I’m from Poland and now in high school. I could only apply to four colleges - Harvard, Yale, Princeton or MIT because they offer need-blind admission and full-need financial aid to all students, including international applicants. There is the Amherst College else, but I don’t want to apply early decision. I only consider single-choice early action. Where I have the biggest chances as an international student from Poland, a white woman from a low-income family? Which of these universities admit the largest number of international applicants SCEA, especially from Poland? Which of them had the highest acceptance rate SCEA? I ask for the most recent stats (Class of 2024).
None of the above. Your chances, like the chances of every other international applicant, is about 2% assuming you have a strong application. And none of these schools release detailed data about EA admissions rates.
Choose to apply early to whichever one you feel fits your requirements best. But explore many other options in case this one does not happen.
2% is probably generous.
Harvard does tell you how many current students they have by country (right now, none from Poland)- but that doesn’t tell you anything about your odds, because 1) there is no info on how many people applied from any given country and 2) they don’t admit by country (there is no per-country quota).
All of these universities are able to simply pick the superstar applicants from a lot of star applicants from all over the world.
If you are enough of a star to be looking at universities at that level, then you have 2 additional options: apply to colleges that either give massive financial aid based on your test scores (eg University of Alabama), and look for competitive scholarships. Examples include famous ones, such as Morehead-Cain at UNC-CH & Duke, the, Duke Robertson and the Stamps Scholarships (at lots of places, including Catholic University in DC), to less well-known ones such as McDermott @ UT-Dallas, Neely @ Lewis & Clark, and Arrupe @Loyola Marymount (CA). These range from really hard to as hard to being as hard as getting into Harvard as an international student to get - but they do give you more options, and if you are a stand-out student it could happen.
Why are you restricting yourself to SCEA rather than regular decision for those schools? It doesn’t usually confer an advantage for unhooked applicants.
Would you consider yourself one of the top students in Poland?
Univesities have a higher acceptance rates in SCEA admission than RD. It is a chance to me to show that I particulary care about that one school. Additionaly, polish students apply rather RD than SCEA so it’s a lower competition.
Unfortunately, (if you’ve actually applied already) your choices were poorly researched. By restricting your applications to need-blind institutions and to a particular enrollment strategy (SCEA), you’ve, for several reasons, reduced your chances of studying in the U.S. to essentially zero. If you care to say, why wouldn’t you have been satisfied with one of the few dozen other colleges in the U.S. that meet full need for all, including international, students, and which would have expanded your range in terms of admission prospects and personal preferences?
I don’t know any other schools which offer full-need financial aid for internationals.
SCEA acceptance rates are always higher so I decide to apply that way. I haven’t already done it, but I’m going to.
I see now, you are seeking colleges to apply to for next year. Since that’s the case, you can revise and expand your list with further research.
The majority of these 75 colleges seem to meet need for all accepted students, irrespective of country of origin:. https://money.com/colleges-that-meet-full-financial-need/.
First of all, a lot of schools. GIVE full or generous rides to the most desirable international students. They just do not guarantee to meet need for ANYONE, including US students. You picked the schools that are among the most selective in the country. Had you done a lot of research, instead of just cherry picking the very very few schools that are need blind for international school and guarantee to meet full need when accepted, you would have upped your chances considerably of getting something solid.
There are over 3 thousand Colleges and universities in this country. You picked the hardest ones to gain acceptance An acceptance to Sacred Heart University or a directional college wound have given you better odds as you could have stood out in the admissions crowd. As others have mentioned, you need to be one of the very top students, not only in Poland but including like countries to stand out at these most selective schools.
What are your stats? GPA, SAT (including both section sub scores), TOEFL?
Extracurriculars? Intended major?
What can/will your family pay per year? You will need to pay for travel expenses and health insurance in most instances as well…those will cost at least $5K per year.
Besides the US where else will you apply? Are there affordable options in Poland? EU? UK?
SCEA acceptances rates are often not as high as they seem due to the inclusion of groups with relatively high acceptance rates, e.g., hooked applicants such as athletic recruits, legacies and URMs.
Posters can give you more suggestions about where to apply next year with the above info.
Depending upon the university, once you back out those that need to apply SCEA - recruited athletes, legacy - the difference is statistically meaningless.
What are your goals? Why the US? What potential majors?
Also in response to the comment that, “Univesities have a higher acceptance rates in SCEA admission than RD.”
There are NO higher admit rates or better chances unless you “match” everything they look for. (Or are an official athletic recruit.) This is not a game where first in line has any better chance, at all. This is just a reflection of assumptions you’re making. Assuming doesn’t help one bit. It hurts. It’s next to guessing and that won’t get you far, won’t impress.
Look at a typical “chance me” thread and provide all that info about yourself. Look at the Common Application and any supplements for those colleges, to get an idea of all the info they will review, for you. And read the colleges’ web sites, to learn more, directly from what they say and show, about what they do want to find in applicants. Yes, you need to be a superstar. Yes, you need to know what that means.
Also, about Poland. There may not be any current undergrad students from Poland at Harvard right now. But often, nearby countries are counted similarly, as a subregion. So yes, you also need to shine at the same level as the best applicants from those neighboring countries.
What were your scores from the Matura? Any national honors that would stand out in your application?
I haven’t matura exams yet.
Are you the top student in your city? How do you compare to the best students in all of Poland? Realistically, you would have to be that good to have a chance at Harvard, Yale, Princeton or MIT. Many of the international students who get into these schools have international awards, Olympiads, very good grades and very high test scores, etc.
If you want a serious chance of getting into an American university, you must apply to lower-ranked schools. Consider colleges and universities in the American South, Midwest (the “center” part of the country) or Western states - but not the West Coast, because it’s very popular with international applicants.
Depending on your academic interests, consider Liberal Arts Colleges (“LAC”) which can be generous with financial aid. Look into highly respected all-women’s schools such as Bryn Mawr College, Mount Holyoke or Smith College.
It’s very, very difficult for international students to receive full financial aid in America.