After Rejection, What to do as International?

International Students
21

@sgopal2 Thank you for your reply. Do you think in 1 year is impossible to go from 1500 to 2100-2300 range? It’s one year, is this so hard? How much time should I dedicate for this so? I’ll try at the same time to have TOEFL and great projects. I don’t know how to get an international level recognition here in my country. What should I do? What I think is on my hand is WWDC scholarship maybe, perhaps appear onto some newspapers?

Master degree admission is even harder, no? I don’t know, If I have the chance to apply, I would apply to colleges like MIT, STANFORD, OXFORD, HARVARD, CARNEGIE MELLON, BERKELEY, UCLA, CALTECH, maybe a few less depending on the admission fee.

So, if I spend all the rest of the year & summer preparing (slowly but consistently) for SAT & TOEFL (I think I can do both at the same time, TOEFL is only different in speaking, no?) and then try to transfer from the college in which I will study in my country, I wouldn’t have any chance to get in? If that’s true, thank you for being sincere. I would like to experience the undergraduate American live, as I think this atmosphere couldn’t be better. Will try harder next year.

22

Take Berkeley and UCLA off your list. These are public universities that don’t give financial aid to nonresidents, and you won’t have the stats for merit aid.

Here’s a suggestion: check if there is a study abroad opportunity through your Spanish university to spend a semester/year in the US.

23

@katliamom Thanks, will check. As I have till June to choose one university of my country, is any university from here best considered for American colleges? Or that doesn’t matter for transfer?

24

For transfer, yes. For just doing a study abroad, it only matters if your university has agreements with American schools.

25

@katliamom Thanks, which is the best Spanish university for most of the Americans? However here they are not quite good ranked, we have, in my opinion, best ranked: the Polytechnic University of Barcelona and Polytechnic University of Madrid, public, which I think is also important for them

26

I’m sorry, I’m not an expert on Spanish universities. Maybe someone else can comment.

27

I teach English to international students who are getting ready to study at a university here in the US. Your written English is not good enough yet for the university where I work. For Stanford and the other places on your list, it would need to be even better. If you want to complete your undergraduate studies in the US, my advice would be to make a completely new list and apply for Fall 2017. If you’d just like to be here for a year, then choose a university in Spain that has exchange programs. To go to grad school in the US, graduating from a good university in your home country will be fine. You do not need to worry about which one is the most famous here.

To find better matches for yourself here in the US, get in touch with the EducationUSA advising center in Madrid. The counselors there will have useful information for you. https://educationusa.state.gov/centers/fulbright-madrid

28

Thank you @happymomof1 for your reply. I’ll try to contact this organization in order to see how to plan my transfer. I hope to undergrad there, I only have 2 opportunities, 1st or 2nd year as they require us to complete at least 2 years there.

29

Hello,

I’m international student and I got nearly the same SAT score as yours (1580-1680). I applied for 11 colleges, and until now I was rejected by 4 of them, only one college accepted me, wich is St.John’s and they agreed on total financial support of 50K, if you want you can check their website. I graduated from high school in 2015 and currently I’m at first year of university (in my country) but they accept my application as first year student.

Best of luck for next year :slight_smile:

30

Frankly, your best bet is probably trying to land a funded graduate school spot. That would actually be easier for you than getting in to an elite American undergrad college that you can afford.

You could also look in to study abroad/exchange programs to unis in the US.

Of more importance than where you will study is what you will study. Have you decided yet?

31

That, right there, is your problem^^^^. You are setting yourself up for rejection by applying to some of the toughest schools to gain admission. Berkeley and LA are California public universities paid for, in part, by the taxpayers of California. Stanford won’t admit you without a compelling change.

The UCs were built for California residents, so, there is extremely limited funding, and, recent state rules and regulations have indicated no financial aid to OOS and non residents.

The US has over 3000 universities that would welcome you and possibly fund your education. Use that link to the nearest EducationUSA facility.

32

Hey mate, check this out!
I’m almost in the same circumstances with the exception that I didn’t ‘waste’ a year but I have the same financial situation so this is what I’m going to do, maybe it works for you too.

