Hi I’m an international student currently a junior. Will be applying to US colleges by late 2018. Assume that my profile is moderately competitive for each of the schools I list. Will need a huge (95-100%) financial aid package.
I have looked at a lot of schools that give full aid and these are the ones I like (judging from online tour, stories of current students, and experiences of others at CC): Lehigh, Vassar, Richmond, Connecticut College, Kenyon, Haverford. I need to choose one of these to apply to ED. Since I’m not from the US, I havent grown up hearing about these colleges and have no idea of what these schools are known for locally. I’ll be studying Computer Science and/or Architecture plus Creative Writing as a mix of majors and minors.
So, facts about me. I love the cold, snowy weather. Have lived in a hot, polluted, overpopulated city all my life so no affection for hot weather and no particular attachment to the city life. I live hilly green regions and campuses that
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I can’t really comment on the financial side for international students but know most of these schools well. You have probably read that it is very difficult for international applicants to get significant aid, possible but very limited.
First, architecture–as in preparation to be an architect–is only taught at a limited number of schools, and, I believe, Lehigh is the only school on your list with an architecture school. So that might be a consideration right there, although you could study architecture from an art history perspective at, I believe, all of the schools. Generally, you’d look in the art history and/or art departments to read about the professors who teach architecture-type classes and which classes are available.
(In the US, “college” usually designates a school that primarily teaches arts and sciences to undergrads. Universities do the same but also have substantial graduate programs and professional schools like business, law, architecture, etc. However, there are often grad students at “colleges,” and colleges might also have law and/or business schools. For example, the College of William and Mary has some grad programs and law and business schools. As someone here recently noted Richmond is a university (law and business schools) but feels like a liberal arts college (LAC).)
All of the schools on your list are terrific. They are relatively similar in terms of ranking/reputation, with their own strengths. I could easily see different people ranking these schools in different order. All have very nice campuses.
Lehigh: On a hilltop in a fairly industrial, old, mid-size city in PA, not too far from New York City (NYC). Best known for sciences and engineering. There are now many more females at US schools than males. An exception tends to be STEM schools, and Lehigh has about 56% male students.
Vassar: Up the Hudson River from NYC Poughkeepsie is a large town/small city, often not considered the most beautiful place, though the Hudson River Valley itself is quite beautiful with many nice towns. You can take the train into NYC from there. It used to be a female school; it is coed today, but still a large female majority. So that’s different than Lehigh.
Richmond: It has a stunning campus, really like a park with academic buildings, in a very nice suburban neighborhood a few miles from downtown Richmond (RVA), the capital of Virginia, which has a population of 200-300,000. The city has gotten much nicer in recent years, and the downtown restaurant district, The Fan, is very nice. This will have the warmest weather of all your schools, but it will only be hot the first few weeks of the school year. School ends around the beginning of May, and it’s not really consistently hot by then. Summer is hot and humid.
Conn Coll: Very nice small campus near the Thames River, which flows into Long Island Sound (the water north of Long Island), or at least close to LIS. The US Coast Guard Academy (another college) is nearby. It’s a nice area of small little waterfront towns, though traffic is pretty bad on I-95, the highway that runs through the area. There is some shipbuilding right around there in New London, but area is generally very nice off the highway. It will be cold there. Conn Coll also has a fairly large female majority.
Kenyon: In a very, very small town in the middle of Ohio. A remarkable number of very successful and talented writers have graduated from here. You can google Kenyon College famous alumni. Beautiful, classic LAC campus. It’s definitely a small community of talented students in the middle of nowhere. It was also be cold there.
Haverford: I don’t know this one very well. It’s in the Philadelphia suburbs and has a consortium arrangement with Bryn Mawr (very close) and Swarthmore Colleges. Philly’s a big city. You’d be pretty close, in some very mature, populated suburbs.
Have you considered Williams? It’s a tip-top LAC (#1 according to USNWR) in an isolated mountain area of western Massachusetts. It’s very competitive in admissions and only recommend it because it meets all your criteria and is very wealthy, so gives generous financial aid. It would be very cold and snowy and would definitely not feel like a crowded city.
