Are these Universities good enough for an International seeking low contribution? [3.78 GPA, rank 1]

Chance Me / Match Me
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FTR, CALS is one of Cornell’s “contract” colleges, like Dyson, ILR, Nolan; it was designed to serve NYS and it’s residents but it’s definitely not just agriculture(&business) nor is it limited to them, by far. Their informatics major is just applied CS and very reputable.
You don’t need to apply but it’s often harder to find that major among the offerings - so fewer students bother and thus it’s both highly valued and less competitive, a good combination.
But never mind.

Universities can be in very poor shape - but not all are. 10k is A LOT of money in India, meaning you should find non local, well-funded universities that you can get into, in addition to applying to European universities. :+1:
Your choice is NOT “crumbling down local univ or prestigious US college”.

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I think W&L is a no brainer for the Johnson - even if unlikely.

Since W&L is need blind/meet full need for international students, there is no need for the Johnson, fyi.

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Yes, but we don’t know OPs demonstrated need. We know what he says he can afford.

Two different things.

So in that sense, it’s a back stop.

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I
I think that the $12k will be needed entirely for travel, visas and other administrative costs. Some of the top schools (Harvard, Yale) may give you the entire COA, but most do not. They do not pay for travel or clothing or extras you may want, like a new computer every year (often they do pay for one freshman year). We don’t know where your family is getting the $12k from, but if they earn more but pay for several generations of children or grandparents, own multiple homes (even if modest or they are renting them out), they may find you can afford to pay more than $12/yr. Most schools in the US do not give allowances for the cultures of other countries where families support relatives and use money that could go to college tuition.

You have a plan. You don’t want our opinions on picking other schools. Some of the schools we are suggesting DO award a few full ride scholarships. My daughter didn’t get a full ride from her school but did patch together a way to get the equivalent of a full ride through TEN forms of financial aid (merit, athletic, financial need). Some of those aren’t available to you (federal loans, state aid) but you need to figure out your way. She didn’t ‘live large’ and never went on spring break or study abroad, but she got a good education in engineering. It wasn’t from an Ivy or MIT

If your only way is to apply to the 20 top schools and cross your fingers, good luck. I think there are other schools that you could make work by you earning more (maybe a year off to just work, maybe online for a year or two).

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OP, I want to check that you are informed about what the phrase “meets full need” means in the context of US colleges and universities. Most people don’t – I didn’t before I started to really learn about this. It DOES NOT mean the colleges and universities will reduce your costs to what your family thinks it can reasonably afford. It DOES mean that they will ask you to provide all of your financial information and then they will calculate how much THEY think your family can afford. Then they will provide grants and scholarships (free money) and sometimes loans (which you have to pay back) and sometimes work-study (where you have to find a job for about 10 hours a week) to make up the difference between the amount they expect from you and the total cost of attendance (COA).

The thing is, most of the time, what the colleges and universities calculate a family can afford is NOT what the family thinks it can afford. Sometimes, the college is more generous than what the family is expecting but MOST of the time, the college is significantly less generous than what the family is expecting. And what you also need to know is that each college and university calculates this differently, so what Brown may offer you, for instance, will not be the same as what Cornell or another university may offer you.

I know you are hoping to get into one of the few colleges in the US that meets full-need for international students. Have you run any of the financial aid calculators to determine if they think your costs are going to be similar to what your family can actually afford?

If not, the link below is a good place to start. Please note that it is NOT for international students and it is NOT super accurate. It is just a good “baby step” to see if you are even in the range of getting the financial aid you need from the colleges, or if you need to re-direct your plans to India or another country that is not the US.

If they say they won’t provide an estimate for an international student, just choose US Student. This is ONLY for a ROUGH estimate and when you report back the results, we can help you with the more precise calculators.

Also, when they ask for how much money is in a retirement account, they have very specific rules about this. It must be money that is in a special bank account that is designated by the banks as “retirement”. In the US, that is a 401k, IRA, etc. It does NOT mean money in a regular account that your parents are intending for retirement, or maybe a second house that they own and are renting out and consider that is money for retirement. So you must be careful in filling that out. If it is not in a 401k, IRA or similar account (your parents should know what this is, hopefully) then it must be reported as “regular checking or savings” or under “non-retirement accounts”. If they own property other than the house you live in (the primary residence), they need to include the value of that property (current market value minus amount they still owe) as part of their “non-retirement” accounts.

So do this for Brown, since that is where you want to ED. Let us know what they say, because if it is far off from what your family can afford, then there is no point in applying. And know 1) this is only an estimate and your real aid package may be different and 2) it is not meant for international students, but it will at least provide a rough estimate so you can see if it is even worth moving forward with your Brown application.

MyinTuition - Quick College Cost Estimator for Students and Parents

And to all the other CC-ers out there who hate MyIntuition – I know, I know. But this will give the OP a quick idea of whether their hopes for grants that will bring the costs down to what they can afford are at all realistic or not. And the full NPCs are based on 1040s and other data that the OP doesn’t have. So I think this is a good baby step.

And OP, if the costs for Brown come back as too high, then try Princeton. I say this not because I think your stats are competitive for Princeton, but because Princeton is known to be the most generous of all the private schools regarding financial aid. If Princeton comes back as unaffordable, then posters on this board will probably advise you to significantly adjust your plans for next year. Again, try the Princeton portion of the myintution site only to see what the most generous college would provide, not because you actually want to go there.

Editing to add that using the site is anonymous and won’t go back to the school.

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I believe work-study is usually restricted to FAFSA students so not applicable to internationals.

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Good point. But the OP could still get a job at about 10 hours a week to help with the costs, so the end result is probably the same. And that was mostly to help him understand the results that will be presented by the NPCs.

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The rules vary - but colleges do provide work study as part of internationals’ financial aid package (it may not be under the “federal work study” envelop but is under “work study” to allow various departments such as the cafeteria or the library to hire them.)
International students can only work on campus BTW.

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Yes. F1 students can work on campus up to 20 hours a week.

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Good points from all of these posters.
If you’re unwilling or just not accepting these opinions, then you need to have a strong Plan B. You need an option if there are no US schools that admit you and that’s a big, strong possibility.

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Or that admit him but are unaffordable financially.

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I appreciate your realism.

I’ll go over and think over all the options that I could possible have if I can’t get the undergrad in the US.

The indian colleges, do not have a holistic process of admissions. It’s only academic. I thought maybe my profile could make up for some US universities.

Thank you for your effort

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I understand, most non-US universities are purely academic for entrance. For the top US universities, holistic only really comes into it once you pass a certain academic threshold. They have countless applicants with both stellar academics and excellent extracurriculars.

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I am mistaken, I am sorry. I thought it was limited to agriculture. Let me go and check my chances. I am pretty sure it is need-aware so I would get bounced to RA. meanwhile, I’ll use my time to improve my SAT score.

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Our family does not follow the tradition of supporting relatives. I am best limited to 12k EFC.

I never said that I am not taking your opinions. They are very invaluable. I am adding up my list where the full rides are indeed possible.

Thank you

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Don’t think that if you get your score to 1600 that it moves you to the front of the line. It certainly helps to have a high score, but many students with perfect scores and GPAs still aren’t accepted to the top schools. There just aren’t enough spots.

I don’t think applying to the 20 schools on your list is a good use of your time as each application takes a lot of time and energy and some on your list you really don’t have a good chance at. Pick a few, then use your time for other research and applications.

What options do you have in India, Australia, Canada, or Europe? We are all just suggesting you have a Plan B or know that you may have to take a gap year. You don’t want to stay in India but you may not have another option if you don’t plan for one.

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