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Demographics
International student (H4 visa holder, in Senior year, attending a high school in Georgia State, parents pay tax in Georgia state)
State/Location of residency: Georgia
Type of high school (or current college for transfers): STEM‑focused public magnet high school in Georgia
Cost Constraints / Budget : 40-45k per annum
Intended Major(s) : Undergrad Computer Science
GPA, Rank, and Test Scores
Unweighted HS GPA:3.95 on 4 scale, 94.38 out of 100
Weighted HS GPA:3.98 on 4 scale(capped), 98.58 out of 100
College GPA:Not applicable
Class Rank:Not applicable (not published)
ACT/SAT Scores:
ACT 33 (Math 36, Science 35, English 30, Reading 33)
SAT 1520 (Math 790, English 730)
List your HS coursework
English: College British Literature, College Advanced Composition, College World Literature
Math:AP Pre-Calc(AP score 5, but unweighted 88% in transcript, the only B on the transcript), AP Calculus BC (score 5), College Linear Algebra, College Multivar Calculus
Science: Geometry Honors, Chemistry Honors, Biology Honors, AP Chemistry, AP Physics 1(score 4), AP Physics C E & M
History and social studies: AP Govt/Politics (score 5), AP World History (score 5), College US History
Other academic courses:AP Seminar (score 4), AP Computer Science Principle (score 5), College Introduction to Computing, College Personal Finance/Economics, College Intro Object Oriented Programming
College Coursework (Transfer Applicants) - Not applicable
Awards -
AP Scholar with Distinction (10th & 11th grade)
College Board School Recognition Award
Principal’s Honor Roll (multiple times)
Extracurriculars -
Internship at a startup (Junior & Senior year)
Built a flight simulator
Built an AI assistant
Developing a web app
~150 hours of volunteering (digital literacy for seniors, food drives, library service, Beta Club service)
Plays tennis in a local club for last 3 years as hobby
Essays/LORs/Other : 2 LOR requested
Schools :
Which colleges my student should apply for undergrad CS with high chance of admission with good academic/job outcome (max budget 40-45k per annum as stated earlier) ?
I will prefer reputed colleges which potentially grants need based/merit scholarship to international students similar to my student’s profile. Household income 135k per annum (Parents pay tax in Georgia State).
Additionally, as my student attends a high school in Georgia state for last 3 years, will my student be considered in “In State” applicant pool in Georgia Tech or Out of State/International ?
For the purpose of immigration and tuition classification, Georgia Tech defines a student or applicant as “international” if they meet any of the criteria below:
You do not have U.S. citizenship or U.S. Lawful Permanent Residency.
You require a visa to enter and study in the United States.
The “B” in Precalculus should be okay; however, S27 did score a “4” in AP Physics 1. S27 will need to study hard in AP Physics C for the “A” and the “5” score. A solid precalculus background is essential for physics with calculus.
Are the parents in the process of seeking green cards?
This is too broad. What is the student looking for in terms of a college? Have you run any net price calculators? That’s going to be critical to understand how much need based aid you may qualify for.
Go to each college’s site. Pick a generous school in terms of financial aid to start with, and go from there. Princeton is typically most generous, look at Northwestern which is more ‘typical’ in how they meet full need.
Your S’s app will be evaluated in the context of his class/GA high school. I am not exactly sure the timing of the waiver request process decision making, but I encourage you to work closely with the appropriate people at each school.
I am considering below list of colleges however I am not sure in which one’s the admission is realistic based on my student’s profile. Can you please advise which ones he should apply ?
Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech)
Cornell University
University of Illinois Urbana‑Champaign (UIUC)
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin)
Northeastern University
University of Southern California (USC)
University of Maryland – College Park
Purdue University – West Lafayette
University of Virginia (UVA)
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI)
University of Florida
University of Georgia (UGA)
University of Alabama
University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst)
Should admit if the student meets the minimum admission requirements for the campus:
and major:
Out of state list price is $61k, but the scholarship estimator estimates a $17.5k scholarship to bring the price down to $43.6k (for the Tempe campus – the other campuses appear to be more focused on commuter and non-traditional students). However, be sure to check whether your student’s visa status is eligible for the scholarship.
