Chance me - a 1510 SAT 3.8 UW Junior interested in Dartmouth, Amherst, Barnard, Duke, UC Berkeley, UChicago, Vassar, and Others [international student, IB curriculum]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hi, I’m an international junior planning to apply to colleges for the fall of 2025. I have researched schools and created a list I am interested in (at the bottom of this post). Since I still have a lot of time, I would appreciate suggestions on other schools outside of this list that I could consider with my stats. (PS. if the stats look familiar its because I’ve posted before, this is just an updated, more specific list)

Demographics

  • International student
  • State/Location of residency: Indonesia
  • Type of high school: Private, IB curriculum

Intended Major(s)
Either Sociology, Economics, Psychology, or Philosophy (I know its a lot haha, I just can’t decide)

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.8 (sophomore), 3.6 (freshman)
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): N/A
  • Class Rank: N/A
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1510 SAT

Coursework
In the IBDP Programme:
HL: Math AI, Psychology, Economics
SL: French B, Chemistry, English A

Awards

  • John Locke Essay Competition High Distinction (20,000 participants total, ranked top 5% of shortlists)
  • 6 MUN awards (most from the varsity/open circuit) & Chaired in Yale MUN
  • MVP of varsity sports team

Extracurriculars

  • Internship in a ministry

  • Economics summer school

  • Student council (4 years): Had a leadership position in this

  • MUN club: student coach, but has taken up several leadership positions for conferences (the highest being secretary general)

  • Varsity sports team captain

  • TEDx speaker

  • Investment competition team leader

  • Took an online course on machine learning over the winter holiday, taught by MIT and Stanford postgrads

  • Rock band and choir

Volunteering:

  • Supervised, taught music, and raised fundraisers for students from less fortunate areas

  • Taught MUN to refugees from the Middle East

Cost Constraints / Budget
I don’t qualify for internal need-based financial aid, but I am looking for merit-based external scholarships. There are fortunately a plentiful of those in my country.

Schools
I get that almost all of the unis in this list are reaches, and this is because my safeties are all in the UK:

Dartmouth (ED), Amherst, Barnard, Duke, UC Berkeley, Uchicago, Vassar, Tufts, NYU (Shanghai), UNC Chapel Hill, UMich, Georgetown, Northwestern and Vanderbilt.

*for Uchicago and NYU Shanghai, I’ll end up choosing either one of them for ED II.

Thank you!

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See older thread

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Haven’t read the other but you list schools with no merit aid so if you don’t qualify for need aid, you have to decide $90k a year at a big name or for example $25k a year at a solid state school like Alabama or somewhere in the middle at a smaller state school.

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Or… just stick to her safeties abroad as she said.

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Just want to validate how tied she is to the list bcuz merit aid was mentioned….

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Let’s not get sidetracked. OP clearly mentioned private scholarships from Indonesia, not merit from the universities. Whether the expectation of such scholarships is reasonable is another question, but it seems OP is aware full-freight at these colleges is not an option

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I wouldn’t say it’s sidetracked since OP is asking.

With stats, OP would get low 20s at an Alabama with merit and could do something like Blount Scholars. It’s why I asked.

OP could truly get into many schools. We’ve heard $40k or less at schools like Rollins and Kalamazoo as well as some SUNYs like Geneseo and a smaller public like Truman State, St Mary’s of Maryland or Montevallo.

There are hundreds if not more schools where OPs stats fit.

But there is a budget question hence my question.

Would they stay home if they didn’t get the scholarships or find a fantastic school here that’s more affordable but won’t have the international name recognition?

Schools like Rochester and Brandeis would be more ‘selective’ that the stats would be solid for….and sooooo many more.

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Yeah, but with my parent’s income they can pay for my full tuition, It’s just that a scholarship would be a great way of saving money. I’m applying safeties in the UK where the tuition is so much cheaper.

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I’m looking for external only, so budget is not a factor for applications itself. It’s more of a bonus thing.

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I would be able to go to university abroad whether I get a scholarship or not. It is definitely a factor, but at the end of the day, my parents are able to pay fully.

