Rhodes will be happy to take her money :). I am not sure that given the goal is premed or Biomedical Engineering that Rhodes will work. There is no Engineering at Rhodes. Rhodes is not famous in Europe or Middle East. Rhodes will not help anyhow differently to foreign student to get to medical school. Given that about 30% of Rhodes students are premed I see no advantage here. It would be equivalent to any middle of nowhere school in the USA to people outside of the US. Even most people from the US do not know Rhodes.
I personally would concentrate on schools in Europe or Middle East in OP case or would go as prestigious school as possible and known in the world, but that can be difficult with FA necessary.
@janaglobal:
Why the US rather than Scotland or Ireland for instance?
Why the universities you listed?
What subjects do you enjoy and are very good at?
I think I listed Math/Applied Math/Statistics as a possible major: is that something you’d find interesting? Would it be doable academically?
When you run the NPC on Brown or Dartmouth or Penn which has the lowest net price? Is one more interesting to you than others?
They are quite different - the following would be shorthand and thus very incomplete so I hope you got the books I listed before, for details.
Brown = liberal/artsy, no core curriculum or gen eds, urban
Penn = more preprofessional, unique multidisciplinary programs, in a metropolis
Dartmouth = more conservative and “Greek”, strong undergraduate focus, rural
Is one university’s personality more appealing to you?
Look up “Penn State Schreyer”: would you feel up to writing these essays?
At large public universities explore all colleges because many have interesting majors tucked into unlikely colleges.
But most large public will not provide FA to foreign students.
And the NPC are often not accurate for international students.
Her budget is likely sufficient for many public universities with some merit aid, which a 4.0/1500 (or even 1450+) should find, because 80k in Saudi Arabia go much further than in the US.
PSU and GMU may not be the best choices for this.
And 80-120K is likely to generate a lot of FA from privates, either through FA or financial+merit.
However in order to have a better idea OP needs to run the NPC: the estimate won’t be accurate but will give an idea for her to figure out whether that amount, taken as a Minimum expected, is affordable (if the net price isn’t affordable, since the number would be a minimum, then it means meet need universities won’t work) and for us an indication of how much merit the student needs.
The fact OP managed to do a lot despite being a girl in Saudi Arabia will go a long way in her favor.
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Washington and Lee University is a reach, but if accepted is very generous to international students. It has engineering but is not abet accredited.
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I do not get it. For example, UMD OOS would be $55+, how that can be affordable? This before travel, health insurance etc.
I also do not get why so much focus on the USA when there would be more opportunities in Europe and the rest of the world.
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This last part OP has to explain but it might be because OP is hesitating between a variety of STEM subjects and generally European universities require an early choice that you’re locked into.
Sometimes, students want a more individualized, undergraduate-focused education than what large European universities provide.
Additionally, it could be OP is applying to both but asking here about US colleges because it’s a US forum (she might also be on student room for the UK, etc.)
Finally, as an accomplished student at an international school that I assume sends students to the US, it may be the “natural” pathway.
Hopefully OP can explain her reasons.
Wrt costs, that’s why we need details from OP.
But if the family make 120k, then even with a small scholarship costs can go down to 50k and OPs family may have 70k to live on, which is still enough for nice living on a Saudi Arabia compound (house-staff nice though not throw $1,000 on a handbag nice).
If the family’s income is closer to 80k things get tighter. So we need to have a budget range so we can be helpful.
OPs mentioned GMU and PSU.
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I agree, and i was actually wondering about NYU as an option given this - I think they’d like this on top of the excellent academics. It will be reachy but I think she’s the kind of applicant they like. I’m not sure if their new meets need policy applies to internationals as well, and of course they are not need blind for internationals, but I do know that some internationals have received generous aid. I’m not sure how much of a culture shock living in Greenwich village would be.
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Why the US rather than Scotland or Ireland for instance?
1- My family lives there
2- The US is basically the only country that has universities that will allow me to explore my different interests, switch majors, do different extra curriculars, etc. to be able to be sure & commit to something I actually wanna do.
3- Other countries are focused on only academics, where on the other hand the US balances academics, interests & ECs, social life, community, etc. & I need that balance to be able to thrive in my academics.
Why the universities you listed?
They’re mainly schools that meet 100% of admitted students’ financial needs + some safeties, but I’m currently refining it & I’m open to any changes or suggestions
What subjects do you enjoy and are very good at?
I enjoy & am good at creative writing (English), Biology, Physics, ICT (only when it’s Web Development), & in F1 in Schools (the 3rd extracurricular on my list), we learnt the basics of mechanical & aerodynamic engineering, (that a first year engineering major would learn) we had to render cars & other pieces using industrial grade 3D interfaces/software, operated CNC machines to build the car, 3d printers, aerodynamic testing machines, hardware & software. So, lots of mechanical engineering, I really enjoyed it, we did it for over 5 months.
I’m really really bad at math, ever since grade school, it never appealed to me. I also HATE Chemistry, but even then, I can lock in & get through it, I’ve never gotten under a 99-98% on a single report card throughout highschool.
I think I listed Math/Applied Math/Statistics as a possible major: is that something you’d find interesting? Would it be doable academically?
