Zimbabwean looking for Undergrad College

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Dear CC community,</p>

<p>I recently joined and am now posting for the first time. I am a 19 year old Zimbabwean with an exceptionally HIGH financial need. I have a HUGE financial need and need a FULL ride (where tuition, room & board are 100% covered.)</p>

<p>Last year, I applied to universities such as Florida Institute Of Tech, Duquesne, Davis & Elkins, Westminster; New York Inst. of Tech; Richmond (just to name a few) and got the Presidential Scholarships to all of them. However, these awards ranged from 25-35% of the entire cost needed and my family could not raise the funds needed to supplement the rest.</p>

<p>As a result, i had to to do a lot of research and came up with a list of need-blind aid institutions (NBAIs). I have left my list to eight, which are (in order of preference):
Princeton, UPenn, Yale, Johns Hopkins, New York University: Abu Dhabi, Dartmouth, Amherst & Williams. (Harvard, MIT, Stanford and CalTech were also there, but I am not applying to them) These are phenomenally difficult to get into and have therefore dubbed them the "Elite Eight."</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>SAT1: 1800 (re-doing them in Nov and aiming for 2200)</p>

<p>SAT2: 2100 ( Maths 2, Bio M, Chem) <also redoing="" in="" dec=""></also></p>

<p>Extra-Curricular: 55 clubs, societies and over 6 years and have posts in 23 of them (Chairman/Traesurer/Secretary) including Toastmasters', Public Speaking and junior town municipality government body.</p>

<p>Sporting: 10 sporting activities, represented Zimbabwe in Rowing and was the captain for Athletics and X-Country teams. Swam for school, also played field hockey & tennis.</p>

<p>Voluntary Work: Went to another country and worked in an orphanages, helped in cleaning and repainting derelict government buildings, went to Soweto in South Africa to see the history there and to feed poor kids there, taught children at a Christian school how to use computers, MS Word, MS Excel, MS Powerpoint, Internet Explorer, MS publisher etc, also taught children how to play field hockey and chess, then went to teach children with learning disabilities/from dodgy backgrounds mathematics, bio and chemistry. Also do motivational speaking when requested.</p>

<p>Independent Research: Have been doing intensive research on Risk Management and Asset pricing Models. I will be doing an internship at KPMG from October.</p>

<p>Academics: have 3 A+s, 5 A and a B at IGCSE O Level and an A, 2 Bs and a C at GCE A Level. Also won numerous academic awards.</p>

<p>Ok, I KNOW that my SAT1 has to really increase, but may i ask what else must i do to get accepted into these universities? Am I in over my head? What are my odds if I get an SAT score of 2200 and a Subject Score of 2300?</p>

<p>I am REALLY desperate and would REALLY appreciate as much support and garner as much knowledge from any insiders as possible!</p>

<p>I have a great friend who played national soccer, represented Zimbabwe at Phyics and Mathematics and got a 2050 on SAT1 and a 2300 on SAT2 (Maths 2, Phys and Chem) but was denied by Harvard, MIT and Yale after being on their "Wait" Lists. But then also know someone who got into Brown with full aid but to be honest, I cannot remmeber much about him. I have another friend at UPenn, but i know that he's paying the full cost to attend there and did a LOT in school. Another UPenn mate had to pay $25,000 a year...which is out of my reach. I have also heard that Cornell is EXTREMELY harsh with financial aid. To be honest, our ability to pay will be at most $5,000 per annum. What is the "magic formula" for being accepted to these universities? What would make someone applying to the "Elite Eight" stand out above the tens of thousands of other applicants in the pool? Bearing in mind that the Class of 2014 had record low acceptance rates?</p>

<p>Would REALLY like to hear from someone who got into the above mentioned universities and/or REALLY knows someone who did, especially if they are from poor nations, particularly in Africa. I am absolutely throwing everything at this, including the kitchen sink. I have no more room for failure...I need to get these full rides from these NBAIs. Who's in with me!?</p>

<p>I am interested in Operations Research & Financial Engineering (Princeton), Applied Mathematics + Computer Science double major (Yale and Johns Hopkins), Actuarial Science + Insurance & Risk Management (UPenn - Wharton) and Maths + Computer SCience (The rest).</p>

<p>Where else can I get a full ride AND be able to major in what i want?</p>

<p>I hope to hear from you VERY soon!</p>

<p>Thank-you!</p>

<p>Skynet
Zimbabwe</p>

2

<p>Skynet,</p>

<p>One thing to be aware of is that “need blind” is not the same thing as willing to meet demonstrated need. Need blind just means that they will admit (or deny) you without regard to your ability pay. Coming up with the money after you’ve been admitted is a separate issue. Now some very wealthy schools such as Harvard do both - they are need blind and also will meet 100% of demonstrated need. But not all do. So check this point carefully when looking at a school.</p>

<p>Another thing for you to consider is whether a school that promises to meet 100% of demonstrated need also does this for international students. Some do this only for US students and not internationals. So be sure the schools you are considering offer financial aid to internationals.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

3

<p>Your scores are pretty far off from the medians of the schools you’ve listed, so you might need to post again in November when you really see where you are at. Meanwhile, maybe you can search for the CC threads on financial aid for internationals. For the majors you are talking about you might need a school with undergraduate business courses. Boston College, RPI (Rennselar Polytechnic Institute) and Carnegie Mellon would all be easier to get into than the schools you listed and might be interesting. I just don’t know about the possibility of a “full ride” at those places. Good luck!</p>