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As you realize all your schools are reaches, are you looking for more reaches ? Or are you asking for some schools that offer merit aid to international students? I would say if the latter,
You will want to consider some lower ranked schools. (Scrolll down past the need based aid info)

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My only comment is that Vassar seems to be an outlier. Would you like more suggestions like Vassar? Or more like the large state universities on your list?

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To avoid your thread getting derailed: please clarify for us, whether:

  • you have sufficient financial ability and access to external scholarships so we don’t need to consider budget limits and merit scholarships

OR

  • you would like to get at least some money from US schools

Based on your answer your list may need to change completely.

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I’m looking for target schools tbh, so i can balance my list better. But thanks for the website! I’ll take a look

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Yeah, I get that it seems out of place. I would like suggestions on schools similar to Vassar (I want to apply to liberal arts schools) that I could perhaps have a good chance to get into.

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First one - I have sufficient financial ability and access to external scholarships so we don’t need to consider budget limits and merit scholarships.

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One target to consider is University of Richmond. They have a Richmond Scholars program -full tuition/housing/travel stipend. Last year (out of 25) about half went to international students.

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Just trying to understand how your original list was developed and what you are looking for in a school. Good on you for starting early so that you can put thought into it. Why UC Berkeley and not UCLA? Why Barnard and not Brown? It might be helpful to make a spreadsheet and list criteria that are must haves… such as a a lot of offerings around the majors you mention. You could also put the percent of international students (easy stats to find). Make sure you distinguish between State schools and private schools. The administration will affect you more than you realize (for example how easy it is to get a meeting with a counselor to discuss required classes etc.) Also- take notes- if you decide to take a school off your list write down why. CC is a great place to discuss pros and cons and get great advice but it is helpful if you make more decisions so that you can narrow your scope. Also- put thought into what part of the US you prefer. The vibe can be very different and you want a school that fits your vibe.

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Kalamazoo meets the open curriculum part and would likely come in at great cost…making an assumption that the open curriculum is a feature you like at Vassar (not sure if to be true).

Grinnell, Rochester, and Wesleyan might be others to review but would be more competitive in lines of Vassar. Rochester is a bigger but not big school - your best possibility of the three, and could offer merit. It does have a large international population. Kalamazoo would be a safe entry with a fine name and PhD producing track record.

LACs we’ve seen give good merit internationally I mentioned before - Rollins, Kalamazoo, SUNY Geneseo, U of Minnesota Morris (large intl percentage)- but I imagine most (not all) of the LACs schools ranked below 50 would love to have you and would work with you if you meet a certain threshold financially. Link below. In fact, I remember a story last year of someone turned down by Rollins but offered an acceptance based on if they’d be willing to spend $40K. That student, by the way ended up at College of Wooster…another great school.

If you seek a Duke type, you might try a U Denver, Butler, and I’m sure there are others. U Miami is Florida is another - that might be a match. Rhodes is an LAC as is Sewanee: University of the South - but they’re all super fun visually with stone buildings (like Duke). I’m sure a lot more are too.

You have UC Berkeley - but then you can choose any flagship. Alabama, as I mentioned, gives the same merit international to OOS. But not all do. But many do have international scholarships - from a Mizzou to Arizona, etc. Most any flagship and even secondary school will have liberal arts - so it really depends on size, weather, etc. that you’d want.

Colleges that would be smaller, more similar to the rest of your list - would be some SUNYs, U of Idaho, U of Wyoming, U Alabama Huntsville, UNH, UVM, Marshall U, W Carolina, and frankly there’s many many more - and most of these schools if not all - would be far far far far cheaper than UC Berkeley - and less competitive. William & Mary is a smaller school with an excellent reputation - but a hard get.

Those where your stats might fit better but are still prestigious - where you might fit - but are big like Berkeley and not necessarily inexpensive - other UCs, Wisconsin, Washington, Illinois, Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Colorado and more. Schools that are well known and punch above their weight but a bit easier gets are U of PIttsburgh and Miami of Ohio.

Hope that helps.

2024 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges | US News Rankings

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A reminder that OP clarified:

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