Do I have any chances as an intl applicant? [in gap years after 2023 HS graduation, 5.00/5.00 GPA, <$8-10k, psychology or environmental science]

Chance Me / Match Me
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Hello! I’m a female, 3 gap year international applicant applying for Fall 2026. It’s September now and I haven’t made a proper college list yet. I think I’m cooked now!

Stats & Context:

Country: Bangladesh (International)

GPA: 5.00/5.00 (UW), Highest GPA on board exams, 90%+ marks. Also, Top 5% among all high schools.

SAT: aiming for 1500+ and going to take the SAT in November/December!

Intended major: Psychology, Environmental Science (also thinking about Women’s and Gender Studies and a minor in Dance/Theatre/Music)

EFC: ~$8-10K/year → meet full-need or full-ride aid for internationals

Essay: It’s about my view and personal life based on feminism and girlhood

Preference: small colleges (<5,000 students), liberal arts style, close-knit campus

ECs: Volunteering, Internship, Leadership, Cultural. (I did one EC for my intended major)

Awards: 1 international, 2 National (I got the highest grade in my two board exams), 2 Regional. None of them is related to my intended major. I got them for leadership, volunteering}

My current list:

1. Agnes Scott College

2. Smith College

3. Bryn Mawr College

4. Wellesley College

5. Mount Holyoke College

6. Barnard College

7. Sweet Briar College

8. Meredith College

9. Spelman College

10. Scripps College

11. Sewanee - University of the South

12. Vassar College

13. Haverford College

14. Connecticut College

15. Swarthmore College

16. Carleton College

17. Berea College

18. Colby College

19. Pomona College

20. Centre College

21. Williams College

22. Wesleyan University

23. Bowdoin College

24. University of Richmond

25. Dartmouth College

26. Wesleyan College

27. Amherst College

28. Rice University

29. Providence College

30. Bennington College

31. Yale University

32. Brown University

33. Washington and Lee University

34. University of Wisconsin- Madison

35. Soka University of America

★Do I have any chance at these colleges? Open to suggestions for colleges as well. I want to create a comprehensive college list with at least 30 colleges. Also, let me know which area of my applications I need to improve or do well in 2/3months

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Just wondering if you realize the time commitment essay wise to apply to so many colleges, especially for those that require more than one essay either for admission and/or for scholarship applications.

Also - December SAT is cutting it fine for results to be available in time for RD deadlines, and gives you no room to retake if you’re not happy with your score.

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In addition to essays, etc, this will be your downfall. Colleges want revenue, not to give money away. On another thread, an international student with strong scores said his friend got a full ride to U of Southern Miss. Yes, it’s bigger than you want - but when you have a budget, you don’t get to make choices. I’m not saying you’d get that - but you might want to look at it.

I would check your list carefully. For example, Agnes Scott says - Agnes Scott College does not offer need-based financial assistance to international students.

Do you know that they have a full ride merit for you? If not, why apply?

If it were me, I’d apply to the schools that promise to meet need that don’t factor how much I need into their admission decision:

  1. Amherst
  2. Bowdoin
  3. Brown
  4. Dartmouth
  5. Georgetown
  6. Harvard
  7. MIT
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Wash & Lee
  10. Yale

Then there’s other schools that meet need - but they may say no because you need to much. I don’t have an entire list but two are Franklin & Marshall and Denison. You might find others.

I’d go through your list and prune schools - like Sweet Briar - unless for some reason you know they will meet need (they don’t) or have a full merit scholarship for you.

They say this:

Sweet Briar College is committed to supporting international students academically and financially. Recognizing the diversity of international students who may consider Sweet Briar College, we take a personalized approach to both the admissions and financial aid processes.

For more information, please contact:

Admissions Office
P | 434-381-6141
E | admissions@sbc.edu

Good luck.

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You need to apply ED to your favorite college that meets need after running the NPC, keeping in mind the NPC is going to be inaccurate. You want to find one college there’s within budget and (likely) still test optional. Since you favor LACs, pick one of them - Smith, Mount Holyoke, or Wellesley perhaps? Also, look into their admission programs for “older" applicants (if you did OLevels+ALevels+ work for 3-4years that may qualify - at least, inquire at each).

You need a SAT score by Nov 1 when many scholarship deadlines are.

