Harry93b

Hello everyone, I'm here because I need help in choosing the universities I'll apply to.

I'm 18, from Cyprus, with a HS(Apolyterion) grade average of 18.1/20. I had advanced Maths, physics, computers, english, greek and office studies. I'm not really sure what major I want to study, but I'm leaning towards CE, engineering or business. I've already taken the SAT last Saturday and I'm waiting for the scores. I'm expecting a score near 1800 but not much higher.

Here's my list, I'm just wondering if It's possible to join these:

U Pittsburgh
Penn state
Ohio State
Purdue
Syracuse
U Oregon
UC Davis
UConn
U Florida
U Texas Austin
Texas A&M
U Oklahoma
Michigan State
U wisconsin
U Vermont
U Minnesota

Any tips/advice and help in general is more than welcome.

siliconvalleymom

As an international student, you will need to start with financial considerations. Are you able to fully fund your undergraduate education, or are you hoping for financial aid?

katliamom

Most of these schools are public universities which do not give financial aid to international students. Are you aware that most will charge up to $50,000 per year?

Harry93b

I'm pretty sure I can fully fund it, but I wouldn't say no to some kind of financial aid.

barrk123

I'd take off A&M and UT they are hard to get into out of state

Harry93b

Oh.. Why's that?

katliamom

I think with your grades/scores and being a full-pay international student, you should get into plenty of these schools.

Harry93b

Which ones would you say are 'reach' schools?

katliamom

It's a little hard to say, but UC Davis, U Texas, Austin and maybe Wisconsin might be reaches. They're more selective than others, higher ranked, and more popular with international students. That said, I still think they're worth applying to. I think you'd have a chance since you'd be a qualified, full-pay international student from a country that's not over-represented in American schools.

barrk123

Assuming 1800 SAT
U Pittsburgh- Match
Penn state- Reach
Ohio State- Match
Purdue- Match
Syracuse- Match
U Oregon- Match
UC Davis- Reach
UConn- Slight Reach
U Florida- Reach
U Texas Austin- Reach
Texas A&M- Reach
U Oklahoma- Match
Michigan State- Match
U wisconsin- Reach
U Vermont- Match
U Minnesota- Slight Reach

Harry93b

Well I guess I need some safety schools then. Any recommendations based on the rest of my list?

barrk123

Oregon is a safety

James Madison - Good Business School (Safety)
Texas Tech - Engineering (Safety)

Harry93b

Thanks a lot! I was also considering USC since it's friendly towards internationals.

happymomof1

If you haven't already done so, read through everything here: EducationUSA | Study Abroad, Student Visa, University Fairs, College Applications and Study in the U.S. / America Then make an appointment with the counselors at the advising center in Cyprus: EducationUSA - Find an Advising Center They are expert at helping students from your country find good places to study in the US, and they can tell you where students like you have been admitted in recent years.

If your family can cover the full cost of attendance, what would be a Match for a US applicant with your grades and exam scores is a Reach for an international applicant, and what would be a Safety for a US applicant is a Match for an international applicant. If you need financial aid, every single college and university here is a Reach.

Get solid information from your parents about what they can afford. If they can pay USD 60000 each year for four years, you have many options. If they can pay USD 30000 each year for four years, you have a fair number of options. If they can only pay USD 20000 each year you have almost no options here.

Be sure to have a solid back-up plan in your own country.

Harry93b

Thanks for the links!

My family can cover the costs, but if an opportunity for financial aid arises, I'm not going to say no.

I've been accepted in 3 universities in the UK and one in Greece. I just don't want to go there though.