Anybody who got into Harvard , Caltech , Duke , Yale , Princeton , Brown , Rice , Wustl ... etc

International Students
1

Is here anybody who got into one or more of the universities/colleges listed below as an international student and also needed financial aid ?

Harvard
Caltech
Duke
Stanford
Yale
Princeton
Brown
Rice
Washington In St. Louis
Notre Dame
Emory
Tufts
Colby
Carleton
Grinnell

If so , could you please present some of your application stats and if you applied ED or RD ?
It would help me to see where I am in comparison with some “real cases” .

THANKS !

2

I went to Stanford as a graduate student, and met a number of international undergraduates while I was there. They were all remarkable in a fairly easy-to-identify way. For example:

  • winners of international academic competitions
  • relatives of foreign leaders
  • a few students had gotten accelerated from an early age, and entered college ready to do advanced undergraduate or graduate-level work

Three other international students I happen to know who got into Ivies with financial aid:

  • One was an award-winning inventor of medical equipment
  • One was an investigative journalist with a piece that earned him international fame
  • One was very politically active, and was the head of the young adult section of one of the two big political parties in her country

International competition for entrance into the most selective private universities is tough. These universities can cherry-pick the most outstanding 1-2 individuals from each country. Forget about grades and test scores. Have you done anything that would distinguish you from the valedictorian of the high school one town over?

Your odds may be better at liberal arts colleges. They are more likely to accept academically strong needy international students who are not mind-blowingly accomplished.

I personally got into Bryn Mawr and Mount Holyoke with financial aid. Got rejected from Carleton, Grinnell, and a bunch of other small liberal arts college. I had a 34 ACT, best in my class, doing well on national academic competitions and having taking a handful of college classes concurrently in high school. Not super involved in non-academic extra-curriculars.

3

Wow ! I stand no chance to the international students described by you … . I was never encouraged to do such things because of the ill mentality of ‘‘well-roundness’’ that is prevalent in my country and especially in my community . I guess I’ll have to go to some LAC and try again my chances for Grad. School . Maybe I will get more opportunities for research in college so that I can stand out . Thanks for your response , it helped me .