Cornell - did you fill in the net price calculator. There’s no aid.
UIUC - hard no - you can’t afford
UT Austin - hard no - you can’t afford
NU - do the NPC - but aid is likely limited to intl
USC - same as NU
UMD - no - can’t afford
Purdue - likely for international will go over but can try
UVA - no - can’t afford -they meet need but check given your stats.
I keep going down - Bama is a yes - because you don’t get less aid as an international. UAH - will be a yes but not as aggressive. Notre Dame meets need for intl and is need blind - so do you have need?
Besides your in state schools, the only sure one on your list is Bama.
But you only need one and you’ll get in there.
Most the publics have zero or near zero chance to hit cost. If you don’t have safety Bama, then you better add a Kennesaw or Ga Southern.
It’s not you can’t get into others - but at your budget - depends if they see you as a domestic student. If so, can be more - but if not, you have to find schools that will. Maybe UNM too. You can check.
Thanks, for Notre Dame, it’s showing Estimated NET PRICE as $16,086, NPC didn’t ask if the student is domestic or international though, it just asked State of Residency which I mentioned as Georgia.
Did NPC give the estimate automatically considering my student a US Citizen or Permanent US Resident based on the State of Residency response as Georgia?
Yes there are others and UAH cost is under $40K before merit but merit isn’t as good as for domestic students.
Tennessee Tech, another mid size safety, is showing a bit more than $42K now. They have merit - which I assume you’d be eligible for.
Here’s the thing - eliminate all those way over your budget (the UT, UIUC, UMD, etc.) Ga and Ga Tech are reasonable but you need a safety which could be Bama, UAH, Tennessee Tech and I’m sure there’s more. Even an RPI might work - run the NPC.
But you need two safeties to give yourself choice.
Another that could work - and this is why you have to play around - U Kansas - a great school has an intl direct cost of $52K but you’d qualify for $16K a year. It’s more than a US student - but it’s still under budget.
So there are schools out there for sure.
But if GA is your priority, find a few safeties and you’ll be good. And if you have high need, find those schools that will meet need for an international.
Notre Dame meets full need for domestic and international students, so that’s probably why the NPC doesn’t ask country residency.
All the schools on the list will consider your S as an international student until he gets his green card. Whether or not that impacts financial aid is unique to each school, you will just have to do research to figure that out.
And with Georgia Tech and UGA there is a path to in-state tuition thru those economic advantage waivers I posted above. I agree with Tsbna that most of the public colleges on your initial list won’t be affordable.
Lastly, I am not an expert on visas but is he considering switching visa to an F-1 student visa? This would allow him to work, whereas the H4 doesn’t allow work. I don’t know how/if having an approved I-140 might impact getting an F1 visa. Obviously speak with your attorney. Note also many schools are pausing CPT for international students and that might not change for several years. There are many headwinds right now for internationals attending college in the US. I hope the green card happens soon.
Since the NPC didn’t ask whether you were international, please view these results with extreme caution.
You have a LOT of out of state public universities on your list. Most states provide aid to their residents first and foremost as those resident parents pay taxes to support higher education.
I would suggest you look at University of Buffalo (a SUNY school) which is excellent, underrated, and has the potential to meet your budget! @aunt_bea@twogirls
Just so OP doesn’t misunderstand: a student on an F1 can only work on-campus, not off-campus, during the school year, and not more than 20 hours a week. And summer internships are subject to CPT regulations as @Mwfan1921 mentioned.
It shouldn’t affect getting an F1 visa, and it also shouldn’t affect the child’s ability to remain a beneficiary of the parent’s green card application (until they turn 21).
If they do age out before getting the green card, F1 status would allow them to remain in the US and continue their studies (they wouldn’t be able to remain on an H4), but thereafter they’d have to pursue immigration on their own.
Of course, speak to an immigration attorney before making these decisions!
Please do not post sensitive, private, or identifying information as we do NOT delete or edit posts on College Confidential!