  1. Take out the universities that award the most financial aid from this website https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/pulse/us-higher-education-institutions-awarding-most-financial-yoko-kono
  2. Put them in an excel file
  3. add cost of attendance, TOEFL score requirement (some of them waive this) whether they have 'need-aware' or 'need-blind' admissions FOR internationals, and find out if they meet full need for admitted students.
  4. Discard the ones that not offer your interested majors (STEM majors/Liberal Arts majors). 5.Go to EducationUSA, ask for advice, and show them the excel file (add more institutions if they help you to provide them).
  5. Study REALLY HARD for the standardized tests (since you are in a gap year, you can study 24/7 literally).
  6. Try to extracurriculars that interest you (don't do them just to get into elite schools, I think they know when applicants do that).
  7. Review each of your options and see which ones fit better for you.
  8. Sit down with your parents and your edUSA advisor if possible, talk about your finances and try to get the most out of your resources, this can help

Fastweb
https://www.fastweb.com
Searchable database scholarships.

College Scholarships
https://www.collegescholarships.com
Fee-based scholarship application service.

Funding for United States Study
https://www.fundingUSstudy.org
Database of over 500 scholarships, fellowships and grants for international students, organized and maintained by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

GrantsNet.org
https://www.grantsnet.org
Database of grants for training in the sciences and undergraduate science education.

International Education Financial Aid
https://www.iefa.org/public/search.html
Free searchable database of over 800 scholarships and awards for international students. Most are restricted to use at specific universities.

https://www.internationalscholarships.com
Comprehensive listing of grants, scholarships, loan programs, and other financial aid information to assist college and university students in their pursuit to study abroad.

https://internationalstudent.com/schools_awarding_aid
Database of U.S. higher education institutions awarding scholarships to international students.

Organization of American States’ Leo S. Rowe Fund
https://www.oas.org/rowe/
This program provides loans of up to $15,000 USD for undergraduate students in their last two years of study or any graduate student. It is for citizens of Latin American countries.

NAFSA Financial Aid for Undergraduates
https://www.nafsa.org/students.sec/financial_aid_for_undergraduate
This resource provides information primarily for students with nonimmigrant visas (F-1, J-1, etc.). Information for permanent residents of the United States is also included.

https://www.mycollegescholarship.org
Advice on how to apply for scholarships.

US Department of State - Education USA
https://www.educationusa.info
The Department of State provides support to a network of Educational Advising/Information Centers around the world. These centers advise prospective international students and other audiences on higher education and study opportunities in the United States.

  1. Apply (don't forget that your interest in those institutions is shown in your application) and hope the best.

That’s all the advice I can provide you. Money shouldn’t be a factor for your education but that’s how the things are:

If you are an excellent or OK student and you have money, you will have plenty of options. :slight_smile:
If you are an excellent student but you don’t have the money, you have a shot. [-O<
If you are an OK student but you don’t have the money, you are fried. :frowning:

33

@Mrduque it would be much easier just to list out schools that award significant merit schholarship to int. students.

I can write some: many of them are competitive. I recommend going to each schools’ websites, and all these school
are respected.

*Many state universities DO offer MERIT scholarship(Even UC schools give regent scholarship). They are just not enough for high needy international students.

Howard University-Depending on GPA/SAT, you will get at least full tuition to tuition/board/book voucher/etc. FIRST SERVED.

U Alabama(Huntsville/BHM/Tuscaloosa) : 1/3~full tuition from SAT math+CR 1280~1400+ or ACT 28~32+
I recommend the tuscaloosa main campus. GUARANTEED if you have right GPA/SAT/ACT and the deadline.

U Richmond: Boehner Scholarship

UNC-Chapel Hill: Robertson Scholarship. Extremely competitive.

Clark University: LEEP scholarship.

Lewis& Clark College: There are several scholarships with specific requirements.
https://www.lclark.edu/offices/financial_aid/merit_scholarships/

Emory University: Emory Scholar

U of South California: They don’t have specific names( I think), but I do know one person who got covered almost all cost. http://www.usc.edu/admission/undergraduate/firstyear/prospective/scholarships.html

34

@paul2752 thanks for that info paul

35

I know I’m coming late to this thread, but OP has mentioned taking courses in his home country, then transferring. Did someone up-thread explain to him that transferring students do not receive the same financial aid opportunities as freshmen?