Can I get a full ride at a college or university?

Sushant · 08-18-2009, 12:59 PM

Hi,
This is Sushant from Nepal. Can you guys please tell me if I can get a full ride at any college or university. Even low tiers will do. Pls give me yours recommendations. I can't afford to pay more than around $5000 a year. So, full rides are my only option.
Here are my stats.

TOEFL :112
SAT:1200 (CR+Maths...) (I am retaking the SAT. I am sure I will score around 1400 if not more)
G.P.A : We don't have a G.P.A. system. But my G.C. told me my equivalent G.P.A would be 3.25 out of 4.0.

As far as extra curricular activities are concerned,
=> I was a winner at SchoolNet Japan's (a member of the Global Schoolnet) summer school
on ICT due to which I had the honor of giving a presentation on "Great Nepal, Beautiful Nepal" at the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan.
=> I was the President of my school's Junior Red Cross Circle and under my leadership, our circle was involved in various activities of community service and was equally successful in
organizing contests on themes of peace to promote harmony in the country and the world as a whole.
=>I was also the Vice President of my school's eco-club and I was very active in the club's efforts of contributing to the conservation of eco-system.
=>Our school was placed second in the Language Olympics tournament organized by the British Council under my leadership.
=> Won the school's table tennis contest for two years in a row, a
runner-up in the school's badminton tournament in 2005, a member of
the St. Xavier's table tennis council, a winner in the Inter School
Basketball Competition organized by our school, and many other
similar awards.

=> I have actively volunteered in many activities of the Junior Red
Cross Circle.
=> I formed groups with my friends and organized rallies on
special days such as "World No-Smoking Day", " World AIDS Day" to
promote knowledge on those causes.
=> I am a member of the Centre for Disaster Management
Studies and have volunteered in its activities for well over two
years.

Please recommend me some schools (low tiers will also do) where I have a chance to get into an Honors program with a full scholarship if I can't get any full ride.

TheMan777 · 08-18-2009, 04:50 PM

With a 1200 (out of 1600 i assume) and a 3.25 I don't think you are eligible for many full rides. I do however think you may want to look into schools with good FA. I assume your EFC is low, when you can only pay $5,000 a year. Some schools may meet your needs entirely (though you may take on many loans).

I wouldn't say its a 0% shot since you are willing to go to a lower tier school, but I wouldn't keep you hopes up that you would get one. If you really can get your SAT up to 1400, then maybe, but I have to say that almost every other person I meet with a 1100-1200 say they want to do it and don't end up changing much. I don't mean to be harsh, but its just very hard to rise that many points, you don't realize how nitpicky they are..

Good luck to you though!

Sushant · 08-18-2009, 10:48 PM

Thanks for the info.
Ok, although I may not be eligible for full ride, can u please recommend me colleges where I might have a chance to receive a good amount of financial aid so that my costs would at most total to around $7000 a year. Some honors program also provide scholarships. But it is for students with great stats and EC's. But would I be have a decent chance at any of those programs? (As I said earlier, even lower tiers would do).

Will apppreciate any help provided.

TheMan777 · 08-19-2009, 12:44 AM

Colleges that meet 100% of need?

That thread will help you more - there are a lot out there as you can see.

college_ruled · 08-19-2009, 01:54 AM

If you can get access to the US News and World Report Rankings, look for schools whose SAT range is (much) lower than your score if you are looking for possible merit scholarships.

Does your country offer the ACT? Some students do better on that, and colleges will accept that score too.

Another way to save tuition is to attend a school that offers summer classes. This way you could possibly graduate in three or three and a half years.

A community college is cheaper than a four year school, but there are fewer scholarships available for transfer students of all nationalities.

Schools in Canada are generally cheaper than in the US. I have no idea about their financial aid policies though.

You should keep in mind that rural schools may be more expensive and difficult to travel to. In addition, every school defines need and full need in different ways, and can include loans in meeting full need. Also, schools that "meet full need" may not meet full need for transfers nor international students. Remember, the cost of college increases each year, so a college that is less than 6k your freshman year may not be that way by the time you graduate.

You might also look into schools that have low tuition and room and board on sites such as the college board. For example, Brigham Young University, Oglala Lakota College, New Mexico Highlands University, and Peru State College all have tuition and fees under 5k. (Brigham Young is affiliated with the Church of Latter Day Saints, and Oglala Lakota is a tribal college, by the way). If you are willing to spend 6k, you can look at Minot State University, Allegheny Wesleyan College, Ohio University: Eastern Campus, and Ohio University: Southern Campus at Ironton. If you are willing to spend 10k you would have even more choices.

