<p>I had planned that I'd apply to prestigious liberal arts colleges in the US. But, unfortunately, my SAT was very mediocre (1660) and I knew that with such a score, I, being an international student, would not be able acquire the amount of financial aid that I needed. So, I decided not to apply.</p>
<p>With most deadlines gone, I am thinking of applying again. Calvin College is one institution that I am considering applying to. But the problem is that I am not sure if I'll like the academic intensity at Calvin. My SAT, which I gave with minimal preparation, is not a true reflection of my academic potential. </p>
<p>My second question concerns graduate school. Although I am not sure if I'll do graduate school or not, but I'd not like to have it entirely closed as an option. I have heard that my application to graduate school would be much stronger if I get a degree from one of my country's best universities and my application would be weak if I apply from second tier institution, say Calvin College. </p>
<p>Will Calvin, or a similar school that admits over 90% of its applicants, be worth it?</p>
<p>One’s undergrad institution does affect graduate admissions, but usually not in the large way that undergrads (and high school students) think they do. Top universities have the reputations they do for a reason, but graduate professors’ ideas of the “top universities” are much, much broader than the general public’s. They scoff at the U.S. News rankings because the methodology isn’t really scientifically valid (it relies far too much on peer evaluations and other things that grad professors don’t care about, like alumni donations). Usually the way it works is that professors may know of a famous person or well-known researcher who is teaching in that department or who may have mentored the student. If Dr. Smith is an amazing psychologist, and Sally went to Harvard and worked with Dr. Smith and got a recommendation letter from him.</p>
<p>However, WHAT you do in undergrad is much more important than where you go. Schools with top reputations give you a little boost, but I’m a PhD student at Columbia and I know graduate students here who went to a wide range of undergraduate institutions - from equivalent Ivy League institutions to public universities. And given that second-tier usually means ranks 50-100…if you go to one of the top 100 colleges in the country…I mean, gain some perspective. There are 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States and you’d go to one in the top 0.33%. Even if it’s one of the top 300 colleges, that’s still in the top 1% of colleges in the United States. Also, many come from universities and colleges in their home countries.</p>
<p>About whether it’s worth it…depends on what you mean. Is it worth huge loans? Absolutely not, but I’d say that even about Harvard if you had to borrow the entire cost of attendance. Is it worth the intellectual rigor, given that you can acquire the necessary financial aid? Of course. Rigor is always better, since you want to be better prepared for graduate school and/or the career you choose.</p>
<p>But it sounds like you may be better served going to an institution in your home country due to affordability.</p>
<p>Calvin is well respected as a Christian LAC style school, ranks well, and is not inexpensive. ($25,000 tuition alone, for example.) I’m afraid statistically you’d still be in the lower quartile of admits with that SAT, so not sure how you would fare for merit.</p>
<p>Not sure why you’re not considering university in your home country, or why you’re not retaking the SAT if your first sitting doesn’t actually reflect your capability.
Being an international student, you’re not actually ELIGIBLE for the lionshare of what passes for need-based aid in the US anyway, so you’d be heavily reliant on MERIT, for which you’d need much stronger SAT scores.</p>
<p>I’m baffled as to why you didn’t prepare for the SAT if you wanted to apply to US schools and need merit aid. Many, if not most, US students take the SAT several times so perhaps you should study for it and retake it before applying. This might mean a gap year but it may provide you with a more interesting and competitive application next year. Good luck!</p>
<p>Also, on the College Board website, Calvin lists Religious Affiliation at the top of “very important admissions factors” and includes this note:</p>
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<p>Are you a Christian? If not, there are other schools that will certainly be more suitable for you.</p>
<p>happymomof1: Pakistan. Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). No, I cannot.
sk8rmom: I had the opinion that the SAT is a test of intelligence. But, now, I have realized that you can do well on the SAT with a little bit of practice. And I am not Christian. Thanks a lot for pointing that information out.</p>
<p>If you have a solid option in Pakistan, do your undergrad degree there. Yes, with serious study, you can improve your SAT score. However, your financial issues will not go away. Even with perfect grades and perfect SAT results, you still would have a lot of trouble getting the financial aid you need.</p>