<p>I know that Pomona can be quite harsh, but if this is to be believed, it's not THAT bad: </p>
<p>Pomona is incredibly competitive as well. If you can get into Pomona, you can certainly get into other “top” schools too.</p>
<p>Some of the figures in that Desperate Guide chart seem off to me. As I’ve said before, “need blind/need aware” is a red herring when it comes to aid for internationals. The key factors are whether or not the school guarantees to meet full need and whether or not demonstrated need jibes with real need.</p>
<p>The amount of aid – either need based or merit – that is awarded to an international applicant is entirely personalized. There is no such thing as a “generally generous” or “generally stingy” school. What you get depends on your individual circumstances: Your family income, your life experience, what you can bring to the campus community, how much the schools wants you.</p>
<p>Because internationals compete with other internationals, it’s helpful to be in a less crowded demographic. For example, all of the Claremont schools are in high demand among Pacific Rim internationals, both Central and South Americans and Asians, so those from another part of the world have a slight advantage.</p>
<p>Also the way colleges count undocumented immigrants who graduate from US high schools is inconsistent. At some schools they are included in the international pool – both for admissions and for aid; at some they are considered domestic.</p>
<p>Pomona and Pitzer guarantee to meet full demonstrated need. So if you can get in, and if your demonstrated need is about the same as your real need, then you’re all set at Pomona or Pitzer. Pitzer also has a merit scholarship that is available to internationals.</p>
<p>I don’t think Claremont-McKenna, Scripps or Harvey Mudd meets full need; however, they do offer merit scholarships to internationals which are not dependent upon need.</p>
I am a Scripps student who can verify that yes, we are full need.
Pomona is really hard to get into, but each college has its own atmosphere. I’d say that be sure you’re not applying just to get into “Any” claremont school, but rather, the school you chose will work with your personality, as each school is different (has a different flavor).
@enchantingly - Scripps is full need for international students? Link?