Sushant · 08-19-2009, 01:04 PM

Thank you guys. I heard Berea College provided 100% aid to all students. Is it really 100% to all of those admitted? If so, are there any other colleges with similar offers for internationals? I don't think I will be admitted to any of those "100% of need meeting" colleges as most of them are need aware and my needs are pretty high. So, I need colleges that provide massive aid to internationals.

college_ruled · 08-19-2009, 04:06 PM

This is good news: Costs and Financial Aid | International Students : Prospective Students - Berea College
However, this: College Search - Berea College - Admission says that Berea's acceptance rate is 22%.

The college search function of the college board has a box to select in order to "include colleges only if they offer financial aid for international students" under the "cost and financial aid" tab.

This: eduPASS | Financial Aid for International Students | Schools with Aid for Undergraduates lists schools that have given international students some aid.

hmom5 · 08-19-2009, 07:37 PM

The list of colleges that meet need does not work for internationals. There are only about 9 schools that extend this to internationals and all of them are schools requiring higher stats than the OP has.

It will be tough to find a near full ride with these stats. I suggest you do a lot of research and look for lower ranked schools that have little representation from your country.

I would cross post this on the international board.

Sushant · 08-20-2009, 03:13 PM

Since full rides seem out of reach for me, I better look for those that provide need based aid.
I think those that meet 100% of need are probably out of reach as well. So, can u guys please give me a list of colleges that provide good need based aid or a good combination of merit based and need based aid.

Thanks.

college_ruled · 08-21-2009, 12:43 AM

Shushant, there is no magical list of automatic financial aid for internationals. I haven't seen a better list than that eduPass link I already linked to. There are very few schools that offer any financial aid to international students at all. (It doesn't really change anything if it is need or merit aid for internationals. It is not in your favor that schools almost always ask internationals up front if they can pay their bills, and will automatically reject them if they can't.) It doesn't help that most college endowments aren't doing well very well, so they are struggling to provide aid for domestic students. All I can say is research, research, research, and have a back up plan.

Good luck!

sk8rmom · 08-21-2009, 08:34 AM

Quote:

G.P.A : We don't have a G.P.A. system. But my G.C. told me my equivalent G.P.A would be 3.25 out of 4.0.

Are you graded by percentile? If so, you should be able to find a grade converter online. Make sure you have a current (unofficial) copy of your transcript and take a look to see if your school reports weighted or unweighted grades.

The eduPASS list has schools of all different types. It's not a complete list though. I know that University at Buffalo has alot of international students (they say they're 12th in the nation and 1st among public research universities for international admissions), and has special scholarship programs for them too. They don't provide massive aid but iIt's part of the SUNY system, so the costs are reasonable to begin with. If you have a 90%+ average you do well on your second SATs, I think you could be offered a spot in the honors college. You do sound like a student they would be interested in and their admissions and scholarship processes are fairly holistic.

International Education

susgeek · 08-21-2009, 02:51 PM

Have you looked at the CUNY system, and specifically the Macaulay Honors College?

Macaulay Honors College -

My daughter pays no tuition to go to school at Brooklyn College. The program also provides her with a Mac Laptop and a stipend for an internship that she can use as an upperclassman.

Good luck!

Sushant · 08-24-2009, 12:08 PM

Thank you guys.
Here's an update. One of my uncle is also going to sponsor me. So, now my affordability rises to around $10,000 per year total.
So, can u guys recommend me colleges that I can possibly apply to with that budget in mind. Any help will be deeply appreciated.

cherrysoda94 · 08-24-2009, 12:17 PM

hey sushant. im from india, but in america at the moment. I have a bunch of friends who are from nepal going to decent universities on full rides here but i needed to ask u something before i can answer u. You said that you have about a 3.25 gpa out of 4.0. Here in america that is considered very low to get into a decent university or college. and what were your SAT scores out of? 1600 or 2400? if you have them out of 1600 then im thinking that a 1400 will be pretty good for a score but if your sat is out of 2400 then you have a good amount of work to do. If you get at least an 1800 out of 2400 then you could possibly get a scholarship but you have to raise your gpa. Your extracurriculars are very good so i guess you just need to improve academically

susgeek · 08-24-2009, 12:29 PM

This is well within your budget:

Macaulay Honors College - Frequently Asked Questions

What does the Macaulay scholarship cover?
The Macaulay scholarship covers Full Undergraduate Tuition Scholarship (excludes fees) for four years of college. In some cases, a fifth year of study is also covered.

As a Macaulay student, am I automatically eligible for other scholarships, or do I need to fill out other scholarship applications?
You may be eligible for additional scholarships as a result of your admission to Macaulay Honors College, but none of these are automatic. You should check with your campus Financial Aid office to obtain information on other scholarships and follow the office's rules and guidelines for applying.