williams
Harvard
Yale
Princeton
UChicago
I know all of these are reaches so I can’t count on getting into one of these. Net price calculators for state schools assume that you’re a U.S citizen and can file FAFSA, so they aren’t accurate in my case. I basically have to figure out my net cost by taking the total cost and subtracting any scholarships I would get.
You may want to review this compilation, listing most of the notable competitive scholarships that are at least full tuition. You will be competitive for many of them:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/16224918/#Comment_16224918
The problem with your list is that those are mostly great financial aid schools. You need to apply to good scholarship schools. Vandy, Duke, Rice, GTech, Tulane Univ, and UNC are at the competetive end and then UTD and UA are more at the safety level for you. Also consider Temple.
Applying to schools that only meet full need makes no sense unless the school gives aid to families in your situation. Email the financial aid offices at the schools on the list. The NPC is likely worthless for you.
@txstella I can confirm that the school I listed above do give financial aid to students in my situation. I did the research.
The net price calculators are NOT accurate for international students.
No safety schools in that list…all highly competitive. You might get accepted…and you might not. Acceptance rates for international students are in the single digits.
@thumper1 I know these are all really competitive. However, I know they do provide tons of financial aid to international students, all of these except UChicago and Williams are need blind for international students as well.
I know I might not get into any of these schools; that’s why I’m looking at schools with merit aid. The above list is basically my top choices. If accepted, I wouldn’t have to worry about finances due to their generous aid (even for international students). I know the net price calculators aren’t accurate in my case, but they meet 100% need of international students.
If I don’t get accepted, well, that’s what I’m researching right now.
It looks Miami University has a scholarship. But their website isn’t very clear on how much money is given to what kind of students. They simply state that they have a half to full tuition scholarship for ACT scores above a 32
http://miamioh.edu/admission/merit-grid/index.html
I am looking for merit aid for my son, and I agree that many of the websites are very unclear as to the size and number of awards. Checking the Common Data set for each school will tell you how much merit aid is awarded and to how many students. The meet full need schools are mostly off the table for us because our EFC is so high relative to our income. As you are finding money has become a main factor in college admissions for a lot of people.
wouldn’t matter if he did take the PSAT, he’s an int’l… he can’t be a NMF.
I bet those “ton” of UW awards for current students are ONE year only and for SMALL awards. It would be silly to enroll their at full price and then hope that a big award would come thru for a current student (and many probably are “off limits” for int’ls. These are typically endowed awards and the donors have determined parameters.
These types of awards are offered on many campuses. They’re small endowed awards from alums. They don’t cover full or even half tuition. They might be something like $1000 for a one time award.
Actually permanent residents who state to NMSC their intention to become U.S. Citizens are eligible for NMSF/NMF.
^^ @BobWallace
I know, but he’s not a PR. He’s here on a visa.
In my experience, the ‘tons’ of UW-Madison scholarships are as #73 surmised: specific donor parameters, small non-renewable amounts, very competitive.
I’m confused, then, because @outlooker said he was applying for Frederick Douglass Scholarship at American University which is not open to internationals.
@BobWallace I didn’t realize American University’s scholarship is only for citizens. I guess American is off the list too 
You need to pay attention to the citizenship requirement. My daughter is an engineering student and a lot of the scholarships, internships, and co-op jobs are for citizens only. Because her school has a lot of international students, the school is very good at helping the non-citizen students find opportunities, but for a lot of government jobs it is not possible.