Here’s another idea: University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke (all female), and Smith College (all female) form the Five Colleges Consortium. Students at one school can take some classes and otherwise share resources with the others. U-Mass has architecture. It’s not going to be a place to get aid, but if you could go to one of the other ones, you’d perhaps have a chance to take some architecture classes (you’d have to research that, it might very well not be possible to do that, and definitely not as a major). Amherst is also a tip-top, wealthy LAC. If you are female, you could look at Smith and Mount Holyoke. Again, I don’t know much about aid for you, but you could look.
Good luck!
Hi I’m an international student currently a junior. Will be applying to US colleges by late 2018. Assume that my profile is moderately competitive for each of the schools I list. Will need a huge (95-100%) financial aid package.
I have looked at a lot of schools that give full aid and these are the ones I like (judging from online tour, stories of current students, and experiences of others at CC): Lehigh, Vassar, Richmond, Connecticut College, Kenyon, Haverford. I need to choose one of these to apply to ED. Since I’m not from the US, I havent grown up hearing about these colleges and have no idea of what these schools are known for locally. I’ll be studying Computer Science and/or Architecture plus Creative Writing as a mix of majors and minors.
So, facts about me. I love the cold, snowy weather. Have lived in a hot, polluted, overpopulated city all my life so no affection for hot weather and no particular attachment to the city life. I love hilly green regions and campuses with that ancient, castle-like look are my absolute favorite (like Yale or WUSTL’s campus. too bad I can’t get in). I have no feelings for Greek life either, since I’m an introverted kind of person who likes to try new things occasionally but doesn’t need too much company. I love the academically focused environment where creative expression is valued. But I’m not opposed to the core curriculum either, in fact I would love to try it, having studied in a similar system my whole life. Quality of academics in my particular fields of study is also somewhat irrelevant here as these are all exceptional colleges and I have found their relative academic courses great for me and I believe I can succeed regardless of what college I attend. Tbh, campus beauty/greenery > everything else. But since I belong to a minority religion in US and am South Asian, I want a friendly crowd void of discrimination for the most part. A racially and culturally diverse environment is something I am sure will suit me greatly. Hanging out in the library will probably be my main activity on campus so there’s that. Campus food HAS to be good and boasting variety. College town can be any size, just vibrant and full of life and not isolated.
So which college do you guys think will suit me? If you think of some other college I didn’t list, do share, I will look into it. And sorry for the long post, this decision could potentially affect my whole life so If you are free, please share your advice
All,of those colleges are good. Conn College will be the easiest to get into, but again, you need a lot of FA, so none will be “easy.”
Your wish list is unrealistic. You will have to decide what you can live with and what you can’t live without. You will not get everything you are looking for. By their very nature, most LACs are not in vibrant towns or cities. I have a lot of knowledge about most of those schools except Richmond. It is in Virginia and is probably the most conservative of the colleges you mention. Not the top choice I am guessing for someone in a minority religion, if you are very concerned about tolerance.
None of these are in the countryside:
Conn College is in a not-attractive city. Campus is pretty though.
Haverford is on the outskirts of Philly. Beautiful campus. Why not Swarthmore, which is nearby?
Haven’t been to Richmond, hear it’s pretty, and that the town is good.
Vassar is in a slightly run down large town. Beautiful campus.
Lehigh is stunning. In a somewhat depressed small city.
Kenyon is in the countryside and is isolated. Columbus is a cool city about an hour away.
You should consider Trinity, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Dickinson (not sure what their FA is like for internationals),Grinnell, Reed, and Carleton. Some of those are more selective than others. I believe they admit internationals with a lot of need, so they are worth checking out. Colby is very beautiful and in the countryside. The Mass Consortium already mentioned is a good choice. Carleton definitely has CS. Not sure about the others.
FWIW better take Haverford off the list. Not sure you’ll be pleased with the food. Although, you could eat at Bryn Mawr. I hear from my son that their food is quite good.