Berea may take just one student from Bangladesh. Based on your results and leadership, you’re definitely in the running but it’s unpredictable.

Soka basically only admits a few students outside their religion, don’t waste the app as an international who isn’t full pay.

Finally, keep in mind that right now the environment is not favorable to international students. ~150,000 who had been admitted and paid enrollment deposits were not able to start school this Fall, due to student visa interviews being slow walked or stopped. As a result, you should look into other options. France and Germany have tuition-free or very low tuition programs, for instance.

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As well as the cost of applications, unless OP is able to receive fee waivers.

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I believe you mean they “may” decline acceptance due to level of need, not that they “will”.

OP, it is still worth applying to schools that are need aware but do meet need of accepted students. Just be aware of that policy upfront and run the NPCs to see if there is a chance of it being affordable. Keep in mind that most NPCs are not accurate for internationals so use the results as a loose guideline.

I agree with the posters encouraging you to explore opportunities in other countries that may be more affordable (and have “friendlier” student visa policies).

Best of luck!

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I’m taking the SAT in November. And if I needed to retake then it’ll be in December.

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Thank you so much for your kind words and informative insights! Which colleges do you think I should remove from my list?

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correct - may - but there was an article about Lafayette the other year, they turned down 200 they would have admitted stat wise.

But you are correct - and I imagine for intl, the likelihood is even higher.

But your words are correct. I’ll go fix mine.

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Also can you clarify - is the 3 a typo or did you complete high school 3 years ago?

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I think you should go through your list - and look up financial aid and international and see. I already know that Agnes Scott doesn’t work.

But then you need to do a second check - if they don’t meet need, do they have a full rider merit scholarship.

You need to do that homework.

I see at least four schools - Amherst, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, W&L on your list - so those are good because I showed you they meet need and are need blind.

When I say you need to check, Providence is the kind of school I’d eliminate because I don’t think you can meet this need. And when I say they’ll reject you for needing too much, they kind of hint at that here:

International students are considered for admission based upon a review of the academic qualifications, financial need, and availability of student aid resources.

While Providence College provides a significant amount of financial assistance for its international students, that support is capped at the cost of tuition. To be admissible, students must demonstrate the ability to cover at least housing and food (approximately $22,000 USD) but the most competitive candidates demonstrate the ability to cover approximately half of the total cost of attendance (approximately $35,000 USD).

Good luck.

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Have you really been out of high school for three years? What have you been doing in those years? That will be part of how your application is reviewed.

The SAT is a test typically taken by students still in high school. Some colleges might consider that pieces also. You are taking your SAT three years later.

Have you applied to colleges in the U.S. in the past?

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^ that was why I asked the question.

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I’ve completed my high school in 2023 (though I had a late graduation for after covid effect. It’s 7 month delay. Then I took gap year and skip fall 2025. Now I’m applying to fall 2026) If I’m not wrong i think it’s 3 gap year right? Also I’m an international applicant so here school curriculum is different from America.

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I did some ecs, prepare myself for college application and did some other works. I was sick before there’s another reason why I took that gap year. As I mentioned before, I’m an intl applicant so my curriculum and systems are far different from America.

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Thank you for your kind words and informative insights!!

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Colleges here usually know how to interpret curriculum systems from countries abroad.

@skieurope

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If calendar is different that’s common too. People in my home country finish the school year in December and apply for fall start the following year if coming to the US so 8-month ish gap between graduating and college.

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The first question that comes to mind is wondering whether you have an affordable safety in your home country.

The second thing that comes to mind is that given 35 schools on your application list you should do 35 Google searches, all of the form “does [name of college] meet full need for international students”. Just to help out I did two. Brown does. U. Wisconsin does not. I was pretty sure that I knew the answer for these two before I did the Google search.

Colleges and universities in the US have complex admissions forms. They will want to know why you think a particular school is a good fit for you. One way or another this is likely to come through in your essays. I can see reasons why some students might like Bowdoin College, or Bennington College, or Yale, or the University of Wisconsin. I am not as clear regarding why one specific student might consider all of these to be a good match. I think that it will be very hard to answer this for all of 35 different colleges.

Perhaps you should think about which schools would be a good fit for you, and then fill out the applications for those schools first. That way if you get burnt out part way through your list of applications at least you will have already completed the applications to the schools that you like best.

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Okay! Thank you so much for you informative answers! It’ll help me alot