@CheddarcheeseMN I’m re-taking the SAT so let’s hope I hit gold this time. 
Which universities might provide maximum aid to an International student with the following profile?
@happymomof1 That’s the plan. I’m hoping to find decent colleges there.
On your other thread, so one suggested Georgia Tech. You asked there if there were any higher ranked schools than GT. Do you understand that Georgia Tech is a fabulous university? It is much higher ranked than some of the schools on your current list (many of which will not be affordable because either they don’t give aid to international, or they don’t guarantee to meet full need…or both).
If your family income is in the $50,000 a year range, I’m having trouble understanding how you will be able to pay close to $50,000 a year…or more…for any of these colleges. Will your “arrangements” your parents are making be loans? If so, that is a hefty amount of debt for undergrad school. Way too much.
You are a good student. But you will be competing for admissions with others from your region many of whom will be even stronger students.
And for schools that are need aware, you will need a LOT of aid which will not be in your favor.
this is what you are up against; there are only 5 colleges in the U.S. that are both need blind and meet 100% demonstrated need for international students. They are amongst the most competitive schools in the country as far as gaining admissions with single digit admit rates. You will just be one of many international students vying for admissions where you will probably have less than a 5% chance of being admitted.
It will be the school, not you or your family that will determine your financial need. While you may feel that you can afford to pay one amount, the college may come up with a totally different amount
At other schools that give need based aid to international students (most don’t), your ability to pay will be a factor in the admissions process. It is easier for the school to admit 5 international students who only need $10,000 each than to fund one student who needs $50,000
Not all schools offer merit money to international students. The reason people are recommending Alabama because it is one of the few competitive schools that offer full tuition scholarships to international students.
@thumper1 I get it. Also, I wasn’t asking for universities better rated than Georgia Tech (I know how good of a school it is, I’ve done my homework. I just don’t think I can get in with a mediocre profile like mine ), I was referring to the colleges already on my list. I agree with everything you have to say and it all makes sense. Thanks for helping me out. Just so that we’re on the same page, from what I’ve observed most schools have a cost of attendance of approximately 60k$ which comes down to 240k$ over 4 years. I can afford a maximum of 120k$.(will be taking a out a few loans and have some money saved in my college fund)
The whole point behind the question was to identify schools that provide maximum aid either need-based or merit-based to international students. I’ve made up my mind though. I’m going to apply to U.Alabama and a few other similar universities along with universities whose tuition fees are less than 20k$ an year.
Thanks to everyone on this thread. You’ve all been of great assistance.
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I took the SAT (new) and scored a 1460 (730 in Math and 730 in R&W)
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Your scores are very good, but they’re not high for those in the College of Engineering (which includes CS) at Alabama.
The top 36% of students have an ACT 30 at Alabama. It’s safe to say that a large number of those students are in the CoE. Your score is equivalent to an ACT 32.
You would get free tuition at Alabama plus 2500 per year.
How will your $50k per year parents come up with $30k per year for your college costs??? Unless they have hidden income or assets, I wouldn’t count on them coming up with that much.
You think this is mediocre?
You would get FREE TUITION at Alabama, and an additional $2500 per year. This would mean that your parents would not have to “arrange” (whatever that means) to get $30,000 a year to fund college…on their $50,000 a year income. You would likely need to “arrange” only half that amount per year…maybe less.
And you will be studying with some very smart other folks in CS. Oh BTW, that would be the case at ANY college.
What are your plans for after graduation? Will employers in your home country pay enough so you can afford to repay whatever loans your parents would have to take to send you to the US for college?
Another school to consider is UT Dallas. It is a good STEM/business oriented school. Your merit package could be similar to Alabama’s - full tuition plus $1000/semester leaving about $10,000 for living and another $2000 for health insurance to be paid for. It is not a guaranteed scholarship but your stats are in line for that.
@thumper1 Thanks a lot. You’ve been of phenomenal help and it means a lot.
@GTAustin Will look into it. Thanks for letting me know.
If you are looking for merit aids, your stat needs to be way above the 75th percentile. For need based aids for international students, I think they are not many schools doing that and your stat may be too low for those schools.