I would probably rather gouge my eyes out, there’s no way I’d survive it
I’ve tried out a whole bunch of NPCs, most result in a parent contribution of around $20,000-28,000 per year + part time work contribution of around $3500
I’m super interested in UPenn & Brown, I mainly put Dartmouth because of the aid & prestige honestly. I do really prefer a more urban environment, it would be a deal breaker if I had that sort of freedom, hence why Georgetown University is on my list despite there not being much aid, I grew up going to the DMV area every year. Penn State is almost too Greek for me, but I have friends there & it’s a really nice area, I put it on my list as a safety/target without much intend of actually committing, but the honors college looks really interesting, I’ll look into it more.
Thanks for answering all this 
Based on what you said about Engineering and its hands-on aspects, I would recommend Case Western Reserve (~match), Smith, Olin (reaches?).
As @SJ2727 said, NYU might be a good reach - NYU Tandon might be a good idea (less selective than some of NYUs other colleges) and they have a broad variety of majors.
Case is in the middle of a very cool urban neighborhood. Smith is near a college town (which is really cool) and Olin, famous for its hands-on curriculum, is near Boston.
That being said, engineering is a LOT of math&physics and its curriculum is one of the most rigid so it may not be the best choice.
For writing, I would recommend looking into Kenyon and Denison, as well as Iowa as a safety (for English/writing, they use a formula and you would definitely get in; you’d have an excellent shot at Honors and a scholarship.) You can look at what they offer for Physics. However they’re not in the middle of a city (you can get to a city relatively easily but they’re located in villages.)
If you get into Penn State Schreyer you don’t have to think about Greek life at all. The honors dorms and cafeteria are excellent, there are plenty of opportunities to make friends and have fun without anything Greek. However it’s very difficult to get into, with grades&rigor the baseline and essays making the difference.
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Not just that, i’m a non-Saudi girl in Saudi Arabia, there’s 0 opportunities. I wish you could see it, it’s like the world goes out of its way to make sure that nothing is available, but I find ways around it, or create my own, & I plan to leverage all of this on my application. Lemme give y’all examples,
F1 in Schools Aramco (activity #3 on my list)- I was one of the only 6-8 students out of around 300-400 who were non-saudis that year, thousands of people applied & they prioritize Saudis & only accept the best of the best non-Saudis.
(activity #4 on my list)- this college prep program was created by the Saudi Crown Prince’s Foundation, only Saudi’s can apply & only 7% of them get in. Obviously, I couldn’t apply, but they let me be an administrator/mentor to last year’s cohort of applicants because of my writing & speech skills. So instead of applying to the program, I got to mentor over 400 of their applicants for 6+ months, which I think provided me much more value than applying ever would’ve.
I truly think I have a shot at getting into Connecticut College & some of the reaches on my list, let me tell you my future plans,
- Score as high as possible on my standardized tests, I’m going to take the SAT & the ACT
- Try boosting my honors by applying for awards such as the Daina Award for Nama (my first & second activity)
- There’s this Medical summer program at Georgetown that I applied to & got a merit scholarship of around $1500, but since the program was almost $4000 I couldn’t go, I can try to apply again & work harder to win the full ride scholarship & attend.
- I can also get a professor to mentor me to write & publish research in a T250 journal, I think I mentioned that my mom did her fellowship at Harvard, I could maybe work with a professor there & get a LOR
What do you think?
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I think you only need #1 and #2. If you can continue with the F1 project - if only through an all-girl team and/or your mother’s former colleague/friend/mentor, that would be good.
But you’re already doing A LOT. Keeping up with what you started matters more than having more activities.
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I feel like since I just started my junior year, I should at least explore some other opportunities I’m interested in as well, I’ll definitely prioritize #1 & #2 though.
F1 in Schools is like this 5-month program where you go in person to a regional hub & work for over 300-400 hours. It’s not really a project you can continue, but I applied again this year just in case, results come out mid-November, maybe I’ll participate again & try to win the competition, who knows. I have no clue what you mean by all girl team. & I’ll be continuing Nama (EC #1 & 2) & maybe the college prep program mentoring but im not sure yet (EC #4)
Does anyone have anyyy further advice? This is all extremely helpful.
I feel like I’ve shared a whole bunch of my academic life in this thread, I’d love to hear your thoughts & notes. Was there anything about me that stood out to you? Was there nothing at all? Is there anything I could focus on or improve?
What stands out like a beacon: you are an exceptional writer. I am highly confident that wherever you land, you will excel.
(Look at my posting history. I don’t often say this 
)
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thank you for this
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Yes of course you can explore other opportunities if you’re interested but don’t feel that you must do more just for US colleges.
You’re doing great
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Hey!! I was just researching Penn State again, & they have a BSMD program, I couldn’t find a whole lot of info on international students applying though. Do you know anything about this?
I have not read the entire thread, but this advice clearly applies to OP’s situation as well as to many other chance me threads. Nice to see that OP has taken the advice offered.
Good luck to OP.
Well…Penn State medical school (which is part of the Bs/MD) course of study) requires students to be citizens or permanent residents. Internationals no!
MD Program - International Applicant Information - Penn State College of Medicine.
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